- Our Objective -

Gloomstalker was a short horror exploration game developed during my studies at Cal State East Bay as part of the Fall 2024 Semester, created in collaboration with Jessica Villanueva, Adrian Casarez, and Bulli Sot. Built in JavaScript using the p5.js library, the project was inspired by minimalist horror titles such as FAITH, aiming to recreate the unsettling tension of retro horror through simple visuals and player-driven discovery. Players navigated a dark, forested environment across multiple screens, gathering items and courage to ultimately confront a stalking monster. The objective for our team was to create a concise, atmospheric experience that balanced fear, tension, and player agency within a small-scale interactive project.

- Responsibilities -

My responsibilities primarily lied in managing the master version for the project itself, though for this one I was a heavy creative lead as well, getting onto the topic of horror itself and pulling in inspirations during brainstorming. In general, all members had to contribute some code as part of the assignment, though I was the primary designer of gameplay and programmer, while Casarez and Sot handled more administrative tasks, and Jessica was responsible for an in-game skull matching puzzle used for progression.

• - Defined pacing, tone, and key mechanics as part of the gameplay design
• - Implemented core gameplay systems such as health and movement logic, and itegrated visual assets
• - Collaborated with teammates to integrate their code into the master version and maintain stability
• - Created sprites for project and all background screens, implementing tree and house design from team

- The Process -

I structured the game around a series of screen-based environments, using p5.js to implement player movement, object interactions, and scene transitions. The design emphasized fear, the monster is designed to be rather unpredictable. There is a sound cue and brief visual reaction time to find a spot to hide, I wanted the player to actively feel fear as they scrambled to find a means to defeat the monster. Having to first solve a puzzle, to get a shovel, to dig up a hidden spot for a gun, all these were put in to give the player a distraction and motive. In progressing, they place themselves at risk, often needing to quickly drop a task to get into protection. All this prep-work, so that once they finally claim their gun, and the way to the final encounter opens, the player never loses that tension. To the end, they can't take a hit, and the conclusion forces them to practice all those dodging skills they built up during the search.

Gloomstalker pushed me to really “make use” of a team relative to my earlier solo projects, to ask not just what I can do, but how to work within a group. While assigning everyone a task and forgetting is one way common in University, continually meeting to share ideas allowed us to collaborate in ways other students simply didn’t during that project.

Credit for External Resources used in Project

- Certain sprites and music for this academic project originate from FAITH: The Unholy Trinity, including the tracks "Satie Gnossienne 1" and "Astaroth" used for ambient themes in the project.

- Most sound effects were sourced from freesound_community off Pixabay.

- Background image for site and inspiration for monster from illustration of John Tedrick.