AJ's Challenge
game design · unity

the aj
challenge

a puzzle-platformer set in a mysterious school — built from scratch in Unity with custom 3D models, animations, mechanics, and C# scripting.

play on itch.io view process

role

solo game designer

tools

Unity · Houdini · Maya

platform

WebGL / PC

language

C#

play in browser

WebGL build
WASD walk
WASD + SHIFT run
SPACE jump
fullscreen icon fullscreen

the story

once, in one of the schools of jersey city, a girl named Musska suddenly vanished without a trace. rumors spread that she had been lost in the old Physics Lab — abandoned for years since a disastrous experiment by Mrs. Horace, who also disappeared in the accident.

determined to find her, AJ spent days sneaking into the closed area — until he accidentally stepped on a spot that teleported him to an unknown location.

"as a child, i spent countless hours staring at the cover image of Chip's Challenge in Atari LYNX catalog magazine. despite owning a LYNX 2 in tajikistan, i never had the game."

i tried to recreate that feeling of longing and imagination in a retro puzzle-platformer using Unity.

Atari Lynx Catalog 1991
Atari Lynx Catalog — Page #6, 1991

design process

modeling · scripting · levels
deployed_code
01. 3D modeling in Houdini
procedural approach to building all environment assets, props, and characters — keeping geometry clean for WebGL performance.
Houdini modeling process
architecture
02. ionic pedestal & secret room
classical architectural forms ground the school theme — the ionic pedestal in the secret room connects the surreal with the familiar.
Ionic pedestal design
joystick
03. big mouth (Gnower) — rigged in Maya
enemy character designed in Houdini, rigged and animated in Maya — full custom rig with procedural idle and attack states.
Big Mouth enemy design
code
04. C# player controller
custom player controller scripted in C# — handling movement, collision, puzzle triggers, and scene transitions.
Player controller script
person
05. character — Adobe Mixamo
AJ is built on a free character model from Adobe Mixamo — enabling rapid prototyping of movement and gameplay while keeping focus on level design and custom environment art.
AJ character model from Mixamo
AJ — Adobe Mixamo free character

visual archive

Level 1 — Roman Numerals puzzle
Secret room with barcode door key
Unity scene view
Final level

the final level

AJ discovered the lab was a portal to another dimension where Musska (and Mrs. Horace) were trapped by an AI created during the failed experiment.

after solving puzzles and surviving traps, AJ reunites with them and defeats the AI — restoring the school to normal.

design principles

›

surreal setting without mature themes

›

classical architectural forms to ground the school vibe

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clear level design with readable puzzle logic

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no heavy background environments — keep WebGL fast

play the game

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