A dark, replayable deckbuilding adventure built around the tension between exploration, chain-based combat and a torch that never lasts forever.
Emberfade / playable prototype / live capture
01 · Core loop
Every room asks what the run can afford.
Emberfade turns a dungeon run into a sequence of small decisions: reveal a room, read the threat, spend resources, then decide what is worth carrying into the next encounter.
01
Explore
Move through the dark and decide how much of the board to reveal.
02
Encounter
Read the room: fight, recover, trade, investigate or keep moving.
03
Chain
Spend SP, extend the turn and decide when momentum becomes risk.
04
Progress
Choose cards, resources or stat increases that change the next floor.
05
Descend
Carry the consequences forward while the light and the run grow thin.
02 · Exploration
Light is a resource, not just an atmosphere.
The board stays uncertain until the torch reaches it. Movement, health, sanity and the remaining light are kept visible so every step carries a readable cost.
The result is a map that feels navigable without becoming frictionless: the player can plan a route, but never owns the whole picture.
Exploration / Floor 1 / torch, board and room state
Combat / Chained Penitent / player turn
03 · Combat
The hand is only half of the decision.
Cards define the immediate options, while SP, Recast and Focus define how far the player can push the turn. The chain creates a clear temptation: spend now for momentum, or preserve the run for what comes next.
Because combat is presented as a readable sequence of choices, the system can carry tension without hiding its rules behind spectacle.
04 · Progression
Rewards change the next decision.
A victory is not just a pause between fights. It offers several kinds of momentum: a new card, a resource, a deck edit or a permanent choice between protecting the body and the mind.
Victory / reward selection / card and resource choices
Level up / health or sanity / run-shaping choice
05 · World system
A run becomes a larger archive.
The map, Legendarium, card archive and status screen make the prototype feel like a world with memory. They give each run a place inside the larger collection of enemies, cards, trinkets and discoveries.
26Enemies
70Relics
109Cards
13Tarot
65Lore snippets
Legendarium / discovered enemies and wider bestiary
Card archive / collection and discovery
Status / deck / quest log / run state
Dungeon map / floor structure
06 · Contribution
A game system shown in play.
I shaped Emberfade around a playable design language: deckbuilding rules, exploration flow, chain combat, progression choices and the UI that makes those systems legible. The captures here show the prototype as it exists in play, with video reserved for the moments where movement, light and combat effects add useful information.
Game DesignSystems DesignDeckbuildingExplorationCombat DesignProgressionPrototype DirectionUI Structure
