Light in the Darkness - Overview 

Light in the Darkness is a short atmospheric horror game in which a child lost in a dark forest must collect light while being pursued by a menacing figure. This game was created as my final year project, developed solo using Unreal Engine 5.2.

Level design - Mapping & In-engine view

Area 1: The beginning

  • Player starts seeing controls on the floor an a single light in the distance
  • When light is approached and interacted (E), light will go out and light further down will turn on
  • This carries on until the end to cut to a cut scene; introducing the enemy
  • Orange grass is introduced in small batches between lights

Area 2: The chase

  • Player camera switches to the front of the player, causing distress and visualizing enemy
  • Enemy chases player across field
  • Players must avoid orange grass to have enough time to reach the end of the field

Area 3: The forest

  • Red: Enemy
  • Blue: Mushrooms/mushroom base
  • Yellow: Chase puzzle path
  • Green: Flower puzzle trees
  • Purple: Player start

Reflection notes

All levels are meant to connect to eachother narratively speaking, in which only the 3rd level allows players full freedom to explore. Levels 1 and 2 are more linear for introducing controls and concept to the player without breaking inmersion