Every once in a while, a student comes along with an innate instinct for compelling game design. Without needing to reference advanced design theory, they demonstrate a natural understanding of what makes an interactive experience engaging. This project is the work of LSU junior Madison Lumpkin, who has consistently produced strong, thoughtful prototypes throughout the course. This piece serves as their final project for their first Unreal Engine class. For the project, Madison modeled and rigged the main character, then applied animations using Mixamo. She implemented a finite state machine to manage transitions between the player character and its “shadow” counterpart. The solid and shadow forms each possess distinct properties, allowing players to solve a variety of environmental puzzles through thoughtful switching between the two. The entire experience was developed over just three weeks and results in approximately 15–25 minutes of gameplay. Madison demonstrates a rare combination of skills: a competent and confident artist, a strong sense of game flow, and a programmer’s mindset. I’m not sure the video fully captures everything I experienced while playing, but I hope some of that creativity and polish shines through.
