Hebald Forest
Project Breakdown
- Platform: PC
- Engine: Unreal Engine 5
- Team Size: 19
- Duration: 5 months
- Build: Itch.io
Team
The team consisted of 19 members:
- 3 Coordinators
- 4 Developers
- 2 3D Artists
- 2 2D Artists
- 1 VFX Artist
- 1 Level Designer
- 1 Narrative Designer
- 5 Sound Designers
Brief
Hebald Forest is open-world exploration game developed during my second year of my Masters Degree at Université Côte d'Azur in Cannes, France, built with a team of 19 in Unreal Engine 5.
My Goals
My primary goal was to guide and organize the team in order to have a working and playable demo of Hebald Forest for the International Games Festival (FIJ) in Cannes, France.
I separated tasks for Programmers, Designers, Level Designers and Sound Designers to guide them and give them a clear objective. Having previous experience in these fields, I was able to guide them and help them figure out the best approach to the problems we faced.
Primary responsibilities
- Project Coordinator
- Scrum Master
- Lead Technical Designer
- Sound & Music Integration
Other hats
- Developer
- Game Designer
- Level Designer
Gameplay
My Contributions
1. Tower Rework
Problem: The old puzzle was too simple and had no clear objective, nor was it clear on how to get to the objective, plus it being in the middle of the map was one of the first things players would go after, leading to a weak first impression.
BEFORE
Solution: Reworked the whole area completely by removing all the previous woden towers and replacing them with a tall and flashy tower. Its size immediately catches the attention of the player and makes him feel an urge to climb to the top of the tower and find out what's inside it.
AFTER
2. Cave Rework
BEFORE
Problem: The old cave was too messy with no clear direction of where to go. The main objective that was collecting the gem was poorly designed and had no feedback whatsoever, leaving the player confused after leaving the cave, not knowing if he had completed or not this level.
AFTER
Solution: A complete overhaul and rework of the cave, with clear objective of where to go right off the bat after entering the cave. A short path on the left takes the player to a closed door, signaling that he should try and get the door open. And the longer but more difficult path on the right with puzzles and platforms to jump on.
3. Improved VFX & SFX for the Fox Statues
Problem: There was no feedback for activating the Fox Statue, leaving the player wondering if he activated it correctly or not.
BEFORE
Solution: Added visual and audio effects after activating the Fox Statue, clearly showing an output for activating the fox correctly.
AFTER
4. Improved VFX & SFX for the Butterfly Puzzle
Problem: The puzzle gave no sound or visual feedback, leaving players unsure if they had triggered it or made any progress.
Solution: Added audio and visual cues for each butterfly placement, with the sound’s pitch rising as the player collected more butterflies to signal progress.
5. Button Activated Door
GIF showing the button activation system working, this button could be connected to any sort of door or activation, like a platform going up and down for example, or any object that has 2 states.
Objects could also be placed on top in order to activate the button and open the door.
Post Mortem
Reflecting on my first experience as Project Coordinator and Scrum Master, my primary takeaway is the importance of a dedicated pre-production phase. I realized that I should have invested more time in foundational design rather than rushing into active development.
Our most significant challenges arose from scope creep. We fell into the trap of adding new mechanics weekly without a defined ceiling, which led to a ballooning bug list. This lack of a clear technical roadmap eventually overwhelmed the team and obscured our development priorities.
Proactive Solutions & Growth
Today, I prioritize a structured design-first approach. Before a single line of code is written, I would facilitate a collaborative brainstorming session to align the team on the game's core vision.
My role would then be to curate and prune these ideas, eliminating over-ambitious mechanics that don't serve the core loop. I would then implement a 'Design Week' where designers createlow-fidelity prototypes or documentation (via Miro or GDDs) for each feature.
By introducing a peer-review cycle before implementation, we ensure that every mechanic is vetted for feasibility and fun. This synchronization doesn't just prevent technical debt; it ensures the entire team feels ownership over the project and remains aligned on our milestones.
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