Background

Lacuna is a 2D pixel-art platformer inspired by Foddian-style games that emphasize precision, patience, and mastery. The project explores how difficulty, progression, and emotional tension can be communicated through systems rather than exposition.

Instead of treating progress as a reward, Lacuna frames it as a risk. Each step forward destabilizes the world, gradually altering visuals, perception, and player control. The game was designed as an experiment in system-driven storytelling, where mechanics, level structure, and aesthetics work together to convey theme.

Goals

The primary goals of the project were focused and intentional:

• Design a vertical platforming experience centered on precision and mastery

• Remove safety nets such as checkpoints to reinforce consequence

• Use visual glitches as a functional difficulty system rather than decoration

• Align gameplay, narrative, and aesthetics around a single core theme

Core Concept

Lacuna is set in a fractured vertical world known as the Void. The player controls Soren, a fallen knight attempting to escape by collecting four ancient gems scattered throughout the environment.

Each gem collected increases instability within the world. Visual distortion intensifies, clarity is reduced, and movement becomes harder to read. Progress is irreversible, once a gem is collected, the game permanently shifts into a more punishing state.

There are no checkpoints. Falling is expected, and recovery is part of the experience.

Gameplay and Mechanics

The game uses a minimal control scheme to keep the focus on player skill:

There is no explicit tutorial. Players learn through experimentation, failure, and repetition. Early sections allow for recovery and exploration, while higher areas demand deliberate, precise movement.

The vertical level structure ensures that mistakes carry weight, reinforcing memory-based navigation and spatial awareness.

World and Narrative Design

The Void is intentionally empty. There are no NPCs or dialogue, and narrative context is delivered entirely through environment and progression.

The lower areas feature decayed forest ruins, while higher regions transition into the Void Citadel, an unstable space defined by broken architecture and heavy glitching. The vertical ascent mirrors the protagonist’s internal deterioration as much as physical progress.

Multiple endings reflect the player’s choices, with higher gem counts increasing the likelihood of a negative outcome.

Lacuna consists of two vertically-oriented platforming levels, The Forest Ruins and Void Citadel, each representing a deeper layer of the protagonist’s internal void. The player must collect gems scattered throughout both levels and reach the door at the top to escape.

Forest Ruins

A visually stable, half-decayed forest environment with pixelated ruins and subtle edge-level glitching.

Void Citadel

A surreal purple void defined by broken architecture, heavy edge-level glitching, and an unstable layout with fewer natural platforms.

User Experience Focus

The experience was designed to support immersion and focus:

• Minimal UI to reduce distraction

• Smooth vertical camera movement

• Layered backgrounds to reinforce depth and ascent

Emotionally, the game moves from calm exploration to sustained tension, ending in either relief or ambiguity depending on player choices.

Gameplay Walkthrough

This playthrough shows a complete ascent through Lacuna, from the Forest Ruins to the Void Citadel, presented without cuts or guidance.

The footage illustrates how progression reshapes difficulty and perception. Early sections allow space for recovery, while later areas demand precise movement under increasing visual distortion and reduced readability. As instability builds, each decision carries greater risk.

Failures and pauses are preserved to reflect the intended pacing and weight of vertical progression. The video serves as a direct view of Lacuna’s systems in motion, demonstrating how mechanics and audiovisual feedback communicate consequence without explicit narrative.

Download the Game

A playable build of Lacuna is available to experience the game firsthand. The build includes the complete vertical platforming experience and reflects the systems and mechanics discussed in this article.

The game runs on Windows and is intended to be played with a keyboard.

Reflection

Lacuna demonstrates how mechanics can carry narrative weight without explicit storytelling. By tying difficulty progression directly to player actions, the project explores how systems can communicate consequence, restraint, and loss.

Explore the Full Case Study

This overview outlines the core ideas behind Lacuna. The full case study expands on level design, system tuning, visual iteration, and technical implementation, with detailed breakdowns and comparisons.