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Spirit Camper
Development Summary
Spirit Camper was my first full game project in Unreal Engine 5, so a lot of the process involved
learning the engine while also figuring out what kind of experience I wanted to build. I decided to
lean into narrative and atmosphere instead of trying to make something overly complex, which led me
toward a forest-based adventure centered on exploration, dialogue, and a cure-making objective.
Design and Gameplay
The main design goal was to keep the player moving through the story in a clear and readable way. I
used blocked paths, invisible walls, simple prompts, and notes placed around the world to guide
progression without making the game feel too restricted. The result was a light adventure structure
where players could explore, collect what they needed, and understand the next step without too much
confusion.
Technical and Creative Work
I sourced and arranged environmental assets such as trees, flowers, and other props to shape the
mood of the world, and I used those choices to make the forest feel more immersive. On the gameplay
side, I implemented NPC interaction, teleportation, a key-and-door system, and the main collectible
flow. I also experimented with AI-generated voice lines for the characters, which helped the project
feel more complete and gave the dialogue scenes a stronger presence.
Reflection
This project taught me a lot about scope, iteration, and how to stay flexible when building a game
inside a tool I was still learning. It was challenging, but it also gave me a much clearer sense of
how I like to work across environment building, interaction, and story structure. If I revisited
Spirit Camper, I would expand the narrative, refine the pacing, and introduce more mechanics while
keeping the same atmospheric tone.
