Arkaan’s Awakening is a fast-paced 2D roguelike focused on replayability through procedural generation, elemental abilities, and a variety of weapon mechanics. You play as Valkyon – a fallen guardian trying to break free from Arkaan’s darkness.
Arkaan’s Awakening was made as the final Bachelor’s project for Multimedia Technologies program at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU).
Because the game was developed entirely solo, I was responsible for both the technical and artistical sides of the game. I implemented a combat system with various upgrades, a procedural map generation and a skill tree.
The game features four distinct elements – Solar Eclipse, Oni, Echo, and Spirit, paired with four weapon types – Scythe, Staff, Daggers, and Bow. Each element and weapon combination affects combat with unique mechanics and visuals:
For fast visual iteration and implementation, I chose pixel art as the game’s main aesthetic. All visual elements of the game were created using Aseprite. I created sprites and sprite sheet animations for various characters, enemies, VFX and environments.
Valkyon, the protagonist, was designed with a dark silhouette and dynamic visual accents – horns, weapons and particles – that change based on the equipped element.
Weapons follow the same design principle: bold, exaggerated silhouettes with element-specific details.
Both character and weapon visuals reflect the core identity of each element:
Solar Eclipse – bright yellow hues with half-moon shapes
Oni – red and pink tones with sharp, aggressive forms
Echo – light green and electric effects with quick, snappy visuals
Spirit – white, flowing, and elegant shapes with soft transitions
Both NPC and Boss designs follow the same core visual principles. Each character features a black silhouette and a distinct horn design that reflects their personality, role, and level of power.
Enemies, on the other hand, share a unified face design and color palette, with no unique horns – visually reinforcing their purpose as lower-tier, obedient servants of Onyx, the boss of the Oni zone.
Each weapon changes visually and mechanically based on the equipped element and upgrade status.
Each special ability has a base and upgraded version, both with unique visuals and mechanics tied to the element.
The basic dash is the same for all elements. Unlocking the upgraded dash adds new visuals and mechanics.
The game world consists of three distinct areas: the Tutorial Zone, Main Hub, and Onyx Peak. Each area uses a unique color palette and set of environmental objects to support its purpose:
Tutorial Zone – introduces core mechanics in a safe, controlled environment.
Main Hub – central space where the player can interact with NPCs and explore environmental objects.
Onyx Peak – the first combat zone, where the player battles through enemies to face Onyx, the boss of the Oni element.
Onyx has four distinct abilities that challenge the player’s movement, timing, and spatial awareness:
Orb Projectile – fires multiple orb projectiles in a 360 rotation.
Spike Launch – launches ground spikes directly toward the player’s current location.
Triple Spear Throw – throws three spears in a randomly selected cooldown pattern between them.
AOE Zone Attack – triggers a repeating AOE pattern across the arena, requiring the player to recognize and avoid safe and danger zones.
