Immortal Embers

Solo Developer Project | Unity | Pixel Art | 2024

Immortal Embers is a turn-based deckbuilding RPG set in a looping world haunted by ancient Yokai. Developed as my senior thesis for the Digital Worlds Institute, this project merges retro aesthetics with modern gameplay systems. Inspired by titles like Loop Hero and Slay the Spire, the game invites players to explore, battle, and build their character through strategic decisions and equipment collection.

Core Gameplay

  • Turn-based card battle system with mana, draw mechanics, and shield/attack cards.
  • Equipment-based stat boosts (Attack, Health, Defense) via drag-and-drop UI.
  • Loot system awarding new items after battles.
  • Player/enemy stat management, animations, and combat logic.
  • 38 custom scripts developed to support gameplay systems.

Design & Development

This was a solo project, from coding and systems design to art and sound. The visuals blend classic pixel art with a CRT filter aesthetic, animated using Aseprite and Pixaki. The entire experience was built in Unity.

World & Characters

The world is inspired by Japanese folklore, featuring original enemies with their own lore and animation:

  • Takumi – A disgraced imperial guard whose loyalty was shattered by betrayal. Once a proud protector of the emperor, he now wanders the Yokai Forest driven by a burning need for revenge. His precise sword‑strike animations and haunted idle poses were crafted in Pixaki Pro and polished in Aseprite.
  • Slimu – Born from a dark sorcery ritual gone awry, this vibrant pink slime revels in chaos. Its elastic form can engulf weapons or split into smaller slimes, each with mischievous AI. Slimu’s bouncy movement and goo‑drip frames were hand‑tuned in Aseprite to capture its playful menace.
  • Kasa-Bake – A once‑ordinary umbrella possessed by a restless spirit, hopping on one leg and flicking its long, lolling tongue. Its tattered canopy rustles with every step, and its tongue animation snaps outward to snare foes. All frames were drawn in Pixaki Pro to emphasize its eerie whimsy.
  • Ogamita – A dapper frog donning a sleek top hat, Ogamita uses its whip‑like tongue to strike from afar. Lightning‑fast lunge animations and a signature croak cue add personality. The sprite began in Pixaki and was sequenced in Aseprite for fluidity.
  • Juju – A shadow‑born Yokai clad in dark purple, exuding malevolence. Its glowing eyes and shifting cloak were first generated via Stable Diffusion, then meticulously redrawn and animated in Aseprite to convey an otherworldly presence.
  • Grin – A feral, greenish lizard‑humanoid with razor claws and a sinister grin. Grin’s primal attack animations—tail whip, claw swipe, lunging bite—were hand‑animated in Aseprite to showcase raw aggression.
  • Oni – A towering red demon crowned with black horns and wielding immense strength. Oni’s heavy footsteps and club‑smash animations leverage layered pixel art under a CRT filter, making each strike feel earth‑shaking.

Audio & Polish

All music was composed in GarageBand, and sound effects were carefully sourced and synced with gameplay. The game also includes parallax credits, custom UI animations, and a CRT-inspired presentation layer for added immersion.