DANSE MACABRE
DANSE MACABRE is a solo indie game project inspired by the early development of my VTuber character lore. The project explores an intentionally absurd premise: an immortal revenant attempting to navigate ordinary college life while concealing a deeply unnatural existence. Built independently in Godot, the project combines narrative design, 2D illustration, 3D environment art, UI design, and gameplay programming into a playable prototype.
Year
2026
Scope
Game Project
Client
Personal Work
Duration
1 month, ongoing
Originally conceived as a way to introduce the character of Lucien through a more approachable lens, the project reimagines complex lore into a grounded, character-driven experience that can be understood without prior knowledge of the universe.
Developed independently using Godot, the project combines narrative design, 2D illustration, 3D environment creation, UI design, programming, and public development documentation into a fully playable prototype.
Challenge
One of the biggest challenges was adapting an extensive and lore-heavy character narrative into a format that would be accessible to first-time audiences.
The original lore surrounding Lucien spans themes of death, identity, memory, corporate exploitation, and immortality. While these elements are central to the character, they can be difficult to introduce effectively without overwhelming new audiences.
To solve this, I shifted focus toward a smaller and more grounded premise: what would happen if an immortal revenant attempted to live an ordinary college life?
This approach allowed players to learn about Lucien naturally through observation and interaction rather than exposition. Instead of presenting the character's history directly, the project focuses on everyday moments, environmental storytelling, and dialogue to gradually establish personality and intrigue.
A second challenge was the scope of development itself. As the sole developer on the project, I was responsible for creating and managing every aspect of production, including concept development, asset creation, programming, narrative design, UI implementation, documentation, and public-facing devlogs.
Responsibilities
As the sole developer, I was responsible for:
• Narrative design and dialogue writing
• Character design and visual development
• 2D sprite creation and animation
• 3D environment and prop modeling
• Asset texturing and scene assembly
• UI/UX design
• Gameplay programming in Godot
• Dialogue implementation and interaction systems
• Development documentation and workflow planning
• Social media marketing and devlog production
The project resulted in a playable narrative prototype featuring original artwork, custom environments, dialogue systems, interactive exploration, and companion AI.
Beyond the prototype itself, the project provided hands-on experience across multiple disciplines including game design, programming, environment art, illustration, narrative development, UI design, project management, and public-facing documentation.
The experience reinforced the importance of production planning, scope management, and interdisciplinary problem-solving when developing a project independently.
