Character Animation
Created frame-by-frame character animations in Photoshop, developing movement and behaviours that helped bring personality and expression to the game’s characters.
Interactive experiences
Three friends.
One ambitious first game.
A narrative-driven adventure of puzzles, rhythm combat, and the mystery at the heart of an ancient world.
The project
ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree is a hand-drawn 2D video game and narrative puzzle adventure inspired by Norse mythology, following a young warrior’s search for the truth behind her father’s death.
- Role
- Co-Founder · Senior Designer
- Timeline
- 2017 — 2019
- Company
- Wildboy Studios
- Publisher
- Apple · Untold Tales
- Domain
- Video Games
- Platforms
- Apple Arcade · PC · Steam · PlayStation 4 · Nintendo Switch
- Website
- Visit ATONE
- Steam
- View ATONE on Steam
- Steam reviews
- Very Positive (94 reviews)
My responsibilities
2D VFX & Unity Implementation
Created 2D visual effects for gameplay and visual feedback, while implementing character animations and visual assets directly into Unity.
Level & Interaction Setup
Helped build and set up levels in Unity, including environmental elements and interactions that supported exploration, puzzles, and progression through the world.
Story & Narrative Design
Contributed to the game’s story and narrative development, helping shape characters, dialogue, world-building, and how narrative moments were delivered through the player experience.
Gameplay preview
Character animation
Bringing Midgard’s
characters to life.
I created frame-by-frame animations in Photoshop, giving the cast movement and personality. The original character artwork was created by my co-founder.
Small characters still need big personalities.
- 01Illustration
- 02Frame-by-frame animation
- 03Export
- 04Unity
- 05In-game
Level design & implementation
From artwork
to a playable world.
The environments were collaborative, with much of the artwork created by my co-founder. I helped bring them into Unity: setting up levels, placing assets, creating interactions and implementing animation.
The environment wasn’t just something to look at. It needed to be explored.
- 01Artwork
- 02Level setup
- 03Interactions
- 04Animation
- 05Playable world
Puzzle design
Clue. Interaction. Solution.
I helped design puzzles that encouraged players to connect environmental clues with actions and feedback. A hint gives them a starting point; interaction turns that understanding into a solution.
Final puzzles
UI
A visual language
beyond the world.
ATONE’s interface carries the game’s geometric visual style into combat, puzzles, dialogue and exploration. I worked on UI interaction and animation, using motion and feedback to make player actions feel clear and responsive.
Map design
Finding your way
through Midgard.
The map needed to support exploration while feeling like part of the adventure.
Narrative & story
A world worth exploring.
Alongside the team, I helped shape characters, dialogue and narrative moments delivered through play. Estra’s journey needed to be something the player participated in, not simply watched.
The player wasn’t simply watching Estra’s story. They were participating in it.
- 01Dialogue
- 02Choice
- 03Exploration
- 04Consequence
Reception
What people said
about ATONE.
The game went much further than the three of us imagined when we first started.
What I learned
We didn’t know we were
starting a studio.
None of us had made a game before. We learned by building: working in Unity, setting up levels, testing ideas, solving constraints and pitching a vision. ATONE taught me far more than animation or UI.
We started because we wanted to make a game. We finished knowing we wanted to make more.
- 01Three friends
- 02An idea
- 03Prototype
- 04Pitch
- 05Apple Arcade
- 06First commercial game
- 07Wildboy Studios