In Your Trail (2025)
Programmer, Game Designer, Level Designer
An Underground Adventure Where a Flying Squireel Navigates… Using Its Tail?
Trapped deep beneath the earth, a curious little cat must find a way out. But the tunnels are filled with mysterious fog. To survive, it swings its tail like a living radar, revealing hidden paths…
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This game was created for the 2025 Booom Game Jam (held in China). I was responsible for most of the programming, game design and some of the level designs.
Gameplay Video
Game Features
Because of the constant dangers in the environment, the player must stay alert at all times—scanning to reveal toxic areas to avoid, or uncovering hidden paths. Later in the game, it will even need players to release pheromones themselves to help other creatures.
Design: Documentation
This project was created for the Booom Jam, jointly hosted by CoreBlazer and Gcores in China. Participants could form teams freely, and the theme for this jam was “Devotion.”
​After brainstorming and discussion, the team finally chose my concept, "In Your Trail."
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When I thought about the theme “Devotion,” my inspiration came from the guide creators on the internet—people who dedicate their time to helping others progress in games, asking for nothing in return. They light the way for players who are lost.
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​Translating that idea into nature led to the outline of this game.
Based on this concept, I wrote the documentation for the game’s different stages and their design purposes, shaping the overall flow and emotional direction of the experience.
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BooomJam - Apr 2025
Game Concept Document - Apr 2025
Scan & Invisible platform - Apr 2025
Trail Releasing System - Apr 2025
Prototype: Main Game Verb
After finishing the design document, I began building the prototype. The main verb of the game is “scanning,” so that became the first mechanic I implemented.
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In the game, the player must hold E to scan, and movement will interrupt the process. This limitation forces the player to advance carefully, capturing the cautious pace I wanted for the experience.
"Releasing" is also an important mechanic. The player must be able to leave pheromone trails that guide other creatures, helping each other progress through the level.
In the game, the player presses R to begin releasing pheromones, moves through the environment, and presses R again to stop. The NPC will then retrace the exact path the player created.
Prototype: Player Movement
Since the protagonist is a flying squirrel, I wanted to give it some movement abilities beyond basic running and jumping.
The first special mechanic I implemented was wall-climbing: the squirrel can latch onto cliff surfaces and climb upward with small hops, but if the player stops jumping, it will gradually slide down the wall.
As a flying squirrel, having the ability to glide is more important.
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While in the air, the player can hold Shift to spread the squirrel’s wings and glide, descending more slowly and traveling much farther than with a normal jump.
Wall Climbing - Apr 2025
Gliding - Apr 2025
Level Design Document - Apr 2025
Greybox Level - Apr 2025
Level Design
Level design also began from the design document. I outlined the game’s three core stages: teaching, testing, and advanced challenges.
For each stage, I documented the specific experiences and mechanics the player should encounter.
After finishing the document, I began building the greybox level in Unity. The greybox allows the team to validate gameplay flow, pacing without being held back by unfinished art.
I used different colors to mark the purpose of each area, making it easier to communicate with the artists and refine the visual layout during later stages.