What was Left

The World's Different Regions

You wash ashore...
You wash ashore...
The Sun-kissed Beach
The Sun-kissed Beach
The Gentle Forest
The Gentle Forest
The Howling Highlands
The Howling Highlands
The Mysterious Cave
The Mysterious Cave
The Ancient Waterfalls
The Ancient Waterfalls
The Heart of the Inferno
The Heart of the Inferno
The Lonely Tree
The Lonely Tree
The Deep Dark
The Deep Dark
The Stranded Ship
The Stranded Ship
The Sky Islands
The Sky Islands

Worldbuilding: From Beginning to End

Laying out playable boundaries
Laying out playable boundaries
Greyboxing playable area and inserting minimal assets to estimate different biome sizing
Greyboxing playable area and inserting minimal assets to estimate different biome sizing
Loading in large world details (mostly background details)
Loading in large world details (mostly background details)
Adding some medium details for the beach as a test before committing to the rest of the biomes
Adding some medium details for the beach as a test before committing to the rest of the biomes
Implementing rough terrain shape and really starting to see the world begin to take shape
Implementing rough terrain shape and really starting to see the world begin to take shape
Inserting the rest of the large and medium details as well as finishing landscaping
Inserting the rest of the large and medium details as well as finishing landscaping
Painting foliage across different biomes to begin differentiating them
Painting foliage across different biomes to begin differentiating them
Minor changes to foliage density and small touchups
Minor changes to foliage density and small touchups
Final product!
Final product!

My Brainstorm Board

Hold right click and drag to move around the board | Mouse scroll wheel to zoom in / out

Quick Overview

The game is relatively simple: solve riddles to find puzzle pieces and place them in their correct spots. On the way, players will uncover fun little short stories. In order to solve riddles, players must pay attention to slightly out of place landmarks, making it important for players to explore the world carefully! Having easy mechanics, the focus of the game is instead on the exploration of the beautiful surroundings.

What I've Learned

I always knew making a game solo would be difficult, especially given that I am still relatively inexperienced in the video game industry. Interestingly, what ended up being the biggest obstacle was not my lack of experience, but consistency. To have the stamina to work on my game almost every day of the week, to constantly revise designs I spent hours brainstorming, and to stare at the screens for hours on end debugging a small but game-breaking bug demanded a lot of discipline and effort. It was a rewarding and humbling two months, and I’m excited to move onto my third month and finish the game completely!

My Goal

I have a deep passion and love for worldbuilding. I realized this at a young age after spending countless hours in high-fantasy MMORPGs where I would just be mesmerized with the world and the possibilities the next region had. In What was Left, I explore and learn about some different aspects that make a world feel alive: diverse environments, ambient noises, hidden areas, and lighting and shadows. One of my lifelong dreams is to create a world even more immersive than the ones I’ve explored as a kid. And What was Left is my first step towards it!

November 2022

Every month, Unreal Engine 5 gives away select art asset packs for free. There always is one or two amazing packs that I download for future use. In November of 2022, I found the Tropical Environment as one of the free month packs, watched the trailer, and immediately fell in love with it. And so, I decided to dive head-first into creating my first ever solo game. If you’re interested in seeing my journey, continue down below!

 

Also shoutout to Wolf Digital LLC for such an amazing pack!