Game Design / Puzzle Rules / Prototype
2D Top-down Puzzle · Timed Loop / Playable Godot prototype · Windows
Bluebird Dream
BLUEBIRD DREAMSwitch between Liz and the bluebird to explore a castle. Liz spends time on movement and interactions; the bird scouts and draws guards away without using the time budget.
ELEVATOR PITCH
Make time a limited action budget, and turn each failed attempt into knowledge for the next.
Switch between Liz and the bluebird to explore a castle. Liz spends time on movement and interactions; the bird scouts and draws guards away without using the time budget.
CORE GAMEPLAY
What does the player do?
Bluebird Dream is a fairy-tale pixel-art, top-down puzzle prototype. Liz and the bluebird must escape a castle by switching roles, avoiding guards, opening routes and solving mechanisms.
Liz spends time moving between tiles and interacting with objects. The bluebird moves without time cost, letting the player inspect routes and distract guards before committing to a timed run.
The design brief proposes attempts of about five minutes and an approximately twenty-minute loop experience. The archived Windows build is made with Godot.
Scout
Inspect rooms and guards as the bluebird
Gather
Find dialogue, keys and mechanism clues
Plan
Choose shortcuts and budget actions
Execute
Guide Liz through the timed route
Repeat
Use what was learned in the next loop
DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS
What should be remembered quickly.
Time as an action budget
Movement and interactions consume time, so every attempt needs a planned route.
Asymmetric roles
Liz handles dialogue and mechanisms; the bluebird scouts and distracts guards without spending time.
Failure carries information forward
Room clues, shortcuts and some items help the player improve the next attempt.
Genre
Top-down puzzle / information gathering
Platform
PC / Windows
Engine
Godot
Scope
Castle rooms and a final room
Time structure
About 5 minutes per attempt / 20-minute loop
Core elements
Guards, keys, clocks, shortcuts and retained items
DESIGN BREAKDOWN
Design question
How can restarting a short timed puzzle still feel like progress?
Time rules
Tile movement and interactions spend time, making route planning essential.
Character roles
The bluebird scouts and distracts; Liz speaks, opens and operates.
Loop progression
Shortcuts and some items carry value into later attempts.
Guards and clues
Guard vision and human-only dialogue make switching roles part of information gathering.
Prototype
The archived Windows build implements the room-based castle prototype.
MY CONTRIBUTION
Game Design / Puzzle Rules / Prototype
- Designed a timed puzzle structure around action costs
- Defined distinct roles for Liz and the bluebird
- Connected clues, shortcuts and retained items to repeated attempts
- Archived a playable Windows Godot prototype
- Created a short concept film for the story ending
Contribution: Gameplay and rules documented in the design brief. This portfolio presents an edited project summary; source files are not public.
SCREENSHOTS
Playable results and key scenes.
Gameplay: reading the guard route
Gameplay: movement and character switching
Gameplay: dialogue as a puzzle clue
Concept film: the two characters after escaping
GIF / MOTION
Motion material to be added.
The first three images show the Windows prototype; the final image comes from the concept film.
LINKS
Project materials and playable builds.
After opening a cloud drive link, check the filename and access code shown above.