GOO-ROO

GOO-ROO is a 2-D pixel art puzzle platformer that takes an alternative approach to jumping and resource management.  It is an independent project that I made using Unity. GOO-ROO features 8 different puzzle levels as well as a final boss encounter. 

Given my love for challenging games like Celeste and Cuphead, I knew that I wanted my first big project to be a challenging platformer game as well. GOO-ROO takes a slightly different approach to difficulty than the aforementioned games, though -- the player must use both mechanics and strategy to manage both their size and health to solve the puzzles. 

A big theme with working on this project was learning to adapt and be flexible. I initally imagined this game to be more like a traditional platforming game, similar to Super Mario Bros, but after some playtests, I realized that long-term traversal didn't feel appealing with the mechanics that I had built. As a result, I decided to pivot the difficulty more towards solving short and unique puzzles. I had an amazing time drawing out sketches in my notebooks about possible level designs and puzzles, and later on finding ways to min/max play through each of the levels I had built in the editor. I found the constant cycles between building and testing to be enjoyable and extremely helpful towards making a more "fun" game.

I really enjoyed making everything about GOO-ROO, from the art and animations (pictured below) to the soundtrack. GOO-ROO has been through many iterations, not only in terms of aesthetic design but also fundamental gameplay and level designs, but I'm happy with the way it turned out.  

If you want to learn more or play the game, check out the itch.io page and give it a download!