By: Adam Pywell, Brendan Chow, Tiffany Chen, Xing Chen Cao
Course: IAT 312 Foundations of Game Design

Description: "The Blood Loop" is a narrative-driven game featuring dungeons, RPG elements, combat, puzzles, and exploration. Players navigate a time-looped dungeon, where each death resets them to the same room until they find the key sacrifice for escape. With a dynamic narrative structure following Freytag’s Five-Act structure, "The Blood Loop" immerses players in a gripping tale of survival and discovery.

The team carefully built and balanced the game by interweaving level design, narrative plots, and gameplay mechanics. Each element was carefully created to ensure seamless integration, meeting a delicate balance between challenge and engagement. The level design was structured to guide players through the narrative arc, with carefully placed obstacles and puzzles to maintain intrigue. Meanwhile, the story narrative plots were developed with gameplay progression, ensuring each action contributed to the overarching storyline.

Balancing difficulty was achieved through iterative playtesting sessions, where feedback from participants helped refine enemy encounters, puzzle complexity, and overall progression. By adhering to the mechanical requirements outlined in the class project description, the team ensured that "The Blood Loop" delivered a cohesive and immersive gaming experience that met the standards of both the project guidelines and the players' expectations.