SeCRETs OF THE MANSION
Explore the mansion
Secrets of the Mansion is a retro-inspired puzzle game where players step into the role of Alex, who receives a mysterious letter from his uncle. As Alex explores the mansion, players solve puzzles and gradually uncover the secrets hidden within its walls.
This was my second school project in Unity where we had 4 weeks to finish it was an important learning experience in both level and puzzle design.
I contributed as one of the level designers, where my responsibilities included:
- Designing the core puzzle layouts for my assigned rooms
- Creating major blockouts for the overall mansion layout
- Helping establish the game’s structure and flow
- Implementing finished features and building the project
From the concepting phase onward, I was actively involved in shaping the original idea, brainstorming mechanics, and refining the vision with the team. During development, I worked closely with programmers to ensure that newly implemented features integrated seamlessly into the gameplay loop.
My primary focus was on level design, puzzle design, and implementation. I began by sketching concepts and layouts in Miro, then moved into Unity to block out and iteratively refine the puzzles.
My work
The project started with a vote on which concept we wanted to develop. I created a paper prototype in Miro that is shown below and that was what sold the idea to the team. Once the direction was set the collaboration began.
I was responsible for two of the three rooms in the final game. Every layout started in Miro where we sketched the level map and the early puzzle ideas. After that I moved into Unity and built the rooms in engine using ProBuilder. I worked a lot hands on in engine throughout the whole project.
We began with a game design document that acted as a living document and helped us keep a clear picture of the project as it grew.
I also handled all the animations that were captured and later rigged through Mixamo. In code I created a retro inspired camera switch system that I am a big fan of and it helped reinforce the tone of the game. Near the end of development I teamed up with one of the programmers to add a PSX style shader to the game. It was implemented during the last days of production and I am very proud that we managed to make it work in such a short time.
This is the paper prototype i made using Miro.
Challanges
One of the biggest challenges was getting everything to come together. Since I pitched the idea, I was also tasked with keeping an eye on the overall progress and how close we were to a finished game. We added several features very late in development and even though we made them work, it created extra pressure on the team.
Our communication was another challenge. We lacked a clear task structure and many decisions ended up being made in the moment instead of through our producer. With stronger planning and clearer roles we could have avoided some of the last minute rush.
Here is some gameplay!
Level and puzzle design
For the puzzle design I looked at older point and click classics from the Lucas Arts era. I wanted the puzzles to feel simple at first glance but still carry a sense of nostalgia if you have played those games before. Most of the early work happened in Miro where I drew the rooms from a top down view. This helped me control the flow and understand how each puzzle supported the full layout of the mansion.
One of the puzzles I designed involved the key to the final room. It is hidden inside a small food elevator. In the first room the player gets a subtle hint that something is strange with the food elevators. Later, when you reach the kitchen, you need to force the elevator down to reveal the key. The goal was to guide the player without spelling everything out and to reward them for noticing details earlier in the game.
I also wrote all the text for the clickable items. These small interactions were meant to add purpose to the exploration and give story details about the relationship between the protagonist and the mansion owner. Many of them hide small easter eggs as well, which encouraged players to inspect the environment more closely.
The mansion setting played a big role in my level decisions. I wanted the rooms to feel like old luxury with a grand staircase and a heavy almost industrial kitchen. Each space needed its own personality while still fitting the tone of the mansion and supporting the puzzle flow.
This is how I concepted the puzzles
This was used for keeping a level flow
This was created to explaion our main mechanic
Reflection
When I look back at what we finished in only four weeks I am proud of the result and even more proud of the growth it pushed out of me. The game has a clear identity and with a little more time we could have refined the puzzles, the story beats, and the flow between rooms. I also see places where I could have done stronger work, but those moments taught me a lot about planning, clarity, and when to speak up.
What stands out the most is how much I enjoyed working with the team. Even with the stress and the late features we supported each other and kept moving. Secrets of the Mansion ended up teaching me as much about teamwork as it did about level and puzzle design, and the friendships I made are something I still value today.