January 2026 | Unreal Engine 5 | Puzzle
January 2026 | Unreal Engine 5 | Puzzle
Sole Game Developer
Sole Game Developer
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Indiana Joe's Magic Drill is
Indiana Joe's Magic Drill is
A puzzle game made in Unreal Engine 5. Across three levels, use a magic drill to help Indiana Joe collect treasures and reach the goal. This game was made as a submission to the PlayStation Career Pathways' "Ratchet It Up!" solo game jam, where individuals competed for the best game prototype under the prompt of "real world tool with mystical twist".
Designing With Fun Constraints
Designing With Fun Constraints
The design for Indiana Joe's Magic Drill was structured around a unique, self-imposed constraint: the main character, Indiana Joe, can't jump or fall down blocks. Inspired by Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, this game revolves around players skillfully using the main mechanic of moving platforms with a screwdriver in order to advance Indiana Joe through an isometric puzzle.
Each level also has multiple secret "Treasures" to reach on the way to the goal, giving me extra room to design levels that test a player's thought process and understanding of the mechanics.
Making levels that function with such a limiting tool set was both fun and concise enough to experiment on freely without worry of time constraints.
The game jam's own constraints of designing the game around a specialized tool also proved a challenge, and forced me to think creatively about the presentation of the mechanics in a way that answers the prompt and is still logical, creative and fun.
Conscious Design Shifts
Conscious Design Shifts
A unique aspect of this project was the "pixel art in 3D land" design, which was an intentional artistic decision that allowed me to prototype ideas quickly. Many ideas were scrapped in pursuit of making a compact, meaningful experience.
The biggest design change was in the implementation of the "tool". Initially, my tool of choice was a tape measurer. After receiving feedback that it didn't match the game jam's prompt as fluidly as it could, I played with different tools and eventually came to decide on a new one: the screwdriver.
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