Path of Spells/字字惊心
2018 MAY
— digital game prototype
— Unity, SAI Paint Tool, Google Sheets
— Collaborator: moony/art, eromer/art, YUEYUE/UI, Yang/design, sky/design, Lixin/engineer, Geralt/engineer
— My role: Lead Designer/Director
Events
— 2018 Tencent Gamejam
A game prototype developed during my internship at Tencent.
A word-based multiplayer game where “what you spelled out (stepped through) is what you become”.
game key visuals
Concept
The game is a top-down, 2D PVP fighting game, inspired by the movement system of Crypt of the Necrodancer and the attack mechanics of Battle City. But the unique mechanic is that you don’t pick a class or ability from a menu, you spell it out on the map.
The game board is a letter (or character) grid. Each tile is part of a word or phrase, some represent classes, others are abilities, buffs, debuffs, or terrain effects. As you move through the grid, stepping on letters in sequence, you activate whatever you spell.
“What you step through is what you become.”
For example, stepping through the word "HEALTH" gives you a small heal, but stepping through "HUGEHEALTHPACK" grants a bigger bonus. The meaning and length of the word directly affect the in-game effect.
Core Mechanics
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Movement: Grid-based, matching the rhythm beat.
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Spelling = Action: You trigger effects by stepping through complete words or phrases.
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Combo logic: Longer or more complex phrases yield stronger or more nuanced effects.
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Map terrain: Special zones modify how words behave (e.g., amplify buffs for certain classes or reverse debuffs).
Although the examples here use English, our prototype used Chinese characters, which we discovered work surprisingly well for this mechanic.
An example of a phrase on grid in both Chinese and English:
Level Design
We designed and tested dozens of maps directly in Google Sheets, then translated them into playable versions. Each level was made entirely of words and phrases, forming strategic puzzles in addition to battle arenas. If you read Chinese, feel free to explore our design doc.
Collection of the maps we designed.
Why We Loved It
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Map Editor Potential
Because maps are made entirely from letters/characters, they’re easy to build. We used Google Sheets as our level design tool. This opened up the possibility for player-generated content and a map-sharing community.
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Educational Applications
With no icons or menus, players must read and interpret every element on the grid. It requires both strategic thinking and language comprehension. This format could easily be adapted for educational games,teaching vocabulary, science, even history. - Endless Variation
We explored many classic multiplayer modes—Battle Royale, Team Deathmatch, Control Point—and redesigned them entirely within the "word grid" format.
Demo gameplay videos
Inspirations