IndieCade - Sea of Troubles

Sea of Troubles is 2D isometric educational game about community-driven climate solutions in flood-prone areas. Made for IndieCade’s Climate Jam, we drew inspiration from island communities, especially in the Dominican Republic. Our goal was to celebrate scientific progress in climate solutions while highlighting the importance of community action, tradeoffs, and the reality that no choice is perfect.

Project Info

Tools: Unity 2D, Github
Team Size: 6
Duration: June - July 2025

Role: Game Design Intern

Pitched the game’s concept and co-designed the core loop and mechanics, working with my team to develop the final design through multiple prototypes
Designed and iterated on the main game level, adjusting structure and flow in response to mentor and player feedback to improve clarity and engagement
Wrote and implemented dialogue to emphasize emotional storytelling and reinforce the game’s community-focused theme
Created original character designs, including their jobs, personalities, and visual identities, to support the game’s setting, tone, and narrative

Developmental Process

Sea of Troubles was a 5-week game jam taking place during a 7-week internship. The other interns and I worked in fast cycles (4 sprints), holding productive design meetings and integrating mentor guidance throughout. The timeline posed a unique challenge, longer than most jam schedules but far shorter than standard development cycles.

Early game prototype

Iterative Design: Refined level layout and core mechanics using feedback from playtesters and mentor sessions. One teammate drafted the initial version of a level, which I then iterated on significantly
Mentor Reviews: Integrated external feedback at key milestones to keep the project on track

Documents Used

One-Page Design Document: Included our elevator pitch, player goals, core mechanics, art direction, and narrative themes. Also addressed the climate topic, sources consulted, and our intended player takeaway around community-driven action and misinformation

Processes Used

Results

This project and being an IndieCade intern taught me how to adapt quickly to evolving ideas in a collaborative environment, and reinforced the importance of balancing mechanics, narrative, and thematic goals under tight deadlines. I grew in my ability to design both systems and levels in tandem, and gained valuable experience working on a game made specifically to raise awareness and explore solutions regarding climate change.