Hope
Gameplay Designer
Hope is a narrative-driven action puzzle platformer about emotional healing and self-discovery. Players control Max, a girl who accidentally fractures the balance of her world while struggling with inner darkness. To restore what’s broken, she must explore surreal landscapes shaped by her emotions, shifting between Light and Shadow auras to solve puzzles, overcome challenges, and face her fears.
Gameplay centers on aura-based world manipulation, light combat, and careful management of the Hope Bar, a shared resource for health and special abilities that reinforces emotional balance. With a minimalist art style and layered environmental storytelling, Hope invites players to reflect, explore, and heal one step at a time.
Genre: Metroidvania, Puzzle, Platforms, Action
Platform: PC
Developed for: Alternova
MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROJECT
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Wrote the full GDD, including system specs, narrative tone, gameplay loops, and emotional intentions.
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Designed all major systems: movement, combat, resource flow, and puzzles.
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Integrated narrative beats into gameplay structure.
Game References
CORE MECHANICS
My goal with Project Hope was to create mechanics that reflect emotional states and personal growth. Every system was designed to support the emotional tone and narrative themes while offering engaging moment-to-moment gameplay.
Some of these mechanics are...
Aura Shift: Switch between Light (passive) and Shadow (aggressive) auras, revealing different environmental elements and puzzle paths.
Hope Bar: A unified resource system that represents both health and energy.
Aura-Based Combat: Each aura has a distinct special attack with both combat and puzzle-solving uses.
Purification: A post-combat mechanic that allows the player to heal and restore balance through reflection instead of violence.
AURA SHIFT
This mechanic represents emotional duality. Light Aura is linked to moments of calm, self-reflection, and hope. Shadow Aura embodies frustration, anger, and emotional struggle. Shifting between the two is symbolic of how people process difficult emotions. Players are encouraged to explore both, not avoid one over the other, mirroring the idea that healing includes acknowledging discomfort.
Mechanically, Aura Shift changes environmental elements, which allows players to solve puzzles in ways that feel like personal insight. For example, a path that doesn’t exist in one state might appear in another, reinforcing the emotional metaphor: changing how you see things changes what’s possible.
HOPE BAR
The Hope Bar merges health and energy into a single resource to reflect the idea that emotional and physical strength come from the same source. Instead of managing two separate bars, players must think holistically—taking damage and using powerful abilities both cost the same emotional energy. This decision forces players to manage their emotional stamina with care, encouraging a more thoughtful and reflective playstyle.
ENEMY PURIFICATION
Purification becomes a choice. It’s a pause. A chance to reflect, to breathe, to heal. That choice reinforces the game’s theme of emotional recovery and gives the player agency in how they process conflict.
