Ok'Rhams Creation
Genre: First-Person Shooter · Puzzle Adventure
Engine: Unreal
Other programs: Notion, Miro, Jira, and Figma
Key mechanics: Puzzles, combat, and exploration.
Perspective: First-Person
Role: System and UI/UX Designer
Team: 14 people (Designers, Programmers, Artists, and Agile product managers)
Duration: 7 weeks
Ok’Rhams Creation was a seven-week first-person puzzle adventure project developed in Unreal Engine, set within a fantasy gothic cathedral. The player ventures deep into the corrupted halls to stop a bishop from killing Ok’Rham, the god of this world, and taking his place.
As the System and UI/UX Designer, I focused on creating intuitive environmental puzzles that encouraged exploration and discovery. Through iterative playtesting, I refined systems that balanced player readability, challenge, and immersion, ensuring every puzzle and combat supported the game’s tone.
Ok’Rhams Creation is inspired by the environmental story telling from BioShock, puzzles and ambiance of Resident Evil, and gun play from Witch Fire and BioShock.
Player profile and motivations
Ages 18–35, predominantly male, Western markets familiar with horror and dark fantasy.
FPS players: Seek impactful, deliberate gunplay with strong feedback.
Puzzle solvers: Enjoy meaningful, world-integrated challenges.
Atmospheric/horror fans: Drawn to immersive, eerie environments with layered storytelling.
Design pillars
Observation-Based: Players are rewarded for curiosity and attention to detail.
Fit the Environment: Mechanics, puzzles, and interactions feel natural to the world.
Exploration: Level design and secrets encourage discovery and player-driven progression.
Gameplay highlights.
Environmental puzzles
Players engage with puzzles that encourage exploration and observation. Each puzzle is tied to the cathedral’s themes and history, rewarding players who explore the environment and piece together visual and contextual clues.
Exploration
Exploration is designed to immerse players in a tense, atmospheric environment, where curiosity and attention to detail are consistently rewarded.
Tactical Combat
Combat emphasises strategy over speed. Players leverage environmental features, magical abilities, and limited ammunition to overcome enemies. Clever use of the surroundings are key to survival.
Painting puzzle
Concept
Align rotatable paintings based on environmental clues to unlock doors.
Logic
Rotate paintings in 90° increments; solution requires correct sequence.
Design challenge
Communicate rotation mechanic clearly, avoid guesswork, fit cathedral setting.
The first iteration
Used the exploration pillar, encouraging players to study the room and find visual clues. The puzzle involved rotating eight paintings in a left-to-right sequence, inspired by the environmental puzzles in Resident Evil, and rewarded observation, fitting naturally within the setting.
Playtesting revealed:
✗ The eight-painting puzzle was too long and repetitive, slowing pacing.
✗ The left-to-right reading order was unclear, causing confusion.
✗ Multiple possible solutions made players guess rather than solve, lacking a clear path.
Further iterations and improvements:
✓ Shifted focus from frame orientation to painting motifs for better immersion and readability
✓ Increased rotation speed to reduce puzzle time without losing challenge
✓ Added highlights to rotatable paintings to guide attention
✓ Changed solutions to stained glass windows, encouraging environmental exploration
✓ Added success sound cues for feedback and reward
✓ Introduced sunlight through stained glass to direct attention
Further development would include camera pan to highlight what the player unlocked, add consequences for incorrect solutions, such as triggering enemy spawns, and expand rotation mechanic. Rotating one painting could affect adjacent ones, adding depth and strategic complexity to the puzzle.
Torch Puzzle
Concept
The player must light torches in the correct order to unlock a door, exploring the room to find clues.
Logic
Ligth the torches in the correct sequence.
On fail puzzle resets.
On success door opens.
Design challenge
Communicate in what order the torces should be lit, and how to visualy show the player they are on the right path.
Version 1: Time-based
Goal: Light all torches within a time limit to open the door.
Interaction: Player uses fire magic.
Fail state: Puzzle resets if time runs out.
Feedback: Puzzle felt repetitive, confusing due to unclear torch count, and lacked success/failure cues.
Version 2: Sequence-based
✓ Changed to lighting torches in the correct order, with audio cues for success and failure.
Fail state: Lighting the wrong torch resets the puzzle.
Feedback: Heavy trial-and-error made it repetitive and limited deeper engagement.
Version 3: Clues added
✓ Added symbols above torches and door indicating the correct sequence, lighting up when correct.
✓ Incorrect activation resets sequence with clear feedback, reducing frustration.
Further development would include torch lighting triggers environmental changes like opening new paths and add a reset option for players to experiment and reduce frustration.
UI & Interaction Highlights
Designed UI to support combat, puzzles, and exploration while preserving immersion in a dark gothic cathedral. Menus, HUD, and cues subtly guide player behavior and reinforce gameplay systems..
Menus & Visual Cohesion: Used stained glass motifs throughout menus to match the cathedral’s style. Balanced clarity with keeping the altar visible to hint at narrative importance.
HUD Design & Iteration: Ammo placed below the weapon for quick checks. Spell wheel near magic hand with VFX for instant recognition. Mana bar shows only when used, reducing clutter.
Interaction Indicators: Replaced harsh outlines with pulsating highlights that grow with proximity. Pickups subtly shimmer and show icons only when close to subtly guide.
Puzzle Feedback Systems: Symbols indicate correct torch sequence; wrong moves reset. Glowing painting frames and stained glass clues promote exploration and logic.
Reflection
Designing intuitive puzzles required balancing logic, player experience, and feedback clarity. It wasn’t enough for a puzzle to make sense on paper. Players needed to understand it naturally through environmental cues and interaction. Through iterative playtesting, I learned how players interpreted hints, explored spaces, and connected mechanics to the world around them. Starting with simpler versions allows players to learn without frustration, gradually expanding complexity as they progress.
The torch puzzle reinforced our exploration pillar, encouraging players to investigate the environment and understand sequences. Clear visual and audio feedback removed confusion and made discovery satisfying, while showing that magic can be more than just a combat tool.
Key takeaways:
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Consistent feedback is crucial to prevent frustration.
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Playtesting-driven iteration refines mechanics.
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Programmer collaboration is essential to realise designs.