Nöki: Shards of the Untamed
Explore, fight, sculpt & roll your way in a magical penguin’s journey!
Nöki: Shards of the Untamed is an isometric action-adventure game in which you control Nöki the penguin. Nöki, outcasted by his flock, meets a mysterious figure who gives him the magical power to become a snowball and create ice sculptures to traverse the arctic environment. Explore, fight, sculpt & roll your way through an encouraging journey.
What did I do?
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From start to finish of the project, I contributed to the game creating art assets, sketches, mockups and moodboards. I also took some technical responsibilities like rigging and importing 3D characters in the engine, adjusting the isometric camera and creating some blueprints for the zoom out and triggering texts in the prototypes.
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I used Blender to animate five characters in the game: the player character and four different enemies. All of them had idle animations, attacks, walking cycles and special moves. All of these added up for +30 animation clips on this demo version. I also rigged the characters and imported them into Unreal Engine 5.
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I was responsible to create the final version of the UI in the game. The screens were prototyped on Figma and animated with After Effects. Some of the animations were 3D renders that were implemented as spritesheets.
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I was responsible for the level design of the initial area, which is a tutorial level where the player learns progressively the mechanics of the game. I used Unreal Engine, Blender and Figma to create and iterate the level and we created different versions of the level based on the user feedback that we gathered during several playtests.
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I edited the trailer, videos, presentations and images to showcase our game. I also designed the logo and created an asset kit to keep our communication materials updated and organized. Additionally, I wrote the dialogues between Nöki and the ‘Ancestor’ character that introduces part of the narrative in our game.
Gameplay
Nöki: Shards of the Untamed | Demo Day Gameplay - First 20 minutes
Development process
Check out some highlights of my role in the game production during the three-month development process. For more detailed information, please check out the Devlogs!
01
Game Art
From start to finish of the project, I contributed to the game creating art assets, sketches, mockups and moodboards. I also took some technical responsibilities like rigging and importing 3D characters in the engine, adjusting the isometric camera and creating some blueprints for the zoom out and triggering texts in the prototypes.
One of my favorite part were the sketches and illustrations I created during the initial stages of the development.
Sketch of a ‘cold-handed’ penguin
Initial sketches for the main character’s animation
Illustrations showcasing different game scenarios and mechanics.
3D Animation
I used Blender to animate five characters in the game: the player character and four different enemies. All of them had idle animations, attacks, walking cycles and special moves. All of this added up for +30 animation clips on this demo version. I also rigged the characters and imported them into Unreal Engine 5.
02
UI Design
I was responsible of creating the final version of the UI in the game. The screens were prototyped on Figma and animated with After Effects. Some of the animations used 3D renders that were implemented as spritesheets.
03
Ability: New skill tutorial
Combat: Health and combat states
Dialogue: Ancestor encounter
Sculpting: Placing a ramp
Level Design & Prototyping
I was responsible for the level design of the initial area, which was a tutorial level where the player learns progressively the mechanics of the game. I used Unreal Engine, Blender and Figma to create and iterate the level and we created different versions of the level based on the user feedback that we gathered during several playtests.
04
Figma: SVG level design layout
Unreal: Adding actors and obstacles
Blender: Extrusion of the level and invisible walls
Unreal: Polished level
Communication and Narrative
05
I edited the trailer, videos, presentations and images to showcase our game. I also designed the logo and created an asset kit to keep our communication materials updated and organized. Additionally, I wrote the dialogues between Nöki and the ‘Ancestor’ character that introduces part of the narrative in our game.
In-depht blogs about the development
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Penguin Devlog #1
Initial sketches and mockups, Animation, Illustration
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Penguin Devlog #2
Prototyping, 3D Animation, Level Design, Illustration
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Penguin Devlog #3
Prototype Iteration, UI Design and Game Art
Credits.
Game Design
Level Design
Game Art
Programming
Music & Sound Design
Production
Animation
Environment & Lightning
Concept Art
Voice Acting
Kalle Jokipaltio, Melanie Carolin-Wigger, Jami Liang
Made with
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