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Jingzu: Heart & Soul

Set in the fictional eastern European country of Brasovnia. You play as seasoned monster hunter Hinako, tasked with taking down the vampiric menace known as Count von Krause.

The game is a traditional 2.5D platformer, inspired by the Castlevania and Metroid series.

Genre: 2.5D Platformer, MetroidVania
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Roles: Game Design, Technical Design, Level Design, Scripting (Blueprints)
Software: Unreal Engine 4, Adobe PhotoShop
Team Size: 1
Duration: 5 Weeks - March-April 2020
Platform: PC
Accolades: Included in my TIGA Outstanding Gradutate in Game Design 2022 Showreel

Level Design

  • Designed a MetroidVania inspired Level for the game.

    • This included Level Concept, Block-Out, Meshing & Lighting.

    • The level was designed with MetroidVania in mind meaning blocked routes, backtracking and a logical feeling to the vertical and horizontal construction of the level was prioritised.

    • The Level was also designed around focal points to make exploration easy.

  • Blocked-out, Meshed and Lit the level in-engine.

jingzu wolf.jpg

Games Design

  • Built upon an existing framework in Unreal Engine 4 to drastically alter mechanics.

    • Character and enemy movement and physics were tweaked for superior game feel, Additional platforms and hazards were also constructed and the Boss was redesigned to feature puzzle-platforming elements.

  • Developed and added unique mechanics built using in-engine Blueprints

    • The primary new mechanic was beast transformation, designed and implemented by me. This gave characters access to a dash attack in the form of a Wolf, and a flight mode in the form of a Crow. These opened up a myriad of new gameplay possibilities.

  • Created a detailed Game Design Document including Level Design maps.

UI Design

  • Designed UI including Menus, Logos and Heads-Up Display.

    • The designs all have a far eastern flair to them to help exaggerate the theme of an eastern monster hunter coming west.