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Jizo no Akumu

Genre: Horror, Adventure, Single-player
Platform: PC
Engine: Unity

Software: Yarnspinner, Perforce, Miro, GSuite

Team: 8 team members
Duration: April 2023 - May 2025

Dive into the chilling depths of family secrets in Jizo no Akumu, a third-person atmospheric horror adventure. As Mirai Jizo returns to her ancestral home for her grandmother's funeral, she's thrust into a family feud over the title of matriarch.

Things take a turn for the worse when the malevolent dream-devouring Baku demon breaks free, drawing the family’s soul’s into the dream realm. The last one standing in the real world, Jizo must confront her family's supernatural legacy to save her mother, uncover the dark secrets hidden within the Mirai estate.

Phase 1: Originally developed as part of USC's Interactive Media & Game Design Master’s thesis program, Jizo no Akumu began as a concept rooted in Japanese folklore and family trauma. Over the year, our team built a playable vertical slice in Unity, establishing the core narrative, characters, tone, and gameplay systems that laid the foundation for the game’s continued development (as part of Dark Nyx Studios).

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---Role(s) and responsibilities---

Lead Narrative Designer

  • Led narrative design for a 7-scene vertical slice in collaboration with two writers

  • Drafted and maintained the narrative design document

  • Worked with art, audio, and design teams to integrate narrative elements into gameplay

  • Iterated on story integration with level and puzzle design

  • Onboarded team members to Unity and set up a Yarnspinner dialogue pipeline

  • Cast and coordinated voice talent using Backstage

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Narrative Design and Game Writing

  • Wrote dialogue, item descriptions, and branching content across multiple scenes

  • Created the Mirai family tree and character sheets for all interactable NPCs

  • Produced casting sheets and voice direction notes​

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Game Design

  • Greyboxed levels and sculpted terrain

  • Supported asset tracking and vertical slice delivery​

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Playtesting

  • Playtested the internal build and logged issues for the respective members to fix

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Phase 2: The project continued development and formed a small indie team, with the goal of seeking funding and expanding the game into a full release. As part of this process, we migrated from Unity to Unreal Engine to better support our artistic direction. I also worked on expanding the game’s scope and narrative systems, evolving them from the original vertical slice into a more ambitious, full-scale experience.

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Lead Narrative Design

  • Onboarded a new writer; reviewed and edited narrative drafts, providing structured feedback on tone, clarity, and alignment with the overall story vision

  • Expanded lore into 6 major puzzle segments connected to key figures in the family and their darkest secrets

  • Collaborated closely with game designers to shape puzzle gameplay, ensuring narrative themes and emotional beats were meaningfully woven into each

  • Maintained narrative continuity across multiple scenes and puzzle segments to preserve emotional and thematic cohesion

  • Designed supernatural artefacts with integrated lore and gameplay utility, ensuring each item reinforced both mechanics and worldbuilding

  • Interviewed and recruited new team members

  • Trailer for festival submission:

    • ​Wrote and co-directed the trailer

    • Led voice casting and performance direction

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