Órlaith's Wake

Bachelor's thesis

Órlaith's Wake is my Bachelor's thesis project, a Survivor-Like game that focuses on a tight spaces within a satic screen, featuring mechanics that wouldn't work in traditional semi-open environments.

As the sole developer, I handle all technical implementation with Godot 4 while also serving as Creative Director and Team Lead. I establish the game's core vision and guide a small, dedicated team, balancing development with leadership. Though I oversee all aspects of production, I encourage a collaborative environment where every team member can contribute creatively.

The project was completed in July 2025 and was awarded Best Bachelor Thesis of the semester. Encouraged by the positive feedback from playtesters, my team and I are continuing its development.

The Team consists of:

• Thai Ha – Game Designer, Developer, Technical Artist, Animator, Creative Director
• Paul Schober – Concept Artist, Illustrator
• Alexander Korn – 3D Artist, Animator
• Alexander Keinprecht – Sound Designer, Composer

Core Idea

I embraced my creative constraints, particularly limited time, by taking inspiration from 1920s German Expressionist filmmakers. Just as they achieved unique atmospheres with innovative practical techniques, this philosophy shaped both the visual style and design of Órlaith's Wake.

The static screen solved our asset constraints but also became the game's core design pillar. To make this confined space compelling, I developed mechanics that only work in such an environment: chained enemies, bouncing projectiles, interactive walls that periodically "activate" and more.

Unique Selling Points:

• Survivor-Like revolving around a static screen
• Tense atmosphere inspired by german expressionism

Gameplay

While still in active development, the current prototype already demonstrates how the constrained space transforms gameplay. The playtest footage shows:

• Movement with consequence – Every move carries weight in the tight arena
• Environmental tension – Bouncing enemy projectiles force constant positional awareness
• Dynamic risk/reward – Light-emitting gem pickups create choices: grab them for resources or leave them as beacons in the dark? UI Elements like the health bar and damage numbers will be turned off during a "blackout"

Balancing

The current build of the game is intentionally balanced for an exhibition context, where players typically only engage with the system for short periods of time and may not be familiar with the controls or mechanics. To accommodate this, the core gameplay was designed to feel immediately accessible, intuitive, and forgiving. New players can understand the input scheme quickly, experience success early, and enjoy the aesthetic and mechanical feedback without needing prior knowledge of the system. Despite its approachability, the game incorporates subtle layers of depth to encourage repeated play.

Countless playtest sessions revealed that these weapons and items naturally adapt to different playstyles. Whether players prefer intuitive, low-barrier strategies or more complex, high-skill approaches, each setup brings something to the table and and rewards experimentation.

Weapons

Tathlum Sling	Celestiné Spears	Muipo Pipe	Balor Lighter
Range + Knockback	Melee + Knockback	Melee	Range
Allrounder	Good Earlygame Bad Scaling	High Damagepotential	Bad Earlygame Good Scaling
No Skillfloor	Mid Skillfloor Mid Skillceiling	High Skillfloor High Skillceiling	No Skillfloor Output Randomness

Passive Items

+ max. HP	+ health regen	+ damage	+ movement speed	+ gem value

Visuals

For us the assets from PSX-Graphics are a similar to the props from german expressionist filmsets. That's why it only made sense to translate the eerie atmosphere from the films with low poly graphics. Every asset is designed to unsettle the player while being readable enough for gameplay.

Diegetic UI

We try to use as much diegetic UI as possible, interface elements that exist within the game world itself, to enhance immersion and make feedback feel natural to the player.

Sound

Since silent films originally inspired the project, we faced the unique challenge of communicating sound in a stylized way. Initially, we considered using only dynamic musical cues, but real-time responsiveness while maintaining rhythm proved too unpredictable. Instead, we implemented bitcrushed audio design with spacious reverb to mirror the low-poly visuals and amplify its creepy, Expressionist atmosphere.

Beyond Scope

While most of these ideas don't appear in the thesis prototype, they showcase the creative direction:

• Inventory management – Accepting / Declining trade offers by the mask is the only way to manage the inventory within a run
• Progressive Stages – New stages introduce unique rules, events and enemies after players master core mechanics
• Character Select – Players begin as a skinless "meat-person," acquiring literal skins by interacting with a Skintailor-NPC who dresses them. Those Skins act as characters with unique abilities.
• Linear Story – Abstract storytelling in five acts, without forced cutscenes or exposition. The story serves to convey atmosphere and to communicate overarching themes.
• Silent Film Dialogue – Text will appear sparringly in vintage title cards, nodding to the inspiration
• Light and Shadow – More gameplay interactions between light and shadow
• Bossfight's – Big fight's that are characterized by unique stage hazards