Driftlight

Project overview

Driftlight is a concept project created to show how we approach a cross-platform 3D game. The player crosses a fractured valley, solving light-based puzzles to reactivate ancient beacons and reveal a safe path forward.

The opportunity

Exploration games often feel very different on a phone and on a PC. The challenge in this concept is to keep one atmospheric world and one set of mechanics, while making controls, session length and performance feel right on every platform.

Project goals

• Keep one shared world and story across PC, mobile and web
• Design controls that feel natural with a mouse, a controller and touch
• Support short mobile sessions without breaking longer PC play
• Hold a stable frame rate on mid-range phones

Solution and design direction

The concept uses a strong silhouette-based art direction that stays readable on small screens and scales up well on large ones. Each beacon is a self-contained puzzle area, so a session can end naturally after a few minutes. The HUD is kept to the essentials, with an objective panel, a compact minimap and four ability slots that adapt to the input device.

Technologies and platforms

Proposed for this concept; real projects are scoped individually.

• Game engine (to be chosen per project)
• C# or C++
• Platform-specific input handling
• Cloud saves (optional)

Platforms supported: PC, iOS, Android, Web

Key features

• Beacon puzzles. Light-routing puzzles that teach one new idea per area.
• Adaptive controls. Mouse and keyboard, controller and touch layouts from one input system.
• Session-friendly saves. Progress is saved at every beacon, so mobile players can stop at any time.
• Scalable visuals. Quality presets that adjust lighting, fog and draw distance by device.

Screens and mockups

Development approach

A project like this starts with a greybox prototype of one beacon area, playable on PC and one phone. Once the core puzzle feels right, art direction and additional areas are built in stages, with regular builds for review and device testing throughout.

Results