Path of Spells/字字惊心 (2018)

Archived project from 2018 - during my summer internship, we had a small game jam, here is what we made in 2 weeks: 

Description
A top-down PvP strategy rhythm game, where players battle each other by stepping on words that forms powerful spells on a grid map where each square contains a letter. The idea was “what you spelled out (stepped on) is what you become”. 

Core Mechanics
The game’s central feature is that the abilities players gain are based on the words they spell while navigating the grid. The effectiveness of an ability is determined by the length of the word spelled. Longer words yield more powerful abilities.

Example: Spelling "HUGEHEALTHPACK" provides a larger health increase than the shorter word "HEALTH."

Map
The map consists of a grid of letters that form words related to character classes, abilities, buffs, debuffs, and special zones. The challenge for players is to strategically navigate and spell words to activate these effects. The game was initially developed with Chinese characters, all stages were drafted in google sheet. (see below)

The game was inspired by games such as the classic crossword puzzles,  Crypt of the Necrodancer, BABA IS YOU and Battle City Tank.

Credits:
director & design: me
art: moony, eromer
design:  Yang, sky
engineer: Lixin, Geralt