Ecliptica Town
Work: Game Design, Character Design, 3D Modelling, Illustration, UI Design, Visual Effects | Softwares Used: Adobe Photoshop 2025, Unity, Blender, Canva
Introduction
In 2025, I had the opportunity to work in a skilled team to develop this game known as Ecliptica Town. It is a third-person, narrative-driven detective mystery where the player investigates the recent theft of the prized Moonlight Gem. With four potential suspects in a small town, the player must gather clues and interrogate the residents to solve this case. Each suspect is uniquely powered by AI to allow open and dynamic real-time conversations with the player or each other. The player's past conversations and current choices will influence how each distinct suspect reacts and trusts the player throughout the game. This game was developed in three months ahead of the 2025 Level Up Showcase, and the gameplay was filmed by another member on the team, Nadim Mottu.
To learn more or play the game yourself, please visit the official itch.io page for more information: https://team-ecliptica.itch.io/ecliptica-town.
I'll be covering my personal involvement in this game below, with work ranging from character design to VFX.
Promotional Art
Main Poster
Ahead of the Level Up Showcase, I had to create a promotional poster to decorate our booth. After exploring several compositions, I came up with this design that includes the key components of the game - the gemstone, the clocktower, the suspects, and the main characters.
Character Designs
Official Designs
I was responsible for designing two characters, the Runic Scholar and the Mayor. The Mayor was initially meant to be the doctor/cleric but was reassigned later in development.
Early NPC Designs
The Mayor was originally meant to be a character that focused on healing, so the early concept designs were centred around the Plague Doctor or the Cleric. The Cleric was ultimately chosen, but was adjusted further for a less cartoony style (as seen above). I personally liked the Plague Doctor design though so I turned it into stickers for a friend! The design process for the Runic Scholar was more straightforward, through I experimented with different outfits before settling with the official design above.
3D Models
Runic Scholar and Painter
I made the 3D models for the two main suspects, the Painter and the Runic Scholar, in Blender. The Painter was originally designed by another member on our team, Sha Qiu. I had to make some adjustments to the Scholar's jacket later on since there was some animation issues that couldn't be resolved within the tight deadline of the game.
Game Design
The duration of this project was especially short, so it was extremely important to have clear direction and documentation throughout this process. I played a supportive role in this area and documented the gameflow and player feedback throughout the project. I also assembled a comprehensive chart following the intital alpha playtest that helped direct attention to potential issues and upcoming features the team needed to prioritize for the next update.
UI Design
Interface, Controls, and Loading Screens
With the unique style of the game, it was crucial to break down each feature simply for the player to learn quickly. I separated everything between the interface and control screens and tried to maintain an informative but fun style to appeal to the player's senses. Because this game has a long load time and was going to be presented in the quick environment of the Level Up Showcase, I broke down the Interface Screen down into tips the player can cycle through to learn while waiting for the game to load.
Visual Effects
Emojis VFX
Whenever a player starts a conversation with one of the citizens from Ecliptica Town, an emoji appears to indicate the person's current emotional state. This, along with the trust bar, will show how much the character likes the player. The more the player appeals to the character's conversation preferences, the more information the character will offer. I made a unique set of emojis for each character to make their personalities more distinct while reacting. A full list and gallery can be found below!
Item VFX
To help distinguish evidence from their surrounding environments, I had to create a visual effect that made an item appear unique. I made a collection of effects with Unity and combined two of the results - the sparkles and ring of light to help achieve this goal.
Unused VFX
While experimenting with Unity's Particle System I created a collection of effects that ultimately weren't used but were interesting enough to include anyways. This includes sparks, sci-fi rays, lightning, a swirl of light, controlled fairy lights, free roam fairy lights, sparkles, ring of fire, and the ring of light.