Tools Used:

Unity

C#

Visual Studio Code

JetBrains Rider

Overview:

Halls of Hell was a horror-focused project centered around atmosphere, tension pacing, and systemic enemy pressure.

The goal was to design a claustrophobic experience where environment layout, AI behavior, and audio design worked together to create psychological stress rather than relying on cheap jump scares.

This project pushed me to think deeply about player movement flow, line-of-sight control, and controlled unpredictability.

My Role & Ownerships

Core Gameplay Systems

Enemy AI Behavior

Level Design

Audio Implementation

Player Movement Systems

Designing Claustrophobic Tension

The core design philosophy was simple:

Players should never feel fully safe, but never feel cheated.

To achieve this, I focused on:

• Tight corridor layouts that forced decision-making
• AI behavior patterns that created uncertainty
• Controlled sound cues to manipulate perception
• Limited visibility to increase tension

The challenge was ensuring the AI felt intelligent and threatening without becoming frustrating or unfair.

Breakdown: Core Systems

Ownerships:

AI State Machine

Patrol & Chase Logic

Trigger-Based Events

Environmental Pacing

Player Feedback Systems

Enemy AI was built around readable state transitions such as patrol, search, chase. Thus, allowing players to learn patterns while still feeling pressure.

Level geometry was intentionally structured to create both escape routes and dangerous choke points, reinforcing risk-reward movement decisions.

What This Project Strengthened

• Designing horror systems around psychology rather than jumpscares
• Structuring readable but threatening AI behavior
• Environmental layout as a gameplay tool
• Independent iteration and refinement of tension systems