In Echoes In The Mists, you are the last remaining knight in a dark overrun seaport. Uncover the echoes of your past and face monsters born of the Mists in challenging combat as you seek out the source of the corruption. Every corner hides dangers, secrets, and rewards. Forge your path and grow in power until you are ready to confront the final boss.

Overview

Echoes in the Mists is a Souls-like game with a demo available for PC on itch.io. I led engineering and production on a multidisciplinary team. I designed and implemented all core systems and tools while managing schedules, meetings, and task planning to keep development on track. 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.

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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, to ensure systems for tactical combat, world exploration, enemy variety, and progression were all developed 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.

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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.

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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.

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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

“As the capstone professor, I worked closely with Jared and the team. Echoes in the Mists stood out as one of the top games developed that year, driven by Jared’s leadership and the team’s shared passion. What impressed me most was how effectively it guided players through the experience. You’re never unsure of where to go, yet the design never undermines your sense of agency. It feels like you’re discovering the path yourself rather than being led. It is a well-crafted and engaging experience.”
— Sten McKinzie | Capstone Professor, RIT

Recognition

Links