Team: Solo Project / Tools: Unreal Engine 5, Blender, Visual Studio Community / Timeline: 4 Months
REFRACTION is a solo Unreal Engine 5 psychological horror demo built around fixed cameras, tank controls, pre-rendered background plates, symbolic spaces, and interaction-driven progression.
The project explores how classic survival horror constraints can be reinterpreted in a modern engine. Instead of using free camera movement, combat, or inventory-heavy progression, REFRACTION focuses on observation, slow movement, environmental storytelling, and player interpretation.
PROJECT GOALS
REFRACTION was designed as a focused technical and design study, not a full-length horror game.
My goal was to build a small playable demo that tested:
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Fixed-camera horror presentation in Unreal Engine 5
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Tank-control movement with keyboard and controller support
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Interaction design built around facing direction and proximity
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Pre-rendered background plates inside a real-time 3D engine
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Symbolic environmental storytelling through surreal room design
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A small puzzle structure driven by observation and interpretation
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The final demo was scoped down to a short linear experience so I could complete a playable build while developing the supporting camera, rendering, collision, and interaction pipeline.
DESIGN INTENT
The core design question was:
Can classic fixed-camera horror still feel readable, intentional, and atmospheric in Unreal Engine 5?
REFRACTION uses deliberately retro constraints to create tension. The player cannot freely rotate the camera, strafe, or rely on fast movement. Instead, the player moves through composed camera angles, studies the environment, and interacts with objects by physically facing them.
This supported three design priorities:
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Atmosphere: Use fixed shots, surreal spaces, and controlled pacing to create unease.
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Readability: Keep movement and interaction rules consistent across camera changes.
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Interpretation: Make progression feel connected to observation and symbolic meaning rather than combat or item collection.
GAMEPLAY LOOP
Explore → Observe → Interpret → Choose → Progress
The player moves through a short sequence of symbolic spaces, examines objects, solves a painting-based puzzle, and descends toward a final confrontation inside “The Nest.”
CORE DESIGN CHALLENGES
MOVEMENT AND INTERACTION DESIGN
REFRACTION uses tank controls because they support fixed-camera gameplay. Movement is relative to the character rather than the camera, which keeps input direction consistent when camera angles change.
The movement system was designed to feel slow, deliberate, and grounded without becoming unresponsive. This helped preserve the retro horror identity while still keeping the player in control.
Interaction follows one consistent rule:
Enter range → Face object → Press interact
This was used for paintings, observations, and progression objects. Requiring the player to face interactable objects made each interaction feel intentional and helped reinforce the idea that the player is studying the space rather than simply clicking through it.
LEVEL STRUCTURE
The playable demo is structured as a short descent through four spaces:
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Basement: Introduces the tone, fixed cameras, slow movement, and basic interaction.
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Hallway: Creates a transitional pressure space before the main puzzle room.
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Painting Gallery: Presents the central puzzle, where the player interprets paintings and activates them in the correct order.
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The Nest: Acts as the symbolic endpoint and final confrontation.
Each room was designed around mood, composition, and controlled pacing. Since the demo has a small scope, the focus was on making each space feel distinct and readable rather than building a large explorable environment.
LEVEL DESIGN LAYOUT
PUZZLE DESIGN: THE PAINTING PUZZLE
The painting puzzle was the main gameplay challenge. Instead of finding a key, the player studies a set of disturbing paintings and uses a poetic clue to determine the correct activation order.
The design goal was to make the puzzle feel symbolic rather than mechanical. The player was meant to interpret emotional sequence, image meaning, and written language as part of the solution.
During private playtesting, this was the weakest part of the demo. Players understood that the paintings were important, but the clue did not provide enough structure for them to confidently solve the sequence.
The puzzle created curiosity, but the symbolic logic was too vague.
In a future version, I would revise the puzzle by making the clue language clearer, improving the connection between each painting and its meaning, and adding stronger feedback when the player makes progress.
PRE-RENDERED BACKGROUND PIPELINE
One of the largest production challenges was building a pre-rendered background workflow inside Unreal Engine 5.
I separated development into two map types:
Render Maps
High-detail scenes used to compose camera angles, lighting, and final background plates.
Game-Ready Maps
Runtime levels using collision-only geometry, interactable volumes, player pathing, and background plate placement.
This workflow let me create visually detailed environments while keeping the playable levels lightweight and easier to test.
Render Map of Gallery Level
Game-Ready Map of Gallery Level
CUSTOM UE5 TOOLS
To support the project, I built two Unreal Engine 5 tools that improved iteration speed.
Collision-Only Volume Generator
This tool converts selected meshes into collision-only geometry for game-ready maps. It reduced the need to manually rebuild collision around pre-rendered environments and made player movement more reliable.
Collision Volume Generator Plugin Window (Above)
Demonstration of Plugin in action (to the right)
PRB Plate Utility
This tool helped capture high-quality background plates without relying on manual screenshots or Movie Render Queue. It improved plate consistency and made it faster to iterate on fixed camera shots.
These tools became part of the design process because they reduced technical friction and allowed me to test cameras, collision, and movement more quickly.
PLAYTESTING AND LESSONS
Private playtesting showed that the strongest parts of REFRACTION were its atmosphere, fixed-camera presentation, retro movement, and technical pipeline. Players who enjoy classic horror responded well to the mood and control style.
The main issue was puzzle readability. The painting puzzle had the right tone, but the symbolic clue needed clearer structure. The demo also would have benefited from more interactive moments, stronger progression, and additional consequences for failure.
Key takeaways:
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Symbolism needs structure. Abstract puzzle design still needs enough information for players to form a clear theory.
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Retro constraints must be framed clearly. Fixed cameras and tank controls feel intentional when the presentation explains them as part of the design identity.
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Tools can support design. The custom UE5 tools helped me iterate faster and made the pre-rendered background workflow more practical.
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Small demos need a clear purpose. REFRACTION works best when presented as a focused horror tech demo rather than a full game pitch.
RESULT
REFRACTION became a playable Unreal Engine 5 horror demo that explores fixed-camera presentation, tank controls, symbolic environmental storytelling, pre-rendered backgrounds, and custom tool development.
The project helped me build a stronger understanding of how technical systems, camera design, interaction rules, and atmosphere work together in a controlled horror experience.