The Weight of Emptiness
Project Summary
Role: Game Designer
Team Size: Solo Project
Genre: Psychological Exploration Game
Engine: Unity
Duration: February 2023 - April 2023
Status: Completed
Overview
The Weight of Emptiness is a short-form psychological exploration game created as a solo university project. Set in the intimate setting of a family home, the game follows the journey of Luna, a young girl who, whilst looking for her Dolly, finds herself caught in a web of horror after her father's tragic death and the loss of her brother.
As the developer of this game, my intention was to create an immersive and thought-provoking experience that resonates deeply with players. I provided insight into the challenges faced by individuals dealing with mental loss issues and the impact of grief on ourselves and the ones around us.
Development Notes
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Full solo development: scripting, design, lighting, UI, and pacing.
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Codebase organized modularly for clarity and debugging, using consistent namespaces and class architecture.
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Integrated mental health support resources and included non-intrusive trigger warnings at relevant narrative moments.
My Role
Developed "The Weight of Emptiness," a solo project created with Unity and C# scripting, demonstrating narrative-driven design, emotional depth, and interactive storytelling.
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Built a highly immersive first-person narrative adventure, using careful level design and atmospheric environmental storytelling to enhance player immersion.
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Scripted interactive elements in C#, including dynamic player interactions, object manipulations, environmental triggers, and timed narrative events, to deliver a tightly controlled narrative pacing.
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Integrated trigger warnings and emotional support resources within the game experience, ensuring sensitivity towards difficult themes and promoting player safety and comfort.
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Managed a clean and modular scripting structure, optimizing the development workflow and facilitating rapid iteration and debugging.
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Utilized Unity’s Timeline system effectively, orchestrating complex scripted sequences, narrative beats, and interactive elements with precision.
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Designed intuitive UI and gameplay mechanics, including interactive objects, environmental puzzles, and scripted animation sequences, enriching the narrative depth and player agency.
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Conducted extensive narrative research, including studying relevant psychological themes and interviewing individuals to authentically portray sensitive topics and improve emotional resonance.
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Used GitHub for source control and project management, ensuring effective version control and structured workflow during development.
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Successfully delivered an emotionally impactful, polished narrative experience within a tight 10-minute max gameplay duration, balancing storytelling depth with concise and meaningful player engagement.
Exploring C#
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Engineered over 50 custom C# scripts to support interaction systems, player mechanics, UI, and game logic.
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Built robust interaction logic for doors, drawers, key pickups and notes to simulate a realistic world.
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Implemented a flashlight system with toggle controls, dynamic lighting, and audio feedback to support exploration in dark environments.
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Developed audio triggers and jumpscare events using Unity’s Timeline and custom scripts to control timing, pacing, and player emotional response.
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Utilized DOTween to animate UI and game objects smoothly (menus, notes, and camera fades).
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Created custom head bobbing and movement smoothing to enhance immersion in first-person controls.
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Ensured input compatibility using Unity’s Input Manager and custom controller scripts.
Narrative Integration
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Used Unity's Timeline and trigger zones to control key narrative beats including note logs.
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Carefully placed interactive notes and audio cues to deliver the story non-intrusively.
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Designed all puzzles and scene pacing to maintain narrative flow and emotional tone.
Full Gameplay
UI & UX
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Designed and implemented an in-world menu system, including: Play Story, Help, Exit buttons with animations and transitions.
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A custom pause system that respects player progression and current narrative context.
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Used audio layering and environmental design to support atmosphere (e.g., distant cries, static radio signals, scripted whispers).
