Jiayi Zhang
A downloadable game for Windows
My world unfolds through a fantastical lens. It features a valley surrounded by mountains as high as the skies. The center of the valley lies a small cozy cottage. Moving down the mountains and traversing through multiple bridges and ladders, an armory peeks out through the fog. There, brave men seeking valor and honor through the clash of swords and shields hone their skills for the battlefield, and brace themselves for the upcoming quest.
As my first project completed in Unity, I faced numerous challenges. Inspired by fantasy novels such as Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as the video game Zelda, the world I created tries to convey a light-heartedness and a sense of curiosity to the player, aiming to pique their desire for exploration, as if flipping through the pages of an engaging novel depicting magic, friendship and dangerous quests. The game that I designed fits into the genre of a 'walking simulator'. In these games, the player normally has no other objectives but to roam freely and explore the surrounding landscape. Although the making of such games are usually easier, I still had lots of fun experimenting with 3D colliders, and the process of downloading textures and models created by artists from the internet. Limited by time, my world can use more polish with regards to details and some small flaws and imperfections still exist. Additionally, my world is quite small, and it would take a few minutes for a complete walkthrough. I would like my world to be bigger and more expansive to better illustrate the freedom and vastness that players/ readers usually experience when it comes to well known works of literature or games. In the future, I look forward to studying more regarding Unity and game design to materialize my abstract ideas inside my head to tangible games individuals are able to enjoy.
Published | 16 hours ago |
Status | Released |
Platforms | Windows |
Author | UCLA DMA Summer Institute 2025 |