The Problem

The biggest issue I ran into this week was that we didn’t have a game map—at all. Up until now, we were just kind of building things in isolation without a clear idea of how everything would fit together. It made it really hard to move forward, especially for anyone trying to design gameplay or place assets meaningfully.

Without a proper map, the game felt like it was floating in limbo. We couldn’t plan out the environment, figure out where the player would go, or even decide what kind of atmosphere we were aiming for. It was holding up progress across the board and starting to create confusion within the team.

The Solution

To fix this, I took the lead on designing the actual game map. I started by sketching out a layout that made sense with the kind of game we’re making. The final design has a grassy area in the middle as the main playable space, surrounded by a graveyard that sets a darker, more mysterious tone. That contrast gives us a cool setting to work with and helps set the mood for different parts of the game.

Along with building the layout, I also started looking for assets that matched the style we want—slightly eerie but not too dark, with enough personality to make the world feel alive. This helped us start locking down our visual direction, which had been pretty loose up until now.

Now that the map is done, we finally have something solid to build on. It’s already making it easier for the rest of the team to place elements, test gameplay, and get creative with how we use the space. It feels like a big step forward for the whole project.