Soon: Willow's Journey

Overview

Soon: Willow's Journey is a 2D, story-driven platformer where players step into the shoes of Willow, a stained-glass artist confronting the realities of aging. Throughout the game, players help Willow complete her stained-glass windows by collecting fragmented pieces scattered across the imaginative landscapes of her mind. Each finished stained-glass panel reveals another chapter of her life—leading to an unexpected twist at the end of her journey.

Project Goals

As a team of game enthusiasts who also aspire to create meaningful experiences, we wanted to build a game that carries emotional weight and social value. We began with a central theme: raising awareness about physical deterioration and the emotional struggles that accompany it.

Our challenge was to integrate this narrative into engaging gameplay. We ultimately chose the platformer genre because it allowed us to weave story elements into each level, ensuring that every stage reflected a part of Willow’s life and internal journey.

Screenshots

Challenges and How We Overcame Them

One of our biggest challenges was scope management. With only two months to deliver a presentable MVP, we initially envisioned a project that was far too large. After drafting early concepts, we quickly realized we had to scale down. This meant defining a realistic MVP, focusing on our core features, and narrowing the project until it fit our constraints without losing its essence.

Another hurdle was that this was the first time my team and I used Unity for game development. The learning curve was steep—some days everything worked smoothly, and other days nothing behaved as expected.

As the tech lead, I was responsible for ensuring every feature was technically feasible and deliverable within the timeline. I divided tasks among the two developers on my team, creating clear responsibilities and balancing workloads to help us move efficiently despite the challenges.

Learnings

This project was an emotional and transformative experience, especially because it served as our final challenge at the Apple Developer Academy @ UC. From day one, our team committed fully—this was our passion project. Even when we faced heavy scope cuts and time pressure, having a committed and supportive team kept the project moving and made completion possible.

I also learned the importance of building buffer time into delegated tasks. This ensured features could be implemented properly and reviewed thoroughly. Beyond that, I gained hands-on understanding of what it truly takes to build a game from scratch—from crafting the narrative and designing levels to ensuring moment-to-moment gameplay feels fun and intentional.

Seeing the overwhelmingly positive feedback during showcase day was incredibly rewarding. It reaffirmed all the work we put in and made the entire journey worthwhile.

Attributions

From Top Left to Bottom Right

• Ghazali Ahlam Jazali: Game Programmer & Narrative Designer
• Darrell Cornelius Rivaldo: Game Programmer & Level Designer
• Java Kanaya Prada: Game Programmer & Level Designer
• Joycelyn Eugenia Kurniadi: Game Artist & Project Manager
• Graciella Michelle Siswoyo: Game Artist & Level Designer