The Light That Binds Us — Charles Roger-Boutbien

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Description

The Light That Binds Us is a narrative puzzle-adventure game developed over 8 months at ISART Digital. You guide a lost soul who channels light through a mysterious companion, projecting shadows onto the environment and materialising them into solid 3D platforms, walls and ramps to reshape the world.

The game spans two biomes and a narrative finale, targeting players drawn to atmospheric indie titles with emotional depth. My contributions covered system design, IA design for the companion, camera planning, wireframes and QA, as well as a level design prototype (a runner concept that was ultimately cut for scope reasons).

My Contributions

System Design

Designed all game systems end to end: character mechanics, game loops (micro, mid, macro), player kit, movement variables and the complete sound list.

AI Design

Designed the full behaviour set for the companion (Yün): placement, recall, plinth interaction and enemy reactions to light, including the enemies test zone in the gym.

Camera Design

Specified the complete rail camera system with three modes (gameplay, narration, vista), and wrote the shot plan for every area in the game.

UX & Wireframes

Built the full game workflow and all UI wireframes: menus, settings, keybind remapping, pause flow, giving the team a clear navigation structure to implement.

3C Prototyping

Prototyped and iterated all character, camera and control variables in the gym before final integration, validating feel across movement, recall and plinth interaction.

Level Design

Designed a runner level concept that was well-received but cut for production scope. Also contributed to puzzle layout and spatial planning across both biomes.

Extensive QA throughout production: testing mechanics, camera transitions, puzzle solutions and edge cases across the full game.

Key Design Decisions

Shadow projection as the core mechanic, the player positions a light-emitting companion to cast shadows that extrude into traversable geometry, making every puzzle both visual and spatial.
Rail camera system with three distinct modes (gameplay top-down, narrative side-view, vista low-angle) to balance readability and cinematic impact without giving the player free camera control.
No punishment respawn: falling returns the player to the last checkpoint rather than a game-over, keeping flow and emotional tone intact.
User journey built around three emotional beats, wonder (intro), attachment (mid puzzles), nostalgia + wonder (climax), mapped directly to mechanic complexity and narrative reveals.
Companion recall mechanic designed to eliminate failure-friction: the player can retrieve the entity at any distance at any time, keeping experimentation low-cost.

Skills

Game Design Level Design System Design AI Design Technical GD 3C Prototyping Publishing Camera Design

Context

School Team · 20 people Gold Milestone Puzzle / Adventure Unreal Engine 5 PC

References

The Last Guardian Journey Shady Part of Me Zelda: BotW Gris Outer Wilds

Links

Trailer YouTube Walkthrough YouTube Steam Linktree officiel