After Life
Augmented Reality puzzle game
Combo Game Design 3D Modeling 2D Graphic Design
Introduction
Immerse yourself in a Unity-powered mobile AR card game that follows the journey of an amnesiac ghost. Using your mobile to scan specially designed AR cards, you’ll interact directly with the spectral protagonist, solving puzzles and piecing together fragments of his lost memories.
As you advance, you'll gradually uncover the hidden truths behind his mysterious “afterlife,” revealing layers of his past and the secrets that bind him. This captivating blend of augmented reality and storytelling invites players into a richly atmospheric world where each card brings a new revelation and every solved puzzle is a step closer to unveiling the full story.
Credits
Game Design:
Yucun Gao, Kexin Lu, Yufei Liu, Yunfan Xu, Yichen Huang
Game Developing:
Yufei Liu, Yucun Gao, Yichen Huang, Kexin Lu
3D Assets/ UI Design:
Yunfan Xu, Yucun Gao, Yichen Huang
Narrative Design:
Kexin Lu
Card Design:
Yunfan Xu, Yucun Gao
Sound Design & Effects:
Yucun Gao
Timeline
Narrative Design: Develop the storyline, finalize the game structure, and establish the interaction mechanics.
Source Art Assets: Seek out reference materials and inspiration for visual elements.
Optimize Mechanics: Eliminate game mechanics that are unfeasible or too difficult to implement, and refine the remaining gameplay features based on initial concepts.
Model Production: Create and polish 3D models and assets needed for the game.
Design the AR Cards: Create and finalize the designs
for the AR cards that players will scan during gameplay.
Implement Interactions in Unity: Coding interactive features
in Unity engine.
Initial Playtesting: Conduct the first round of game testing to identify issues and gather feedback.
Game Optimization: Fine-tune and improve the game based on testing insights and performance metrics.
UI & Sound Design: Design the user interface and develop immersive sound effects and music.
Final Testing: Perform comprehensive final testing to ensure a polished and bug-free experience.
Game Flow
Upon entering the game, the player is greeted by the sight of a ghost trapped inside a cage, pleading for freedom. To release the spirit, the player must scan a card featuring a “key” symbol, which opens the cage. Once freed, the ghost, still suffering from amnesia,
asks the player for its name.
To help the spirit recall its identity, the player then scans a card adorned with a “letter” symbol. This action triggers a series of messages from the ghost's former owner, revealing the spirit's backstory piece by piece. As the narrative unfolds, the player gradually learns about
the ghost’s origin and history.
By assisting the ghost in reclaiming its lost memories, the player facilitates its journey toward true ascension. Ultimately, once its past is fully restored, the ghost is able to peacefully ascend to heaven, concluding the emotional and interactive experience.
Playthrough Video
Reflection
Do you feel you met the initial goal of your project?
I believe we achieved about 80% of our original goals. The final product features outstanding interactive effects that perfectly capture the intended mood and atmosphere we envisioned. However, due to technical limitations, we had to discard two planned interaction types—Gesture Recognition and Image Recognition. This decision led to a less diverse range of content. As the team's artist, I had hoped to create more engaging art assets to complement these features, and had envisioned a longer gameplay experience as a result. While the technical constraints shortened the game's length and scope, the core essence and immersive quality of the project remain intact.
What was the most challenging part of your experience?
In this project, our team ventured into a variety of interactive approaches, including image tracking—filming the cards to view the character; gesture recognition—triggering specific plot points after detecting the correct gestures; voice interaction—initiating corresponding storylines upon recognizing the right sounds; and image recognition—drawing patterns to form runes that would trigger subsequent narratives.
However, implementing these ambitious features brought about significant technical hurdles. We frequently encountered issues where project files would crash unexpectedly, forcing us to spend countless hours repairing and restoring our Unity files each time we opened them. This constant cycle of crashes and repairs not only slowed down our progress but also introduced a steep learning curve as we grappled with debugging and maintaining file stability.
The persistent technical setbacks were incredibly frustrating and demanded a high level of patience and problem-solving skills from the entire team. Each crash meant revisiting hours of work, reconfiguring settings, and rethinking parts of our approach, which was both time-consuming and mentally taxing.
Despite these challenges, the ordeal taught us invaluable lessons in resilience, teamwork, and creative problem-solving. We learned to adapt our workflows, sought innovative solutions to prevent file corruption, and gained a deeper understanding of Unity’s complexities. These experiences ultimately strengthened our collaboration, improved our technical skills, and refined our approach to project management, making the journey a profoundly enriching learning opportunity despite its difficulties.
