Arctic Explorers
In this minigame, the player finds themselves lost in an icy cavern without their equipment as they lost it during their fall down the crevasse. In this exploration 2D platformer, the player must look for their equipment spread out over the cave as well as clues as to what happened to the world. The cavern will feature difficult platforming and enemies to challenge the player along the way.
In this project my focus was entirely on the level and game mechanics design. All visual and audio assets are merely there to give a general idea of what the game would look like and are free assets from Flowlab.
Team Size: 1
Project Duration: 2 weeks
Role(s): Game design & Prototyping
Project Type: Mini platformer game prototype
Tools: Flowlab, Figma
My Work
My Design Process for Arctic Explorer
1. Establishing the Core Concept
I started by defining the game’s identity: a 2D Metroidvania platformer inspired by Hollow Knight, with a strong focus on exploration and environmental challenges. The initial concept revolved around an explorer trapped in icy caverns, needing to recover lost equipment and uncover clues about the frozen world. From the beginning, I wanted exploration and mystery to be at the core of the player experience.
2. Designing for the Target Audience
I tailored the mechanics and tone to appeal to indie platformer fans aged 16–24, especially players drawn to the Explorer and Killer player types. This guided decisions like including hidden areas and clues for explorers, while ensuring combat and enemy encounters felt satisfying for killers.
3. Defining Mechanics and Systems
I focused on simple but expandable mechanics:
Core actions: movement, jumping, shooting, and item collection.
Progression tools: equipment like the gun, pickaxe, and extra clothes that expand gameplay.
Environmental challenges: spikes, ice sheets, and breakable terrain to create layered hazards.
Each mechanic was chosen to reinforce the themes of survival and exploration while keeping gameplay intuitive.
4. Structuring Levels Around Learning and Challenge
I designed the levels as progressive teaching tools:
Level 1 introduces core mechanics and rewards curiosity with early clues.
Level 2 builds complexity by layering dangers, introducing the pickaxe, and encouraging backtracking.
Level 3 offers multiple paths, higher risk–reward decisions, and hidden challenges for players who want mastery.
The pacing was deliberately crafted to move from guided discovery to open-ended exploration.
5. Iterating Through Playtesting
Playtesting was crucial to refining the experience. For example:
Early feedback questioned the “bouncy spikes,” which I initially used to prevent instant deaths. Based on feedback, I redesigned this by adding temporary invulnerability after damage, which kept the challenge fair without confusing players.
Other feedback helped me prioritize changes, focusing on issues that directly impacted player experience while avoiding unnecessary feature creep.
6. Building the Look and Feel
To balance the tension of survival with a sense of fun, I used an 8-bit pixel art style. This created a retro arcade feel while still supporting the game’s mysterious and harsh atmosphere.
