Nightfall Escape

Nightfall Escape was my first commercial Steam release — a horror game developed at Zeenoh Inc. in 2015. I implemented gameplay mechanics in Unity 3D / C# through to successful launch.

On the technical side, I built the core lighting system that drove the horror atmosphere — dynamic point light flickering tied to the enemy proximity system, creating tension without relying on scripted jump scares. The enemy AI used a finite state machine with patrol, chase, and search states, with hearing and line-of-sight detection that kept encounters unpredictable. I also designed the save/load system using binary serialization, allowing players to resume from checkpoints without breaking the immersion.

The Steam pipeline was a significant learning experience. I managed the Steamworks submission process end-to-end: configuring the app ID, setting up depots for the main build and the Windows executable, integrating the Steamworks SDK for achievements and overlay support, and navigating Valve’s content review process. The launch taught me the importance of build branching, version tagging, and testing the Steam integration before pushing to the default branch.

Specific gameplay mechanics I implemented included a flashlight stamina system that degraded over time, interactive object highlighting for puzzle elements, and a dynamic audio system that layered ambient tracks based on the player’s location and threat level. The project was a formative experience in shipping a commercial game on Steam for the first time, learning the full pipeline from development through platform submission and launch.