For the theme ‘Night at the Library" our team created a Backrooms-inspired stealth horror game in Unity. You play as a student who dozed off in the library, only to wake up trapped in an eerie, maze of bookshelves. A vengeful spirit roams the aisles, and your only hope of escape is to stay hidden and silent without being caught...
This level was developed in 48 hours during a game jam, leading to a top-3 placement among 10 teams.
Level Design & Layout Planning | Environmental Set Dressing | Sound Design & Post-Processing
Lighting & Atmosphere Design | Player Guidance & Navigation Cues
Working under tight time constraints, I had to design a level that fit our scope while maintaining immersion and suspense. This required strategic layout planning, creative asset reuse, and prioritizing key atmospheric elements like lighting, sound, and visual effects. Balancing these aspects under pressure refined my ability to create impactful experiences efficiently.
I designed a maze layout to evoke uneasiness and build suspense as players navigate toward the lobby. To enhance immersion, I set dressed the environment with posters, desks, books, TVs, and lamps, creating an unsettling atmosphere. I handled sound design, post-processing, and some lighting, layering eerie ambient noises and unsettling sounds, including a loud walking sound to heighten tension. Additionally, I implemented visual effects that somewhat distort the player's vision, amplifying fear and unease. To guide players while maintaining the eerie atmosphere, I placed lamps on floors and desks, reinforcing navigation and environmental storytelling. The non-linear design emphasized exploration and environmental storytelling, deepening player immersion. I also implemented 4 SFX to keep players on edge through ambient sound and audio cues. These were the backround noise, the TV static, the Gramaphone noise and the noise the monster makes when its near the player Throughout development, I collaborated with my team to refine game mechanics and ensure a polished experience within the time constraints.
I learned how to optimize lighting using lightmaps to improve performance and atmosphere as well as using Unitys Render-Pipeline to add additoinal Post-Processing effects. Additionally, I gained experience using ProBuilder to efficiently create the entire maze and lobby, refining my level design workflow
