Twisted Garden

2D Side-Scrolling Pixel Action Game

2024

A 2D side-scrolling action game that explores the theme of depression through gameplay mechanics. Instead of a traditional heroic quest, the game uses combat and environment design to embody the struggles and coping mechanisms of mental illness.

Overview

Twisted Garden is a 2D side-scrolling action game that explores the theme of depression through gameplay mechanics. Instead of a traditional heroic quest, the game uses combat and environment design to embody the struggles and coping mechanisms of mental illness.

Type: 2D Side-Scrolling Pixel Action Game
Role: Game Designer (Concept, Mechanics, System Design), Artist
Engine: Unity
Team: 2 people (Designer + Programmer)
Development Duration: 2 months

Design Goals:

Translate real-world symptoms of depression into concrete game mechanics.
Create a boss fight that reflects the emotional and physical challenges of mental illness.
Use action gameplay not just for entertainment, but as a form of symbolic storytelling.

My Highlights

Led the project successfully to create a fully playable game with only 2 people during a relatively short amount of time.
Designed the boss encounter with two distinct phases, each reflecting a shift in emotional tone and gameplay rhythm. Designed phase transition triggers and boss behaviors to support narrative symbolism of depression and inner conflict.
Integrated environmental interaction into the core loop, reinforcing player urgency and spatial awareness.
Iterated on combat pacing and player feedback, aiming for more satisfying attack responsiveness.

Core Mechanics & Systems

Player Controls & Actions

Movement: 2D side-scrolling controls (walk, jump, dash).
Combat: Basic melee attacks against the boss, requiring positioning and timing.
Survival: Players must manage space and avoid environmental hazards (toxic fog, vines).

Health System

Player health is represented through a standard HP system.

Resource System – Sun Trinket & Flowers

The Sun Trinket is the core countermeasure against the boss’s ultimate ability.
To activate it, the player must collect 4 energy charges.
Flowers act as the source of charges:
- If the player reaches a flower, a watering animation plays → restores a small amount of health + grants 1 charge.
  If the boss corrupts a flower first, it becomes unusable (no heal, no charge).
A total of 5 flowers appear during the battle, creating a margin of error for the player.
Design Purpose: Encourages resource management and forces the player to plan around limited opportunities.

Level & Encounter Design

The entire fight is staged in an enclosed, claustrophobic arena, mirroring the psychological confinement of depression.

Combat Structure

Baseline Attacks: Simple melee strikes to maintain pressure between special abilities.
Phase 1:
- Restrictive Vines – Roots the player briefly, representing lack of energy.
- Toxic Fog – Creates slowing zones, symbolizing fatigue and heaviness.
Phase 2 (HP threshold):
- Flower Events – At this stage, flowers sprout in the arena. The player must race against the boss to secure them for healing and Sun Trinket charges. If the boss reaches them first, the flowers are corrupted and lost.
- Darkness Ultimate – The arena is engulfed in darkness, dealing damage over time if not countered with Sun Trinket at a right time.

Design Goals

Tie gameplay mechanics directly to symbolic representation of depression.
Create positional tension by forcing the player to choose between attacking the boss or contesting flowers.
Ensure the encounter escalates: from mobility pressure in Phase 1 to resource and survival management in Phase 2.

Development Process & Challenges

Designing mechanics that are both playable and symbolic was the main challenge.
Only 2 members in the team meant time management and iteration speed were limited.
Learned the importance of:
- Early prototyping for mechanic validation.
- Designing scope to match available resources and deadlines.

Reflection

Successes:

Completed a fully playable game with only 2 people during a relatively short amount of time.
Mechanics successfully tied to symbolic meaning, making the gameplay more than just combat.
Boss fight structure effectively conveyed the overwhelming nature of depression.

Areas for improvement:

The responsiveness and impact of attack and movement still have much room for improvement.
In phase 2 of boss fight, the boss only has one more skill other than it did before, which is the ultimate. Given more development time, I will design more skills that increase the difficulty to further finalize the interest curve.