A Realistic Mindset: Development without Burnout

One of the most important aspects of this project was its definition as an experiment. I didn’t have the pressure of financial gain or a strict corporate deadline (though I self-imposed a one-year limit).

Having a stable job allowed me to treat this as a learning laboratory. Many developers jump into this high-risk industry without economic stability, which often leads to burnout. By defining my scope clearly and treating it as a hobby-fueled challenge, I enjoyed every step of the process without the stress of «making it» commercially.

The Challenge: Animation through Code

I set some strict (and perhaps «non-optimal») rules for myself:

• No Keyframes, No Sprite, No Textures: Everything !absolutely everything! had to be generated via code. (no 3D model)

• Educational Value: The game should reward skill and intuition.

• Pure Game Design: No tutorials, no text. The player should learn simply by observing and playing.

As a Motion Graphist, my strength is traditional keyframing. However, I wanted to push my programming boundaries and master Unity’s Shader Graph to prove I could «animate» procedurally.

Game Design: Respecting the Player

From the very beginning of development, my core design philosophy for ToSaVa was to respect the player’s intelligence. I wanted to avoid holding their hand like a children’s game, stripping away screen distractions and intrusive text so that the next logical action felt completely intuitive.

Show, Don’t Tell: The UI and Tutorial

Take the main menu, for example. After the title screen, you are greeted by just three abstract symbols contrasting against a pure black background. There are no text labels explicitly saying «Play,» «Achievements,» or «Settings.» You simply click, the menu expands, and its function becomes immediately obvious. To guide the player naturally, the only button with a subtle internal animation is the HSB symbol (the starting game mode). The other two modes (RGB and Lab) are darkened, clearly signaling they are locked without needing a literal padlock icon.

The onboarding process follows this exact same rule. The game doesn’t just drop you into the action at full speed. First, you see the chameleon standing still before the color interface appears. You are restricted to modifying only one of the three color attributes. Only when you adjust it correctly does the next attribute unlock. This happens three times, ensuring you organically understand the controls and make your first perfect match.

Once you get it right, the chameleon starts walking. As you approach the danger zone, the game introduces the core threat without a single word: a camera wiggle and exclamation marks pop up. The floor changes color, the invisible «tutorial» seamlessly ends, and the real game begins.

The Hidden Difficulty Curve

• Phase 1: At the start, only one color attribute changes when the floor shifts. To reflect this conceptually, the environmental elements use a Monochromatic color scheme.

• Phase 2: As you string together correct matches and earn stars, the game adapts. Now, two attributes change at once between floor segments, making it harder to match in the same amount of time. The environment shifts to Complementary colors.

• Phase 3: If you consistently achieve perfect matches, you trigger the final phase. All three color attributes change drastically. The environment visually reflects this ultimate challenge by switching to a Triadic color scheme.

Pre-production and Scope Management

Early on, I realized I had to be a realist. ToSaVa was initially conceived as a much larger game with multiple animals, various biomes, and complex mechanics (like catching flies to gain points or color-coded platforming over rivers).

However, life happens, and I couldn’t dedicate as much time as I originally hoped. This is where modular design saved the project. I prioritized the «must-haves» and kept the extras as modules that could be dropped without breaking the game’s core. Finishing an «imperfect» game is always better than never finishing a «perfect» one.

Finishing an «imperfect» game is always better than never finishing a «perfect» one.

Technical Deep Dive

1. Visual Style & The Dithering Solution

In a 3D game, you usually rely on lighting and shadows to define volume. However, in ToSaVa, the chameleon must mimic the floor color perfectly. Standard shadows or Cell Shading created color gradients that confused the player.

• The Problem: No shadows = No volume (flat shapes). Shadows = Wrong color information.

• The Solution: I developed a moving diamond pattern shader using Shader Graph. This creates a «dithering» effect that defines the 3D volume while allowing the player to compare the chameleon’s true color with the floor at all times.