ECHO
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ECHO is a narrative-driven puzzle game exploring regret, memory, and acceptance, developed in Unity.
The game follows the journey of a renowned painter who, after his death, arrives at the Reincarnation Office — a bureaucratic yet surreal checkpoint between life and rebirth. To reincarnate, he must confront the three moments of deepest regret in his past and find peace with the choices he made. Through exploration, puzzle-solving, and dialogue-driven narrative, players guide the painter through his memories, uncovering stories of ambition, friendship, and family. The full gameplay experience lasts approximately 40 minutes.
Project Type
Video game
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Time
Feb 2021 - Jul 2021Platform
PC
My Role
Designed and implemented core interaction systems, including NPC dialogues, backpack inventory, and environmental interactions.
Programmed two out of the three playable chapters.
Designed spatial layouts and interaction flow across all memory stages.
Built environmental storytelling elements to deepen emotional engagement.
Narrative Designer
Created the world lore, character backstories, and complete narrative script (>10,000 words written in Chinese).
Designed emotional progression across three regret arcs and multiple ending variations.
Design Inspiration
ECHO was inspired by the loss of a close family member and the lingering feelings of regret over missed moments. Drawing from Chinese mythology — particularly the concept of Mengpo's soup at Naihe Bridge — the Reincarnation Office reimagines the afterlife not as a place of forgetting, but as a place for healing.
Rather than relying on sorrow or fear, the game adopts a gentle, bureaucratic setting staffed by serious yet endearing ghosts. Players do not erase the past, but instead revisit pivotal moments to find closure — or learn to accept their regrets as part of cherished memory.
Through ECHO, I hope to encourage players to cherish time with the living and carry fewer regrets moving forward.
Game Engine
Unity
Gameplay Programmer
Level Designer
✍️
Narrative & Level Structure
The game is divided into three stages, each revisiting a defining moment of the painter's life:
Story One: Money and Fame
Facing financial hardship, the painter once compromised his artistic integrity to satisfy a wealthy patron.
Gameplay: Players solve stealth-based puzzles to recover the compromised painting and escape a guarded collection hall.
Story Two: Friendship
The painter missed the chance to say goodbye to his best friend before he left for war.
Gameplay: Players navigate a crowded station, using audio cues from violin music to locate the friend before departure.
Story Three: Family and Love
Estranged from his parents in youth, the painter returns home too late for reconciliation.
Gameplay: Players solve layered mechanism puzzles within an unfamiliar house, uncovering a diary that reveals his parents' enduring love and longing.