Sun, Moon, and Harmony
Team Project
Introduction
Sun, Moon and Harmony is a short non-verbal narrative set in a fantasy world of rival, magic wielding clans. The player must journey from their land to the next, learning spells to solve puzzles, fight, and bring peace along the way.
Developed over 5 weeks
Team of 2
​Responsibilities: ​
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Wrote and implemented non-verbal narrative quest, using environmental storytelling to tell a short story
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Planed and blocked out 4 short levels
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Designed magic combo mechanics, implemented their puzzles, and placed enemies to fit with the progression of the story and the player’s experience
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Modeled and surfaced assets, designed SFX
Goal
My goals were to tell the story using visuals and gameplay alone and express the theme through procedural rhetoric.
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Pre-production
Research
Writing
I wrote out all the beats of the story then sketched concepts for the characters for the most interpretablity.
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Level Design Process
Paper Design to Digital
I sketched out a rough idea of each level that made up a scene, then moved to digital layouts.
Blockout Level 1
Since level 1 is supposed to be a dream, I made it a very straightforward tutorial. The player’s only goal is to head forward and learn to jump and burn past obstacles.
Level 2 Blockout
During the block-out phase, I decided to iterate on my original design since I wanted the player to be more familiar with the fire mechanic to prepare them for using it in combat, so I added an additional physics puzzle.
The player has to burn wooden blocks in the right order to progress.
Level 3 Design
Since the player learns 2 of the game’s 3 spells in this level, I wanted it to be the longest one so they can get their full use out of the tree platform spell.
Level 4 Design
Level 4 is just the start of level 2 with different set dressing.
Walkthrough
Learn how to jump and fire spell from fire clan parents
Wake up as an adult; head to tower
Chase parents to tower
Flashback to parents' death; fight forest clan enemy
Journey on, Solving physics puzzles
Learn tree spell from forest clan friend, platform to surface
Fail to cross bridge; wake up
Make it to tower; flashback to parents
Use both spells to solve puzzles
Heal and pacify both clans Journey back home
Invent(learn) harmony spell; heal and pacify both clans
Level Flow
I wanted the player to focus on linear story events, so I kept the path to their goal fairly straightforward, and I added a castle as a landmark that can be seen in every level to make sure they can't get lost. As the player progresses to the end of each level, the screen dips to black with diegetic and non-diegetic transitions.
Gameplay Features
Combat
To keep the focus on the narrative, I kept the combat simple. Enemies are taken down a single hit of the spell counter to their element. But they chase the player and make a defensive barrier of plants or fire.
Physics
Players have to use their spells to manipulate stone objects by lifting them up with the tree platform spell or using the fire to remove supports.
Fire Spell
Using “up, up, Y, B” the player creates a fireball that can burn wooden obstacles.
Tree Platform Spell
Using “down, down, Y, B” the player grows a tree, which can be platformed on or used as a jack to lift objects from below.
Harmony Spell
In the last encounter of the game, the player uses the harmony spell: “up, up, down, down,” combining both spells to heal and pacify characters.
Story Structure
I wrote the story to mostly fall under 3 act structure, with the exception of there being no time between the main culmination and climax. With the player literally falling from a high place at the midpoint, I thought there was a sufficient feeling of powerlessness which carries over to the main culmination, where the player learns a dark revelation.
Full Playthrough and Closing Thoughts
I learned a lot from this project, and with that, I learned a lot of what not to do next time.
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Symmetrical Level Design — I kept the player’s goal mostly straight ahead to make them feel like they were making a longer journey, but more windy routes would make the environments feel fuller.
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Environment Art — To keep up with the project’s original deadline, I kept the environment art simple with models and textures that only took me a day or two to make. The experience would be more immersive if I spent more time on the environment art as well as made the surroundings more expansive. I relied a lot on plateaus, but landscapes and backdrops would emphasize the scale of the adventure.