Hollow Skies
A Spooky 2.5D Adventure
Hollow Skies is a 2.5D survival/puzzle game where you play as a paranormal agent tasked with investigating strange activity coming from a small mountain town. The game is currently in development by concept artist Kalani Domingo and myself as game designer.
01
The Idea
The idea began while I was playing Star Ocean Second Story R (a 2.5D JRPG). I was taken aback by how beautifully 2D sprites mixed with the 3D world. I wondered how a horror game could be expressed with this style, so I began a prototype in Unreal Engine 5. I created the main character sprites myself and used PaperZD to implement them in the engine using sidescroller controls.
02
Story
While prototyping the game idea, I began to imagine what the story behind the main character could be. I knew that I wanted him to be a secret agent because of his outfit, so I began exploring the possibility of him being a paranormal investigator for a private organization. I liked the idea of the player investigating this town for clues on paranormal activity and solving puzzles. I settled on the story of a young girl who has become possessed and now has the power to summon parasites to infect the town and put everyone under her control. It is your job as a paranormal agent to try to put a stop to this possession and save the town.
03
Concept Art
Once I had the story down, I began brainstorming with my good friend and concept artist Kalani Domingo. Together, we discussed what this world could look like. What characters would live here, and what kind of monsters would they encounter? He created some awesome concept art to take as reference for later pixel art, animations, and level design.
04
Level Design
For this small game demo, we have 3 different areas/levels planned. The first is the forest where the player will get familiar with the controls. The second will be a cabin interior level, which will introduce the puzzle elements of the game. The third will be a small area of town that will combine exterior combat and platforming with interior locations and puzzles. You can watch the current level progression on our YouTube video below.
