What Makes Us was a university group project where we were tasked with creating a children's puzzle game. You play as a robot completing a series of challenges in order to better understand human emotions so he can fit in with his human friends.
The project was made by a team of 8, in which I took the role of Level Designer and Programmer.
My Tasks Included:
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Level Designer, designing the Happiness and Sadness levels
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Programming all puzzle functionality for my levels
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Basic Unity animations
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Overall concept and design contributions
Level Design Breakdown
For this project, I was responsible for designing and programming two of the five levels: Happiness and Sadness. The first level I created was Happiness, and I wanted its design to fully reflect the theme. To achieve this, I set the level outdoors on a bright, sunny day, with lush green grass to create a cheerful atmosphere. The level begins with a short maze for the player to navigate before reaching the Happiness Avatar, triggering a cutscene. In this scene, the Avatar explains that the player must collect three keys to set them free, revealing that the level is divided into three distinct sections.
The first section requires the player to find 3 hidden apples and return them to a basket. Completing this awards the first key.
The second section requires the player to place a selection of weights onto a giant scale. The weights must equal a total of 100g to balance the scales. Upon completing this, they are granted the second key.
The third section is an obstacle course, with the key waiting at the end. It involved multiple jumps, narrow beams and swinging hammers.
Once all three keys have been retrieved and taken to the centre, the level is completed.
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The second level I created was Sadness. To align with the theme, I designed an environment that felt cold and gloomy, setting the level in an underground sewer. The dim lighting, damp surroundings, and eerie atmosphere reinforce the sense of isolation and melancholy, immersing the player in the emotion of the level.
The level starts with a short jumping puzzle over some water.
The second section takes place in a flooded area, where the player must carefully navigate pipes and platforms to locate and activate valves. Each valve gradually lowers the water level, allowing the player to descend further until they eventually reach the bottom.
The third section is a vast chamber filled with platforms connected by bridges. At the far end of the room, the Sadness Avatar awaits in a locked cage, requiring three keys to be freed. The bridges move up and down at set intervals, forcing players to carefully time their movements to reach different areas. To add variety and challenge to each playthrough, the keys spawn randomly across the platforms, ensuring no two runs are exactly the same.