Run, Die, Run Again
RDNA is a 2D platformer built around a core design idea: turning failure into a gameplay mechanic.
Each time the player fails, their previous attempt is recorded and replayed as a ghost in the next run. These ghosts can interact with traps and obstacles, allowing players to plan solutions across multiple attempts.
The goal of the project was to explore how failure, timing and planning could become central mechanics in a platforming challenge.
Brief showcase of the ghost mechanic
Core Mechanics
Ghost replay system
Each failed attempt is recorded and replayed as a ghost during all following runs. Ghosts can intercept traps and interact with level elements, allowing players to plan solutions across mutiple attempts.
Attempt-based progression
Instead of simply retrying after failure, each attempt becomes part of the final solution. Players must intentionally place previous runs in strategic locations.
Classic platformer movement
Precise platforming controls ensure that player movement remains consistent across attempts, which is critical when coordinating actions between multiple ghosts.
Project Overview
Run, Die, Run Again explores a simple design question:
what if failure in a platformer wasn’t a setback, but a resource the player could use to solve the level?
Project Details
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Role: Game designer
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Genre: Puzzle platformer
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Focus: System design, platformer mechanics
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Key Mechanic: Previous failed attempts replay as ghosts that interact with the level
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Engine: Unity (2D Toolkit)
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Project type: Solo academic project
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Production Time: 1 1/2 months
Design
Design goals
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Turn a common platformer frustration - repeated failure - into a core gameplay mechanic.
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Encourage players to think across multiple attempts, planning how each run will contribute to the final solution.
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Maintain the tight controls and readability of classic platformers while introducing a strategic timing layer.
Ghosts and traps
Ghosts can't trigger traps, but can intercept them. This means that the system has more depth than players might initially think.
Players need to die in specific locations, but also be aware of the timing: in the next attempts they must make sure that the ghosts don't die prematurely.
Full Gameplay
This also had the unintended but welcomed side effect of incentivizing always going full speed; it is easier to track where everything is if the speed is consistent between attempts.
Level design
The level was designed as a compact puzzle-platforming challenge focused on demonstrating the ghost mechanic.
Rather than building a long sequence of obstacles, the design concentrates the challenge around a single section where coordinating multiple attempts becomes necessary
This allowed the mechanic to be tested and iterated quickly while keeping the player's focus on understanding how ghosts interact with traps.
Challenges and solutions
Challenge - Communicating the inevitability of failure
The mechanic requires players to fail several times before they can solve the level. The challenge was making this feel intentional rather then frustrating.
Solution
The level was designed so that players quickly understand that ghosts interact with traps. Once this discovery happens, repeated attempts naturally shift from "failure" to "planning future runs".
Progression flow
Lessons Learned
This project highlighted the importance of prioritizing core gameplay over presentation.
While a significant amount of time was initially spent polishing visuals such as sprite animations, the experience would have benefitted more from additional level design exploring the ghost mechanic.
This reinforced an important design lesson: a small number of well-designed levels often creates a stronger experience than a visually polished prototype with limited gameplay depth.