Pure Prism

Pure Prism presents a Land in Silence: Lighthaven.

The long-decayed world suspiciously teems with mechanical, hostile life. In every blade of grass, in every crumbling edifice, the mysteries of an empire within the forest hang tantalizingly out-of-reach.

Motifs of Nature vs. Artifice lie at the core of the game's visual design and story.

For the past 3 years I have been on a quest to capture the essence of mystery and exploration. I'm a self-taught creator and base my work off the concepts of one of my favourite games, Hollow Knight.

I desire there to be more games with moody and intricate art, deep and nuanced stories, and forgotten worlds awaiting discovery.

The game's main character is a small, cartoon-like robot with a cryptic past.

Friendly characters in Pure Prism are drawn in a bold, comical style with minimal detail. This increases their air of innocence as perceived by the player.

All enemies in Pure Prism are mechanical, and while some contraptions represent other forms of life, an element of commonality is shared between them all: a fierce magenta energy.

This mysterious lifeforce seems to emanate from within and is the source of these robots' anger and hostility. Seemingly long-broken corpses of old machinery are driven to motion to attack the player.

Further discovery awaits...

The assets in Pure Prism are 2D, but are layered to create the illusion of a 3D world. Below is a showcase of the game's environment, featuring a prototype of the main character.

Pure Prism oozes exploration, and design decisions are made around maximising this core emotion.

The game's map is a barebones series of lines that fills in as the player progresses, creating the sense that YOU are the first person to venture into the wilds.

Everything is kept top-secret until the player discovers it. You will not find a "map reveal station" in this game or a book of lore.

The player must unravel the mystery themselves...

With a Metroidvania-style map, the player is encouraged to re-explore areas and delve further into the world once they return with new abilities.

Modules (above right) are used to enhance the player's skillset. Each one has a design crafted around their purpose.

The example here fine tunes the gears of the main character to allow for faster movement and dashes.

The HUD (3 different examples above) is drawn in the same style as the game. It fills the bars at the sides of the game's 4:3 aspect ratio and makes for a good use of space while also toying with the player's immersion in the game (it's almost as if the player is viewing the game through a console rather than actually being there due to the presence of the HUD on both sides of the screen. See the "Environment" video above for a better look.)

While still in early stages, gameplay in Pure Prism is designed to push boundaries as well.

The main character's whip-scarf is used as an area attack and also as a cable for "syncing" at save stations. It makes the little robot look cute as well!

Pipes found throughout the game add a touch of speed and fun to traversing the world of Lighthaven. Just hop on and you're away sliding.

A downwards sword slash propels the robot upwards and can be used on pipes and enemies alike, opening the door for interesting combo attacks.

You may check out more images here: instagram.com/oliverkehmgames

Thank you for looking!