Lumina's Shadow Journey
A side-scrolling platformer where a lost vampire girl braves a world of deadly light to find her way back home.
Game Design
Project Overview
My Role: Game Designer
Timeline: 10 days (2024)
Team Size: 8
Genre: Platformer
Platform: PC
Engine: Unity
Created for GBJAM 2024, a game jam celebrating the aesthetic and constraints of the original Game Boy.
Game Jam Theme: Game Boy × Spooky.
Game Jam Rules: 160×144 resolution, 4-color palette, same controls as GameBoy
You play as a vampire girl — lost, light-averse, and desperately craving blood. The goal is to overcome all treacherous levels while collecting as many blood drops as possible and dodging light sources that will cause instant death.
Background Story
In a world where darkness reigns and light brings terror, Lumina is borned from the clan of vampires. Iluminator, a monstrous entity who emanates light from the body, can turn a vampire into ash. In order to escape the chasing from Illuminator, Lumina starts her journey from graveyard, hospital to church. Since in the human world, vampires could not enter churches and consecrated grounds, Lumina would be killed by the holy water and spikes on the ground. With terrors from both Illuminator and human world, Luminia’s ominous, terrified and dangerous journey begins.
Mechanics & Design Intent
Every mechanic is rooted in vampire folklore, translated into moment-to-moment gameplay:
Visual | Mechanic | Description |
 | Light kills | The vampire’s greatest weakness becomes the game’s core threat, touch a light source and it’s over. Players must read the environment and take action carefully. |
 | Blood restores | Scattered blood drops serve as collectibles, reinforcing the vampire’s nature while rewarding players. |
 | Dodge to survive | A dedicated dodge ability gives players a brief window to slip past light sources. |
 | Holy water slows | A staple of vampire lore reimagined as a movement debuff, punishing careless playing. |
 | Garlic disorients | Contact with garlic reverses left/right controls, a nod to the classic vampire repellent that creates moments of chaos and dark humor. |
Gameplay Screenshots
From top to down, they are levels of Graveyard, Hospital, Church, respectively.
