The Dark Climb
Those who set out to find a way out never returned to guide you. Now you must climb the dark labyrinth alone, avoiding the searching creatures and finding the gate that leads out of the decaying, polluted world.
Project
Date
Role
Team
Engine
Videogame
Aug. 2022 - Jun. 2023
3D Artist
6 People
Unity
Links:
PreProduction
Pre-production took place while I was working full-time internships in Berlin.
We held weekly online meetings to discuss progress and align on the next steps.
The character design went through several iterations. The character’s lamps represent their health and function as diegetic UI, which made the design challenging since the character’s scale in the world was still unclear.
Prototype tests later helped determine the right size and visibility for the lights.
Production
Development
Early in development we focused on working within the limits of a small art team (just me), prioritizing the player character and enemy designs rather than building large custom environments.
For the environment we worked with asset packs, allowing me to focus my effort on the core visual elements of the game.
I designed the player character and the eye creatures, and created them in Maya, including modeling, texturing, rigging, and animation.
Polish
A large part of the later development went into polishing the game, including bug fixing and improving the experience based on user feedback.
Feedback from every playtest was incorporated, and the balance between darkness, visibility, and player tension was continuously adjusted to achieve the intended gameplay experience.
Lastly we worked on the Steam Release of the game.
