A game created in the ELVTR course on Game Design.

During the summer of 2023, I enrolled in a Game Design course offered on the ELVTR platform. Throughout the course, I designed a 15-minute POV platformer game with the primary objective being to guide an abandoned astronaut safely back to Earth from a long-term home in a space station.

Players navigated the perils of space by spacewalking, piloting space crafts, riding satellites and space debris, and overcoming various challenges. The gameplay involved collecting vital resources, acquiring new skills, and strategically collaborating or competing with rival players and space agencies.

Click to read the Game Design Document

Game Vision

A POV platformer game where you need to get an abandoned astronaut from his long-term home safely back to Earth by spacewalking, piloting space crafts, satellites, and space debris, collecting new resources, learning new skills, and partnering or sabotaging rival players and space agencies all while navigating the unknown obstacles of space.

From 500,000 meters above earth, the space station you’ve been living in will stop functioning. You must gather what resources you can from oxygen tanks, tools (conventional ones like screwdrivers, hammers, and wrenches as well as unconventional ones like toy tops, coffee mugs, and shoe strings) to help you on your way. You can only carry 5 items though.

Upon leaving the space station, choose your trajectory angle and begin your journey. Too shallow of an angle will take you too long to get back, but too deep and you’ll be moving too fast into the atmosphere.

Reach various levels of orbit the closer you get to Earth. Each level increases in speed and obstacles. Players can also decide that instead of winning by getting to Earth first, they can sabotage other players from reaching Earth by staying in orbit and creating new stations/rockets/debris.

Game Goals

Humorous adventure puzzle platformer with random obstacles

Side-scrolling feel play, but from the astronaut’s POV

Upgrade, resource management, puzzle solving, hack-and-slash, shooter gameplay

Targeted Aesthetics

Challenge

Unknown resources
Sabotage
Limited Time

Discovery

Unknown space
New use for items
Gain knowledge

Narrative

Humorous incompetence
Get home or sabotage?

Landing Soon