Summary
Type: Personal Project
Completed: Released
Acquirable: Itch.io
My Role: Game Designer
Time Frame: 4 Weeks Part-Time (50 hours)
Overview
Cave, Sweet Cave is a cozy survival sandbox built around exploration, personalisation and a gentle sense of risk. I designed the entire game and programmed the core systems, including the day and night cycle and the resource gathering behaviour. The title is a play on “home sweet home”, reflecting the idea that the cave only becomes a true home once the player fills it with objects that matter to them.
During the day, players explore the surrounding world to collect unusual rocks, knick knacks and natural materials. At night, enemies appear, and the only safe place is the cave. This creates a natural rhythm of venturing outward and returning home, reinforcing the theme of seeking comfort after exploration.
Level And World Design
The level layout is hand-designed and identical each playthrough. Common items are placed near the home cave to ease early exploration, while more interesting objects are placed further away, encouraging players to gradually push deeper into the world.
There is no UI indicator showing how to return home. Instead, navigation is diegetic: the cave has a fireplace, and smoke rises from the chimney. The smoke plume is always visible from afar, helping players orient themselves without breaking immersion.
This reinforces the cozy, atmospheric tone and encourages players to read the environment rather than rely on explicit UI.
My Role
I was responsible for both the overall game design and core programming, including:
• The day and night cycle
• The resource gathering system
• The world layout and placement of items
• The structure of the main gameplay loop
I handled all design decisions and ensured the mechanics supported the intended emotional experience. To clarify, I did not program the building feature.
Gameplay Flow
The game is structured around a simple loop:
• Explore during the day to find objects worth bringing home
• Discover more unique items the further you travel
• Return home before nightfall when enemies become active
• Decorate and personalise the cave using the items found
• Shape the cave into a reflection of the player’s identity
The design focuses on atmosphere, gentle tension and self-expression rather than combat or progression systems.
What I Delivered
• Full game design from concept to implementation
• Level design and world layout
• Day and night system
• Resource collection mechanics
• Diegetic navigation using the environment
• A cozy exploration loop built around player expression
Why This Shows My Design Strengths
Cave, Sweet Cave highlights my ability to:
• Build a complete and cohesive experience from simple systems
• Teach navigation and objectives through environment design
• Use level layout to guide player behaviour naturally
• Create emotional tone through gameplay mechanics
• Balance safety and exploration without complex mechanics
What I Would Do Next Time
If I revisited the project, I would give players more structured incentives to build different types of objects in their cave. While some players naturally enjoy sandbox creativity, others benefit from more explicit goals. Providing optional objectives or craftable items would help reinforce exploration and give stronger motivation to venture out during the day.
