This page details my work on a project for IndieCade Horizons 2023’s Hidden Heroes Jam, a game making competition that celebrates older generations as founts of inspiration and wisdom. Keep Your Head Down won 1st Place in the IndieCade Horizons 2023 Hidden Heroes Game Jam! Check out the submission page here!
Play Keep Your Head Down In Browser! (Does not work on mobile)
Keep Your Head Down is a game I programmed and helped design alongside a small group of peers. Based on a true story. Keep Your Head Down is an exploration of a historical event in motion from the perspective of the local residents. Experience horror and tragedy numbed by the mundanity of acclimating to living under an oppressive regime. See the humanity and personality of individuals, not statistics. The game was developed based on the vocalized recollections of an eye-witness, whose interview was included in the game as raw audio.
Engine: Unity
Languages: C#
My Responsibilities: Gameplay programming, UI implementation, Cinematics implementation, art asset implementation, mechanics design, player experience design, UX design
Packages/Software: New Unity Input System, Cinemachine
Gameplay Overview
As designers we wanted our players to grapple with the juxtaposition of the mundane with the spirit-breaking horror of witnessing horrible atrocity. To do this, we implemented an intentionally unexciting dialogue mechanic to bookend the experience.
Next, we designed a small side-scrolling endless runner-like experience to give a sense of the distance the protagonist travel to be a witness to this tragic event. Along the way, we suggest through environmental detail the regime’s agnosticism toward the good of it’s people.
Finally, we designed a mechanic that allows the player to push through crowds of people but feels like the crowd is pushing back, to create a sense of congestion and restriction. This helps the player understand the scale of humans this atrocity affected and gives a tactile feel to the true story we are delivering.
Key Contributions
Critical analysis and design of player experience – I spent hours of the allotted time ideating with fellow designers, focusing on which emotions we could give to the player to encourage them to empathize with our Hidden Hero.
Implementation and design of the crowd pushing mechanic – I introduced the player to the mechanic in a safe, explorative environment, then increased the stakes in an exciting and challenging sequence to let the player demonstrate their understanding.
Animation logic and cinematic implementation – Used a mixture of Mechanim, the physics engine, and Cinemachine logic to deliver powerful and emotional cinematics.