Luminaria: Dark Echoes

A 2D casual game

Name: Luminaria: Dark Echoes

Developer: Enthariel Games

Period: Sep 2023 - Dec 2024

Technologies: Unity, C#, Plastic SCM

Synopsis: You are the hero who must save the world from darkness. This action roguelike offers a steampunk story, bosses and exploration full of mysteries and surprises.

Genre & Tags: Survivor, Roguelite, Local multiplayer.

Systems I worked on

Skill unlock and progression system

Random skill selection on level up
Active and passive skill slots system
Upgrades when slots are full

Description

Skill progression system based on random selection during gameplay with limited slots for active and passive skills.

Enemy behavior system

Multiple enemy behavior types
Simple, ranged, charge and suicide AI
Environmental damage effects

Description

Enemy system with varied behaviors including melee, ranged and environmental interaction.

Boss system

Complex attack patterns
Dedicated health bar UI
End-of-level events

Description

Boss system with modular attacks and UI presentation.

Object pooling system

Reuse of enemies and projectiles
Reduced instantiation cost
Performance optimization

Description

Object pooling system improving performance by reusing objects.

Local multiplayer system

Multiple players simultaneously
Shared progression
Revive system
Dynamic difficulty scaling

Description

Local multiplayer system with shared progression and scaling difficulty.

Persistent progression system

Meta progression outside runs
Skill unlock shop
Skill upgrades
Long-term progression impact

Description

Persistent progression system allowing upgrades between runs.

Save system (.sav)

Manual serialization
Debug-friendly format
No encryption for testing

Description

Save system using .sav files for debugging and testing purposes.

Additional features

Steam leaderboards integration
Collectibles system
Character skins
Dialogue system

Description

Support systems enhancing player experience.

What i did learn?

Experience in the simultaneous management of a large number of on-screen entities, specifically in a survivor-like game, optimizing their behavior and updates.

First experience using ScriptableObjects for data management and design control, enabling a more flexible and data-oriented architecture.

First implementation of Unity's Input System, including local multiplayer support, learning to coordinate and extract inputs from multiple players within the same system.

Deepened integration of the input system with game logic, specifically synchronization between controls and gameplay in a local multiplayer environment.

First project completed from start to finish, gaining experience in the entire development cycle, from implementation to final delivery and closure.

Improvements

I would eliminate unnecessary systems that slowed down development and project closure, affecting the iteration pace.

I would design a more modular architecture from the early stages of development to allow for faster iterations and testing.

I would reduce the number of modes and levels to center the experience on the core gameplay, avoiding design dispersion and improving the game's focus.

Luminaria: Dark Echoes

Awards

Best game

Audience award

Nominated for best design

Audience award

Overview Video

Systems I worked on

Skill unlock and progression system

Description

Enemy behavior system

Description

Boss system

Description

Object pooling system

Description

Local multiplayer system

Description

Persistent progression system

Description

Save system (.sav)

Description

Additional features

Description

What i did learn?

Improvements

Roles held

Team Lead Programmer

Game Core Systems Programmer

Gallery