PRESENTS

The Problem

In many platform games, emotional depth and cultural storytelling are often secondary to action or fantasy tropes. As a result, young players especially those from marginalized or Indigenous backgrounds, rarely encounter narratives that reflect their own spiritual journeys, ancestral wisdom, or initiation rites. There is a lack of short-form, symbolic games that explore identity, memory, and transformation through a culturally rooted lens. This game seeks to address that gap by creating a 3-minute platformer where a young girl is taken by a mermaid into an underwater realm to undergo a dreamlike initiation to become a traditional healer. Many occurences like this has been reported in indeginous African communities. Through evocative level design, symbolic interactions, and ancestral guidance, the game offers a meaningful experience that blends gameplay with spiritual storytelling and cultural depth.

The Brief

This project is a 2D platformer game developed in Unity that explores themes of identity, spirituality, and transformation through an African cultural lens. The three-minute gameplay follows a young girl taken by a mermaid into an underwater realm to undergo a symbolic initiation to become a traditional healer. Combining dreamlike visuals, sound, and symbolic interaction, the game blends cultural storytelling with emotional depth, reimagining the platformer genre as a medium for spiritual and cultural expression.

Idol Animation

Jump Mechanic

Running Animation

Death Animation

The Audience

The target audience for this game is young African and diasporic players aged roughly 10-16 who rarely see their own spiritual traditions represented in games. The story's focus on initiation, ancestral guidance, and transformation allows them to explore identity and belonging through familiar cultural symbols. A secondary audience includes indie and alternative players who appreciate short, atmospheric experiences rooted in myth and symbolism, offering them an emotionally rich, culturally authentic journey beyond mainstream fantasy narratives.

The Solution

The solution is to create a short-form narrative platformer that uses gameplay, environment, and symbolism to communicate a culturally rooted initiation story instead of relying on combat or typical fantasy tropes. By guiding the player through an underwater ancestral realm, the game introduces healing, calling, and transformation as core mechanics rather than violence or scoring. The visual design, character guidance, and progression through ritual-like encounters provide a respectful, accessible way to experience indigenous spiritual themes in an interactive format. In doing so, the game offers representation, preserves cultural narrative, and demonstrates that platformers can function as storytelling vessels for identity and ancestral knowledge.