Game Genre: Interactive, Experimental, Exploration
Inspiration: Drawing influence from Loco Roco, a game where players have full control over movement, with each playthrough varying based on the player's own actions, as well as influence by other interactive games and installations, this game invites players to explore an abstract world, uncovering its rules through movement and interaction.
Theme: Rather than focusing solely on "winning" or "leveling up," the game explores uncertainty, discovery, and pushing the boundaries of interactive storytelling.
Download the file to play:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jqTE3EeVIJ7XOar5-Q9b3BzJisQGrnl7/view?usp=sharing
(Click on the exe file, and then the 2DCX.exe file to play)
Inspiration: Drawing influence from Loco Roco, a game where players have full control over movement, with each playthrough varying based on the player's own actions, as well as influence by other interactive games and installations, this game invites players to explore an abstract world, uncovering its rules through movement and interaction.
Theme: Rather than focusing solely on "winning" or "leveling up," the game explores uncertainty, discovery, and pushing the boundaries of interactive storytelling.
Download the file to play:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jqTE3EeVIJ7XOar5-Q9b3BzJisQGrnl7/view?usp=sharing
(Click on the exe file, and then the 2DCX.exe file to play)
Game Overview:
A Trip to Mystica is a game that follows the journey of two spheres as they travel through an unknown world, embarking on an adventure filled with discovery before ultimately being transported back home. This game is based on an earlier animation project where I created using Adobe After Effects. Unlike the animation version, this game demo introduces a more interactive experience, where players can control the movement and direction of the spheres, engage with call-to-action buttons, and actively navigate through different game locations. It blends exploration with interactive storytelling, making the journey feel more immersive and participatory.
A Trip to Mystica is a game that follows the journey of two spheres as they travel through an unknown world, embarking on an adventure filled with discovery before ultimately being transported back home. This game is based on an earlier animation project where I created using Adobe After Effects. Unlike the animation version, this game demo introduces a more interactive experience, where players can control the movement and direction of the spheres, engage with call-to-action buttons, and actively navigate through different game locations. It blends exploration with interactive storytelling, making the journey feel more immersive and participatory.
Full Gameplay Showcase of A Trip to Mystica
Characters
Game Flowchart
The game flow diagram on the left illustrates the core gameplay of A Trip to Mystica. The game follows the journey of two spheres as they navigate through an unknown world. At the start, the spheres appear on the screen, and the player clicks "Play" to begin. The spheres board a boat, and the player uses the mouse to control its direction as it drifts downstream. Upon reaching land, the player clicks "Land Now" to go ashore.
Upon landing, the spheres encounter the Strange Cat, which the player must defeat by pressing the spacebar. Once defeated, the game transitions to a forest scene, where the spheres can move freely. As they progress, they come across the Man-Faced Beast, which must also be defeated using the spacebar. Next, the spheres enter another forest, where they find a horse. The player clicks on the horse to mount it. However, the player must still use the mouse to make the horse running forward.
The horse eventually reaches the edge of a cliff, where the player must press the spacebar to make the spheres jump off. They land on a snail at the bottom, which acts as a cushion before a bird swoops down and carries them away. As the bird flies over a knight preparing to shoot an arrow, it places the spheres onto the knight’s bow. The player then clicks to pull back the bowstring, launching the spheres into the air. This final shot sends them back home, completing their journey.
Upon landing, the spheres encounter the Strange Cat, which the player must defeat by pressing the spacebar. Once defeated, the game transitions to a forest scene, where the spheres can move freely. As they progress, they come across the Man-Faced Beast, which must also be defeated using the spacebar. Next, the spheres enter another forest, where they find a horse. The player clicks on the horse to mount it. However, the player must still use the mouse to make the horse running forward.
The horse eventually reaches the edge of a cliff, where the player must press the spacebar to make the spheres jump off. They land on a snail at the bottom, which acts as a cushion before a bird swoops down and carries them away. As the bird flies over a knight preparing to shoot an arrow, it places the spheres onto the knight’s bow. The player then clicks to pull back the bowstring, launching the spheres into the air. This final shot sends them back home, completing their journey.
Game Environments Showcase
Challenges & Journey of Making
This project was particularly significant for me because it marked my first attempt at self-learning Unity to build a playable game demo. Diving into a completely new software came with its fair share of challenges. Unity, while powerful, has a steep learning curve—especially when transitioning from animation-focused tools like After Effects. One of the biggest hurdles was implementing mechanics that felt natural and engaging. In After Effects, I can rig and animate limbs with flexibility, allowing for smooth, dynamic movement. However, in Unity, I haven’t yet found a practical way to achieve the same effect.
In my first attempt, I simply imported a static image of the animal that I had extracted from Photoshop into Unity. While I could make it move across the screen, it lacked any real animation, making the motion feel rigid and lifeless. That’s when I realized I could use After Effects to animate the animal’s limbs before bringing it into Unity. For example, I animated the man-faced beast by carefully rigging its legs and creating movement sequences in After Effects. Once the animation was complete, I exported the frames as a sequence of PNG files, which I then imported into Unity.
By doing this, the animal’s limbs could move naturally within the game, making the overall animation feel much more fluid and lifelike. The only trade-off is that animating the limbs in After Effects takes 2-3 hours for one animal, as each movement needs to be carefully designed and sequenced. However, the end result is well worth it, as it significantly enhances the visual quality and immersion of the game.
This game demo still requires further exploration and refinement, but overall, it already possesses a strong interactive quality. Moving forward, I plan to enhance its playability by improving motion transitions and creating a more immersive user experience.
In my first attempt, I simply imported a static image of the animal that I had extracted from Photoshop into Unity. While I could make it move across the screen, it lacked any real animation, making the motion feel rigid and lifeless. That’s when I realized I could use After Effects to animate the animal’s limbs before bringing it into Unity. For example, I animated the man-faced beast by carefully rigging its legs and creating movement sequences in After Effects. Once the animation was complete, I exported the frames as a sequence of PNG files, which I then imported into Unity.
By doing this, the animal’s limbs could move naturally within the game, making the overall animation feel much more fluid and lifelike. The only trade-off is that animating the limbs in After Effects takes 2-3 hours for one animal, as each movement needs to be carefully designed and sequenced. However, the end result is well worth it, as it significantly enhances the visual quality and immersion of the game.
This game demo still requires further exploration and refinement, but overall, it already possesses a strong interactive quality. Moving forward, I plan to enhance its playability by improving motion transitions and creating a more immersive user experience.
One of my key goals is to make the game fully interactive, eliminating the need for clickable call-to-action buttons and instead integrating actions directly into gameplay mechanics. For example, rather than having the player simply click a button to pull the knight’s bowstring, I want to implement a drag-and-release mechanism, similar to Angry Birds, where the player can physically pull back the string and release it to launch the two spheres. This would make the interaction feel more tactile and engaging, reinforcing a sense of direct control rather than passive selection. By shifting towards a more gesture-driven interaction system, I hope to deepen player immersion, making every action feel organic and intuitive rather than predetermined by UI elements.
Beyond technical difficulties, one of the most rewarding aspects of this process was overcoming the challenge of making the game feel alive. Unlike animation, where everything follows a fixed sequence, game development requires careful attention to real-time interactions—anticipating player behavior, ensuring smooth navigation, and creating an intuitive experience. Even small details, like refining how objects respond to movement, took more iterations than I initially expected. For example, if I want to expand the player's exploration range, I need to increase the interactive area where the mouse can hover and engage. Additionally, to enable the ball to defeat beasts through jumping, I added a visual cue next to it, guiding players to use jumps as an attack mechanic.
While there are still many areas I want to improve, this project has been an invaluable learning experience. It has deepened my appreciation for the complexities of game development and made me excited to explore more ways to bring interactivity into my creative work.
Beyond technical difficulties, one of the most rewarding aspects of this process was overcoming the challenge of making the game feel alive. Unlike animation, where everything follows a fixed sequence, game development requires careful attention to real-time interactions—anticipating player behavior, ensuring smooth navigation, and creating an intuitive experience. Even small details, like refining how objects respond to movement, took more iterations than I initially expected. For example, if I want to expand the player's exploration range, I need to increase the interactive area where the mouse can hover and engage. Additionally, to enable the ball to defeat beasts through jumping, I added a visual cue next to it, guiding players to use jumps as an attack mechanic.
While there are still many areas I want to improve, this project has been an invaluable learning experience. It has deepened my appreciation for the complexities of game development and made me excited to explore more ways to bring interactivity into my creative work.
@ Xinyu Zhang