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Down and North

Down and North is a 2D short platformer game, as part of the 8 Bits to Infinity's Tell a Story Game Jam. with the theme 'Make it fly' and the diversifier of 'Transcend Language'.

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The story focuses on a Valkyrie's journey into Helhiem to find a soul who accidentally ended up there.

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Due to the usage of the diversifier, there is no written dialogue about the game's story other than narrative visuals.

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By the end of the Jam, Down and North earned 5th place in the overall rating.

My Involvement

The Game was made within 10 days, in a team of 4. I was assigned the role of Narrative Designer. later, I was given the task of Programmer in the late stage of development.

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During my time developing the game, I brainstormed ideas and reviewed various versions of the story. From a 'Revenge plot' where a warrior dragged the Valkyrie into Helhiem after denying access to Valhalla to a 'Rescue plot' where the Valkyrie went into Helhiem to find and rescue the fallen warrior.

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I communicated with my team remotely in the making of this game. written up documents, character information and a full analysis about Helheim after researching the topic, (link next to text leads to the Analysis document). the documents helped my team as a result.

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after figuring out the story, and knowing that the game needed an opening and an ending, I crafted storyboards of how the story started and ended, which I gave to the 2D artist, which they used to sketch our game story.

Storyboards Exsample (Intro)

storyboard (page 1).png

Level Design Examples

When we have our story, I then consider level design for the player to traverse through during gameplay, starting with a blockout, to craft the platforms, where the enemies will be and details in the background.

the two blackouts I've designed below are final drafts of the blackouts, though when implemented, the final result is different due to camera viewing and what the player will see when controlling the character.

Level design - Level 1.png

Level 1  Blockout (Beginning)

Level 2 Blockout (Bridge)

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