Incorporeal
Year: 2025
Platform: PC (Steam)
Engine: Unity
Team Size: 6
Role: Game Design · Art Direction · Character Artist · UI/UX Designer
Responsibilities: Gameplay Design Collaboration · Art Direction · Character Production · UI/UX Design · Visual Communication · Cross disciplinary Collaboration
Overview
Incorporeal is a single player isometric action game built around a unique dual body mechanic, where players control both a vulnerable physical body and a powerful spirit simultaneously.
As one of the core members of the team, I collaborated closely with the game designers throughout development while leading much of the project's visual design. My primary responsibility was translating gameplay ideas into clear visual communication, using character design, UI, lighting, color, and environmental storytelling to help players better understand the game's mechanics without changing the mechanics themselves.
The project became an opportunity to bridge gameplay design and visual design, allowing both disciplines to support one another throughout development.
Project Highlights
- Winner of VFS GD76 Best Final Project
- Unity Awards 2025 – Best Student Project Runner-up
- Showcased internationally at GDC, Ctrl+Alt+Unite, GLITCHED, and Game Conference MX
- Released on Steam with a 96% Positive user rating
- Led the project's visual direction while collaborating closely with gameplay designers throughout development
Background
The core gameplay of Incorporeal required players to constantly switch between controlling their body and spirit. While this mechanic created an engaging combat experience, it also introduced challenges in player readability, spatial awareness, and information hierarchy.
Throughout development, gameplay systems were designed collaboratively by the team. As mechanics evolved through iteration and playtesting, I focused on identifying areas where visual design could improve player understanding without altering the intended gameplay experience.
My Responsibilities
My work covered both visual production and gameplay collaboration across the entire project.
Gameplay Design Collaboration
I participated in gameplay discussions, playtesting sessions, and design reviews throughout development. Rather than proposing entirely new mechanics, I focused on identifying where players struggled to understand existing systems and explored visual solutions that improved clarity while preserving the original design intent.
Visual Design
I established much of the project's visual language, including character silhouettes, color hierarchy, lighting direction, environmental mood, and gameplay readability. Every visual decision was made to reinforce gameplay rather than simply improve aesthetics.
Character Production
I was responsible for the complete production of all playable characters and enemies, including concept art, sculpting, modeling, retopology, UV mapping, texturing, rigging, animation, and implementation inside Unity.
UI / UX Design
I designed the game's interface and HUD, organizing gameplay information into a clear visual hierarchy that helped players quickly identify their current state, locate important information, and recognize threats during combat.
Many of these UI and visual systems were refined through playtesting, allowing the interface to evolve alongside the gameplay itself.
Cross-disciplinary Collaboration
Throughout production, I worked closely with designers, programmers, VFX artists, and environment artists to ensure gameplay mechanics and visual presentation developed together rather than independently.
This collaborative workflow allowed visual feedback to become an integral part of gameplay instead of being added only at the end of production.
Impact
The visual solutions developed during Incorporeal became an essential part of how players learned and understood the game's core mechanics.
Rather than simplifying gameplay whenever usability issues appeared, many design challenges were resolved through improvements to visual language, lighting, UI, color hierarchy, environmental cues, and player feedback. This approach preserved the original gameplay vision while making the experience significantly more intuitive.
The project was recognized with VFS Best Graduation Project and Runner-up for Best Student Project at the Unity Awards 2025, before being showcased at multiple international events including GDC, Ctrl+Alt+Unite, GLITCHED, and Game Conference MX. Following its Steam release, the game received a 96% Positive user rating.
More importantly, Incorporeal fundamentally shaped my approach to game development. It taught me that strong visual design is not only about creating appealing artwork, it is about helping players understand systems, make better decisions, and enjoy the game more naturally. That mindset continues to influence how I approach both game design and production today.
