Haowei V
2025

Re:Bound Ranger

Ricochet arcane arrows through a puzzle city

When
Sep 2025 – Nov 2025
Where
Los Angeles, US
Team
6 people
Platform
PC
Engine
Unity
Role
Director, Producer, Designer, Programmer
DirectionProductionGameplay DesignPitchingProgrammingEnvironment ArtNarrative DesignFirst-PersonPuzzle

Team — Me (full-stack) + 3D artist + 2D artist / narrative hybrid + programmer / designer hybrid + UI artist + 2D artist.

A single-player first-person puzzle-shooter where players ricochet arcane arrows through the city's geometry to solve spatial puzzles and bring the city's function and vitality back.

Design Highlights

  • Ricochet mechanic prototyped twice; three rounds of playtesting. Iterations included adding the aim line, shifting from chroma-match to element interaction (ice / fire / electric), and multiple passes refining bounce angle and force feel.
  • Element interactions: ice arrows freeze rivers (ice and electric can slide across; fire re-melts them); electric arrows are pulled by magnetic fields.

Production Highlights

  • Team were friends gambling on my pitch, which meant intentional morale management: arbitration, hour management, emotion management, food + snack buys.
  • 1-week sprints with weekend in-person work sessions at my apartment.

Other

  • Advanced to Round 2 of USC AGP greenlight.
Media gallery & case-study content — to be added.
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