PATH OF KAMI
ROLE
Creative Director
DESCRIPTION
Path of Kami: Journey Begins was Captilight's Debut game where players can play as a spirit of a wolf on a journey to ascend to the spirit world. I founded Captilight in 2019 and acted as the Creative Director on the project. My role involved leading a team of (5-10) members through all phases of production on the project which spanned 10 language markets worldwide.
I specifically worked on defining the project schedules, budget, scope, and planning while directing the overall game vision. I also acted as Head of Marketing, creating marketing plans and executing them. I ran standups, sprint planning, design meetings, reviews, and other meetings. I also worked with localization partners to ensure quality translations and facilitate processes and implementation.
I was also in charge of hiring and onboarding team members while continuously iterating on team onboarding processes.
YEAR
2019 to 2022
GENRE
Simulation, Exploration
PLATFORM
Itch io, GameJolt, Steam (PC, Linux)
DESIGN + CHALLENGES
DESIGN
Path of Kami was purposely designed to be a relaxing and casual experience for players. We used an explorative tutorial approach, slowly introducing our puzzle mechanics, collectibles, and more to give players familiarity and learn the mechanics through playing the game. We also didn't want to tell the entire story directly to the players, so along with your trusty wisp companioning speaking with you we used environmental storytelling through our environments and collectibles.
THE CHALLENGE
I wanted to provide a stress-free game, which can be a bit challenging to do for a puzzle game. We needed to keep a balance between having engaging puzzles and content while still having it be not frustrating and easy to understand.
We did the following to keep the tone light and provide a fun, casual experience:
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Used wide-linear level design to give an open-world feeling while still being able to guide the player to specific areas
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Offered multiple ways of exploring the map
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Gave players meaningful choices on puzzles, not all of them have to be solved to complete the game but if you do you'll get some nice rewards!
AWARDS
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AT&T Unlocked Games: Honorable Mention
EXHIBITIONS
2022:
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​Sweden Game Conference​
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DevGamm!
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Synapse
2021:
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​MAG Erfurt
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Magwest
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Megamigs
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Otronicon​
DESIGN DEEP-DIVES
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Path of Kami Post Mortem - Part 1: Game Production
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Behind the Scenes: Collectibles in Path of Kami