Burning Out
Maze escape, lit only by fire.
Online co-op survival horror (4 players).
Team: Burnt Out Games (8)
Duration: 8 Months (Jan-Aug 2025)
Tools: Unity 6, C#, Mirror Networking
Roles: Design, Programming, Writing
Project Description
Burning Out is a first person multiplayer survival horror game, with focus on real horror together (and alone).
Players try to escape together—alive—exploring the maze’s floors, evading its monsters, and unearthing its secrets.
The project began in UCI’s Game Design program, boothed in UCI Z3 Games Expo 2025, and published to Steam by Burnt Out Games.
Responsiblities
Gameplay Design & Engineering
Combat Design: Built & balanced mechanics: inventory, item templates, torch & fire systems, movement.
Engineering: Built networked containers with OOP & SOLID principles to reduce latency and sync issues.
Systems Design: Authored system documentation to ensure consistency across designers and programmers.
Experience Design
Narrative Design: Led narrative design of world and lore, embedding story through levels, props, and characters.
UX Design: Crafted gameplay tutorial and information to lead player and invoke mystery & fear, not confusion.
UX Research: Conducted in-person playtests in classes and Z3 Expo, collecting feedback via notes and surveys.
Iterative Development
Rapid Iteration: Collaborated with Network Engineer and Playtest Lead to adjust levels/content/values in response to feedback.
Publishing: Released game on Steam, developing rapid design fixes to address large-scale issues post-launch.
Gallery
What did I learn?
Publishing for Steam: Learned to design with platform requirements and deadlines in mind. Balance creative vision with technical and community expectations (store presence, accessibility, Steamworks).
Designing with Large Groups: Being a class project, all developers contributed to design in class weekly. I learned the importance of proper documentation, whiteboarding, and iteration logs for clarity and unison.
Uncertainty without Abandonment: Discovered how to craft authored confusion (see Problem 2), signaling mystery while ensuring players never felt forgotten. Don’t assume the players know what we do.
Designing for Multiplayer: My first true multiplayer online project taught me that not just one, but all four players need meaningful agency. Designed to rewarded collaboration and made every player feel important.
Burning Out
Maze escape, lit only by fire.
Online co-op survival horror (4 players).
Team: Burnt Out Games (8)
Duration: 8 Months (Jan-Aug 2025)
Tools: Unity 6, C#, Mirror Networking
Roles: Design, Programming, Writing
Project Description
Burning Out is a first person multiplayer survival horror game, with focus on real horror together (and alone).
Players try to escape together—alive—exploring the maze’s floors, evading its monsters, and unearthing its secrets.
The project began in UCI’s Game Design program, boothed in UCI Z3 Games Expo 2025, and published to Steam by Burnt Out Games.
Responsiblities
Gameplay Design & Engineering
Combat Design: Built & balanced mechanics: inventory, item templates, torch & fire systems, movement.
Engineering: Built networked containers with OOP & SOLID principles to reduce latency and sync issues.
Systems Design: Authored system documentation to ensure consistency across designers and programmers.
Experience Design
Narrative Design: Led narrative design of world and lore, embedding story through levels, props, and characters.
UX Design: Crafted gameplay tutorial and information to lead player and invoke mystery & fear, not confusion.
UX Research: Conducted in-person playtests in classes and Z3 Expo, collecting feedback via notes and surveys.
Iterative Development
Rapid Iteration: Collaborated with Network Engineer and Playtest Lead to adjust levels/content/values in response to feedback.
Publishing: Released game on Steam, developing rapid design fixes to address large-scale issues post-launch.
Gallery
What did I learn?
Publishing for Steam: Learned to design with platform requirements and deadlines in mind. Balance creative vision with technical and community expectations (store presence, accessibility, Steamworks).
Designing with Large Groups: Being a class project, all developers contributed to design in class weekly. I learned the importance of proper documentation, whiteboarding, and iteration logs for clarity and unison.
Uncertainty without Abandonment: Discovered how to craft authored confusion (see Problem 2), signaling mystery while ensuring players never felt forgotten. Don’t assume the players know what we do.
Designing for Multiplayer: My first true multiplayer online project taught me that not just one, but all four players need meaningful agency. Designed to rewarded collaboration and made every player feel important.
Burning Out
Maze escape, lit only by fire.
Online co-op survival horror (4 players).
Team: Burnt Out Games (8)
Duration: 8 Months (Jan-Aug 2025)
Tools: Unity 6, C#, Mirror Networking
Roles: Design, Programming, Writing
Project Description
Burning Out is a first person multiplayer survival horror game, with focus on real horror together (and alone).
Players try to escape together—alive—exploring the maze’s floors, evading its monsters, and unearthing its secrets.
The project began in UCI’s Game Design program, boothed in UCI Z3 Games Expo 2025, and published to Steam by Burnt Out Games.
Responsiblities
Gameplay Design & Engineering
Combat Design: Built & balanced mechanics: inventory, item templates, torch & fire systems, movement.
Engineering: Built networked containers with OOP & SOLID principles to reduce latency and sync issues.
Systems Design: Authored system documentation to ensure consistency across designers and programmers.
Experience Design
Narrative Design: Led narrative design of world and lore, embedding story through levels, props, and characters.
UX Design: Crafted gameplay tutorial and information to lead player and invoke mystery & fear, not confusion.
UX Research: Conducted in-person playtests in classes and Z3 Expo, collecting feedback via notes and surveys.
Iterative Development
Rapid Iteration: Collaborated with Network Engineer and Playtest Lead to adjust levels/content/values in response to feedback.
Publishing: Released game on Steam, developing rapid design fixes to address large-scale issues post-launch.
Gallery
What did I learn?
Publishing for Steam: Learned to design with platform requirements and deadlines in mind. Balance creative vision with technical and community expectations (store presence, accessibility, Steamworks).
Designing with Large Groups: Being a class project, all developers contributed to design in class weekly. I learned the importance of proper documentation, whiteboarding, and iteration logs for clarity and unison.
Uncertainty without Abandonment: Discovered how to craft authored confusion (see Problem 2), signaling mystery while ensuring players never felt forgotten. Don’t assume the players know what we do.
Designing for Multiplayer: My first true multiplayer online project taught me that not just one, but all four players need meaningful agency. Designed to rewarded collaboration and made every player feel important.