Learning the basic language of light
Players learn how to collect the candle, illuminate dormant objects, and understand the relationship between light and awakening.
← Selected work03 / 48-HOUR GAME JAM
Lead Game Design · Cultural Narrative · Game Jam
REBIRTH OF WOOD
ON FIRE.
A 2D puzzle platformer where light awakens a forgotten puppet theatre.
01
Overview
Created for the CiGA Game Jam theme “Everything Is Alive,” Rebirth of Wood on Fire is a 2D puzzle platformer set in the ruins of a burned puppet theatre.
Players control a lone puppet who uses candlelight to awaken forgotten stage props, restore pathways, and gradually bring an unfinished performance back to life.
02
Design Question
How can light become both a gameplay mechanic and a metaphor for revival?
I designed light as more than a tool for solving puzzles. In the game, illumination represents awakening: dormant wooden objects regain movement, function, and life when exposed to candlelight.
03
Cultural Inspiration
Chinese puppet theatre
We interpreted the theme Everything Is Alive through the idea of a forgotten puppet theatre. Traditional Chinese wooden puppetry inspired the visual language, environment, and central interaction of the game.
Wood became a symbol of memory, while light represented revival. The stage became the space where these ideas could be transformed into playable interactions.
WOOD
Memory · Material · Dormancy
LIGHT
Awakening · Interaction · Life
STAGE
Performance · Progression · Revival
04
Core Mechanic
Light-Based Awakening
- 01Dormant→
- 02Illuminate→
- 03Awaken→
- 04Interact→
Candle resource management
- props have dormant / awakened states
- candlelight activates them
- candle wax is limited
- awakened props become moving platforms / spring mechanisms / stage objects
05
Level Progression
Combining awakened objects with movement
Moving platforms and bamboo mechanisms expand the system, requiring players to combine illumination with timing and vertical traversal.
Putting the complete system into practice
The final stage combines candle management, awakened mechanisms, and platforming into a more complex sequence that leads toward the completion of the performance.
06
My Role
Lead Game Designer
- Creative Direction
- Defined the overall concept and translated the Game Jam theme into a playable idea.
- System Design
- Designed the light-based awakening mechanic and candle resource system.
- Prototype
- Built the early whitebox prototype to validate movement, interaction, and level flow.
- Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
- Worked with programming and art teams to align mechanics, visual feedback, scope, and production priorities.
07
Designing Under Constraint
48 Hours to Turn an Idea into a Playable Game
Too many ideas, not enough production time.
→ Prioritized one readable core mechanic: light awakening.
Art / programming / design had different priorities.
→ Used whitebox prototypes and visual references to align the team.
Need to communicate mechanic without dialogue.
→ Used lighting, animation and environmental change as feedback.
08
Reception & Reflection
Rebirth of Wood on Fire changed how I think about the relationship between mechanics and storytelling. I learned that a game mechanic can do more than create challenge—it can also communicate theme, emotion, and cultural meaning.
Working within a 48-hour production cycle also strengthened my ability to prioritize ideas, communicate across disciplines, and make design decisions under real production constraints.
A mechanic can do more than create challenge — it can carry meaning.
09
Project Videos
10
Team & Credits
- Lead Game Designer
- Min Yang
- Game Design
- Qiru Huang · Min Yang · Haojun Zhu · Dingfei Jiang
- Programming
- Rubing Bai · Yawen Wu
- Art
- Yunyi Zhu · Kaiwen Yan