Don’t Look Back

Don’t Look Back is a first-person psychological horror game focused on atmosphere, tension, and player vulnerability rather than combat. The experience emphasizes parkour traversal, maze exploration, and environmental storytelling to create fear through uncertainty and implication.

This repository serves as a portfolio showcase of the game’s design, systems, and visual direction.

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Game Overview

The player is placed into an unsettling environment where survival depends on movement, awareness, and memory. There are no weapons and no direct combat. Instead, fear is created through isolation, environmental cues, and the constant sense of being watched.

The game challenges players to complete precision parkour sections before navigating a maze-like environment where guidance is intentionally ambiguous, forcing reliance on observation and intuition.

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Core Gameplay Pillars

• Psychological Horror — fear through atmosphere, lighting, and sound
• Parkour Traversal — precise movement as a core mechanic
• Maze Exploration — navigation and memory under pressure
• No Combat — vulnerability as a design choice
• Environmental Storytelling — narrative implied through the world itself

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Gameplay Structure

The experience is structured into three main phases:

1. Parkour Challenge
   Players must complete a series of movement-based obstacles that test timing, spatial awareness, and control.

2. Maze Exploration
   A red-lit maze environment guided by symbolic chess statues creates psychological pressure and disorientation while the player searches for the Queen to escape.

3. Final Escape
   Once the key is obtained, the player will escape, concluding the experience.

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Design Philosophy

• Fear is created through what is not shown, rather than explicit enemies
• Player vulnerability increases immersion and tension
• Minimal UI is used to preserve atmosphere
• Level design is used as the primary storytelling tool
• Sound and lighting are critical to emotional impact

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Documentation Included

This repository includes the following design documents:

• Game Design Document
  A detailed breakdown of gameplay mechanics, level structure, narrative direction, and core design decisions.

• Pitch Deck
  A high-level presentation outlining the game concept, themes, mechanics, and development vision.

Both documents are available in the GDD-pitch-deck folder.

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Engine & Tools

• Unreal Engine 5.5.4
• Blueprint scripting
• First-person camera system
• Custom level design and lighting

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Project Status

This project was developed as part of a game design and development project and is presented here as a portfolio piece showcasing design thinking, atmosphere creation, and gameplay structure.

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Notes

This repository is intended for showcase and documentation purposes.