About
Darkness in Olympus was developed in just 48 hours during a Game Jam, with the theme “Flame Olympique”. Our team of three built a full dungeon crawler in Unity where light is your only weapon.
You play a torchbearer navigating a hostile temple. The flame you carry slowly fades over time. Its glow weakens, enemies emerge from the dark, and the only way to escape is to reach the boss chamber alive.
As gameplay programmer, I developed the entire enemy AI system, player controls, trap mechanics, and menu/UI logic.
🎮 Play it here: Itch.io – Darkness in Olympus
📂 GitHub: Source Code
Project Info
- Role: Gameplay Programmer (AI, traps, UI, player mechanics)
- Team Size: 3
- Time Frame: 48 hours
- Engine: Unity
- Platform: PC
- Assets: Free pixel art pack from Dungeon Gathering by SnowHex
🎮 Introduction
Darkness in Olympus is a top-down survival game where the torch is both your life and your weapon.
- The player explores a hand-designed dungeon, lightning up torches and searching for the key to unlock the boss room.
- Along the way, they must avoid deadly traps (arrow launchers, spike floors) and fend off monsters drawn to — or repelled by – the light.
🧠 Enemies react to light radius. Some flee from it, some wait in darkness, others charge at full strength. If your torch dies out, you’re nearly blind – and vulnerable.
🧠 Gameplay Systems
Light Mechanics
- The player’s torch gradually dims over time
- Light can be replenished at ritual pillars that trade flame for stored energy
- Health potions and light boosts can be found in chests
Combat & Enemies
- The flame itself damages enemies on contact
- Different enemy types:
- Runners: Fast but scared of light
- Swarmers: Weak but appear in numbers
- Tanks: Slow, high-HP, unaffected by darkness
Boss Room
- A fusion of all enemy archetypes in giant form
- Each boss creates environmental pressure and tight timing windows
Dungeon Design
- Single handcrafted level filled with:
- Maze-like paths
- Locked doors and key-based progression
- Dangerous traps
- Checkpoints of light
🧪 The entire level was designed in just 48 hours, tuned for tight pacing and increasing threat.
🖥️ UI & Polish
- Tutorial overlays
- Health bar + Torch power gauge
- Key tracker for chest and door access
- Clean transition screens and menu UI
📚 What I Learned
- How to create enemy AI with unique behavior patterns under time pressure
- Implementing dynamic lighting and shadow-based mechanics in Unity
- Designing a full dungeon layout with backtracking, threat layering, and pacing
- Building a game loop where light = power, but also = vulnerability
- Debugging complex AI behaviors (e.g., fleeing logic, collision issues)
💡 I’m especially proud of the AI diversity — each enemy feels different, creating distinct tactical challenges as light diminishes.
🎤 Reception
We presented Darkness in Olympus to a jury in Nantes, who praised its originality and strong visual-mechanical cohesion. Several judges even asked us to publish it publicly so they could challenge the game themselves.