EGO
3D first-person psychological adventure puzzle game
It is a 16-week solo development project. I completed the entire process from concept to final build using Unreal Engine 5. The game features character control and environment-based puzzles. Players act as a psychoanalyst who enters the inner worlds of three patients. Through spatial puzzles and emotional clues, they experience a psychological healing journey. Dynamic visual feedback and spatial audio turn therapeutic processes into an immersive, interactive experience.
Core Mechanics
Goals:
Guide three patients through their traumatic mental worlds to achieve healing by confronting their deepest fears.
Dialogue System
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Uncover patient backgrounds through conversations
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Build trust by selecting dialogue options
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Gather key clues to guide progression
01
Action System
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Navigate through surreal environments
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Avoid threats using jumps and movement
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Each action represents confronting fears
03
Choice System
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Face binary decisions at critical story moments
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Each choice impacts patient emotional states
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Different paths lead to distinct narrative endings
02
Feedback System
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Real-time environment evolution with progress, from distorted to healed states.
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Lighting and visuals reflect treatment impact
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Visual changes directly reflect recovery
04
Inspiration
My Sister's Clinical Cases: Foundation of Authenticity
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Source: Directly drawn from real patient cases and symptom descriptions documented by my sister in her psychiatric practice.
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Significance: Provided irreplaceable, real-world details and emotional depth, ensuring accurate and empathetic portrayal of mental illnesses.
Main Character
Ana
Empathetic psychiatrist who steps into patients' minds to heal trauma through mutual vulnerability.
Francis
Scott
Amelia
Schizophrenic poet battling flesh-forming hallucinations and warring inner voices.
Megalophobic victim haunted by ghost leviathans—tsunami-borne whales and drowned city statues.
Trypophobic sculptor haunted by canvases swarming with creeping frogs and bottomless pores.
Level 1 Design
Level 2 Design
Level 3 Design
Production Process
Environments
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I crafted three distinct psychological spaces: twisted corridors that evoke the claustrophobia of schizophrenia, vast cityscapes that make players feel insignificant against megalophobia, and complex mazes that simulate the decision anxiety of trypophobia.
Core principle:
Architecture directly reflects psychological states
Scene Display
Development
Portal
The implementation of a portal mechanism facilitates seamless player progression to subsequent locations or levels.
Auto-Toggle Door
Designed for the immersive experience of the initial level, the user has personally recorded the sound effects for door opening and closing operations.
Background Music
The implementation incorporates background music, volume modulation, and a proximity-triggered voice activation mechanism.
Key Collection
Designed for the first level, players can only enter the final room after obtaining the key. Additionally, a UI that is in line with the overall style of the game has been added.