The desiccated

Explore the world as everyone’s favorite unrooted plant—a tumbleweed! In The Desiccated, the player harnesses the wind in hopes of steering a tumbleweed to water. Various water sources will provide the player with new mechanics, such as the abilities to hover and wall jump. As players traverse various environments—from a ghost town to the beach—music and art dynamically change to fit the mood. The Desiccated pairs lonesomeness and despair with peaceful yet challenging gameplay. 

The Desiccated was created in Unreal Engine 5 in fewer than 48 hours during the 2023 Global Game Jam. Based on the theme roots, RK Taylor developed several aspects of this game from concept to completion. While developing this 2D metroidvania, Taylor’s responsibilities included technical design, systems design, level design, and UI design. This project was created in collaboration with Ryan Eckhart (programmer), Brenda Shen (artist), and Alex Shen (composer).

Team size: 4

Tools: Unreal Engine, Trello

Level Design