Hippopura - Sanctuary of Bubbles
Nestled and hidden away in the lush jungles, lay the ruins of Hippopura. It once was a sanctuary and refuge for hippos that have decided to abandon a life of gluttony and greed of earthly pleasures to find enlightenment by becoming monks. While they lived mostly modest lives, they richly decorated their monastery as a way of honoring their gods. This made Hippopura a place that has been constantly sought out by bandits and thieves alike. While the thick jungles and mountainous ranges that surrounded Hippopura made it nearly impossible to locate, it was a matter of time before a group of bandits finally succeeded.
Huge thanks to Ken Darmadi, Axel Sauerwald, Morten Pedersen, Thomas Chamberlain-Keen, Mathias Osland for their feedback throughout the project. Their encouragement and feedback has helped me to push through moments where I wanted to give up. Thanks to Nicholas Oei for the idea for the name, which was probably the most challenging part of the project.
I hope you enjoy this project as much as I have worked on it.
The great hippo god statue of Hippopura at the heart of the Bubble Puzzle room.
An overview of one of the rooms inside Hippopura, the Bubble Puzzle room.
Walkthrough for how to solve the puzzle room
Close up of the many balconies that line the Bubble Puzzle room
The peaceful hippo monks that once dwelled in Hippopura. The elder monks wear more ornate robes, whereas the younger devotees wear more modest ones.
These richly decorated ornaments that can be found in Hippopura serve ritualistic purposes.
Some of the earliest sketches to establish the design language of Hippopura. I ended up with a mish mash of parts from each of them.
The sketches I did at the start of the project. I wanted this project to have a strong idea and design thinking underlying it, so I spent a long time trying to figure out an interesting mechanism for a level design.
Some explorations of what the design language would look like