2019
Yume's Dream
Development
Yume’s Dream, 2019, is a 2D turn-based roleplaying game about a girl going on an adventure in her dream. The game intends to be a fun relaxed RPG adventure with fun puzzles. The goal is to complete all three levels and beat each boss at the end.
I created this project in Game Maker Studio 2 for PC and handled all of the art, design, and programming. The music and sound effects used were royalty-free.
For level design, I blocked out each level in a document and then implemented them into the game. I put a lot of focus on making each level distinct with their own puzzles, as well as theme and aesthetic direction. Testing was done every week and levels were iterated based on feedback.
One of the big challenges I faced when making an RPG alone was having a sense of progression. With only 3 areas and an already huge scope, I came up with the idea of enemies dropping skills rather than having the player unlock skills through a leveling system which would be difficult to balance in the limited amount of time I had. Players have 4 slots and can choose which skills they want to use.
Yume's Dream was an impactful project for me which is why I'm including it on my portfolio despite being the first game I made in my freshman year as a solo project. I learned the importance of scope, originally planning over 10 levels and party members which I quickly learned needed to be cut down. My design went through a lot of iteration as well. Originally, the game took hours to beat due to confusing level design, lack of visual variety, and players couldn't even get past the starter enemies. I learned the importance of iteration and got a huge insight into how to design a game through my time on this project.
