Overview

Echoes in the Mists is a retro-inspired horror Soulslike developed as my graduate capstone at RIT. Designed and built by a small multidisciplinary team, I took on the role of software engineer and producer on the project. It was powered by my modular gameplay framework Mosaic and recognized at the GDC NYS Pavilion, RPI GameFest, EDGE, Roc Game Fest, Imagine RIT, and multiple RIT press features.

Challenge

With a tight 8 month timeline and a core team of 5 graduate students, we set out to develop what we dubbed a “souls-like in an evening”: A short experience capturing the depth and tension of a full-length souls-like game. This required a carefully balanced production, where systems for tactical combat, world exploration, enemy variety, and progression all work in tandem.

For this project to scale to a full release, I needed to architect systems that empowered all developers to contribute independently, avoid bottlenecks, and maintain a clean, scalable code as the project evolved.

Approach

Technical research, including reverse engineering Dark Souls’ combat system using modding tools (read more) established a strong baseline for our core systems. Mosaic provided the foundational architecture of the project ensuring all of our systems were built in a scalable, modular, and re-usable manner, powering everything from enemy behavior to the dynamic charm system.

All features were built to be lightweight, data-driven, and easily composable. Additive scenes supported collaborative level design. A custom character controller and camera system were developed to account for unusual geometry and tight space while feeling grounded and responsive, providing flexibility for our designers.

All of these technical decisions were made in support of our fantastic designers, giving them ample control and enabling them to confidently develop and refine new gameplay experiences.

Outcome

Echoes In The Mists demonstrated that with the proper technical foundations and direction, this small team of students could build a full featured souls-like experience within a tight academic timeline. Players routinely spend anywhere up to an hour exploring the demo at public conventions, praising the responsive combat, compelling progression systems, and souls-like feel.

Development Highlights

  • 30+ unique enemy types
  • 15–60 min average player session at public demos
  • 10+ gameplay-impacting charm upgrades
  • 5 major interconnected regions
  • 1 modular boss encounter as the final challenge
  • 5 core team members, 8 months total development time

Recognition