Joy the Paperboy

Made for the thatgamecompany × COREBLAZER GAME JAM 2025

Roles: Lead Developer, Level Designer, Composer

In a world drained of color and happiness, Joy the Paperboy delivers more than just paper - it gives hope. You play a paperboy named Joy to ride through the bleak, monochromatic city where people have become shadows of themselves, weighed down by depression and isolation.

There are no enemies, only people in need — and you, the Hug Courier, are their unexpected hero. Your mission is simple yet powerful: find the townspeople hidden in buildings, alleys, and corners and give them a genuine, heartfelt hug. Each act of generosity brings warmth and color back into the world—one person, one hug, one street at a time.

Created with Unreal Engine

Trailer

Made by Vi Nguyen

Gameplay

JoyThePaperboy

Screenshots

Game Breakdown

This game was one of the first games I published after my university career. I remember seeing the game jam pop up right as I was browsing through thatgamecompany's website and my immediate thought was "Oh yeah, I gotta make something for this." So I made like an 80s action star and started "Assembling a team" with some of the greatest artists that I know. (Check out their stuff below).

Vi Nguyen
- Visual Artist, 3D Modeler, Animator, and Rigger
- Vi's LinkedIn
Namirah Fyrooz
- Character Concept Artist, Modeler, and Animator
- Namirah's LinkedIn
Andew Nguyen
- 3D Environment Artist
- Andrew's LinkedIn

Pre-Production

So after assembling the team, we immediately went work conceptualizing our game around one theme: Generosity. And we came up with quite a few ideas out of this one word. One idea was a game about a protagonist that heals Earth's landscape. Another idea was a game about beating up streamers and youtubers to get them to give to those in need (via giving them a bear hug). One final idea we had was simply about feeding animals and becoming a king/queen of nature. But for all of these ideas, we ran into a small problem, whether it was being far too generic or TOO goofy. We wanted to make something that could feel a bit heartfelt to the audience. Something that evoke powerful emotion.

And so the vision for the game was complete. We went with a cute main protagonist who's simply just a guy. A kiddo. A paperboy. Someone that's down to earth and relatable. In lieu of "attacking", we made his attack into simply a hug. A hug that can affect others in positive ways, to help spread hope. That things will one day be better and that we can get there with one hug at a time. That's what the player's goal of the game ended up being. Give unto others one of the most important things you can possibly give: Hope.

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