Pebbles Path
Physics-driven puzzle platformer where players infuse spirits into rocks to create throwable puzzle tools.
My Role
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Team Lead
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Game Designer
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Level Designer
Team
17 developers.
Departments
Design • Programming • 3D Art • Concept Art
Leadership Responsibilities
Showcase of the throwing core mechanic
8 months.
Production Time
Engine
Unity
Project Summary
Team Lead | Game Designer | Level Designer
Core Design Work:
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Designed the spirit pebble throwing mechanic.
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Created the level progression teaching the system.
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Led playtesting and iteration.
Design Focus
Puzzle readability and experimentation-driven gameplay.
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Defined gameplay direction and core mechanics.
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Coordinated tasks and milestones using Trello.
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Maintained design and technical documentation.
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Mediated decisions between team and professors.
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Supervised playtests and presented feedback to the team.
Team Leadership
As the team lead and sole game designer, I coordinated a multidisciplinary team of 17 developers (programming, 3D art, and concept art) while defining the overall gameplay direction of the project.
My tole combined design leadership, team coordination, and communication between departments and professors.
Key responsibilities included:
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Defining gameplay direction and ensuring that mechanics and level design aligned with the project's theme and intended player experience.
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Creating and maintaining documentation, including gameplay mechanics, level design structure, and technical specifications used by programmers and artists during development.
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Coordinating a 17-person team through Trello task management, weekly meetings (in-person and Discord), and milestone planning for internal builds and public playtesting sessions.
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Acting as a bridge between disciplines, working closely with department representatives to translate design goals into actionable tasks for the art and programming team.
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Mediating design decisions between team members and professors to reach viable solutions while maintaining a coherent design vision.
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Supervising playtesting sessions, collecting player feedback through surveys and presenting actionable insights to guide iteration.
One notable design iteration involved testing a first-person slingshot mechanic proposed by the concept art team. After prototyping and playtesting, the system was redesigned into the final third-person pebble-throwing mechanic, which better supported puzzle readability and player control.
Design Goals
Createed a cozy puzzle experience where players feel free to experiment without punishment.
Key pillars:
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Fail-friendly puzzle design.
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Mechanics that encourage experimentation.
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Clear and readable spatial puzzles.
Core Mechanic: Spirit Pebbles
Spirits can be gathered and then infused into rocks to create throwable pebbles.
Players use them to interact with the environment and solve puzzles.
Design considerations
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Players should never permanently lose resources.
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The mechanic should support multiple puzzle solutions.
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The system should remain simple but expressive.
Core loop
Iteration: Throwing Perspective
Problem
During early playtests, many players missed throws and struggled to judge distance.
Experiment
A third-person perspective was prototyped.
Result
Players solved puzzles more reliably and better understood spatial relationships, showing increased puzzle completion rates during playtests.
Decision
The third-person camera was adopted for the final design.
First-person & third-person tests
Level Design
Spatial Design
The level layout was designed to keep puzzle elements visible from the player entry point
Player Learning Progression
The level design gradually introduces the core mechanic.
Step 1 - Collect spirits
Players learn that spirits are resources.
Step 2 - Infuse rocks
Players create their first pebble.
Step 3 - Throw pebbles
Players begin solving simple puzzle
Step 4 - Retrieve spirits
Greybox walkthrough - puzzle progression and player path
Players learn that resources are reusable.
Full Player Progression Flowchart
This flowchart illustrates the full player learning path, showing how new mechanics and hazards are gradually introduced
Design Challenges
Major challenge
Designing puzzles that encouraged experimentation without punishing mistakes.
Solution
Several design choices supported this goal:
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Players can destroy pebbles to retrieve spirits.
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Resources are never permanently lost.
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Puzzle spaces allow easy retries.
Production challenge
Natural terrain shapes made it harder to maintain the clear puzzle geometry established during greyboxing
Solution
Levels were redesigned using natural terrain shapes while preserving puzzle readability.
Lessons Learned
I learned that puzzle difficulty often comes from unclear interaction rules, not complex mechanics. Improving readability made puzzles feel easier without changing their structure.
This project strengthened my understanding of:
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Player onboarding in puzzle games.
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Level design for spatial readability.
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iterative design through playtesting