Yu Gong: Prologue

Built with Eleanor Ho and Shang Gao
#Character Graphic Design

#Game Design
#Narrative RPG
A narrative-driven roguelike inspired by the myth of Yu Gong Moves the Mountain. The prototype explores platforming, card-based combat, and branching storytelling to retell an ancient legend of persistence and rebellion. Players climb through falling-rock challenges, face divine bosses, and experience evolving narratives that reflect the tension between human determination and celestial control.
IDEALIZATION: Game Concept
Read English Translation of Yu Gong Yi Shan

Our game is a roguelike action-adventure with RPG elements inspired by Chinese mythology, specifically the tale of Yu Gong (愚公移山). Players will experience a blend of:

  • Combat Mechanics: A mix of card-based combat (similar to Slay the Spire) and bullet-hell dodging segments where players must avoid falling rocks and divine attacks.

  • Character Progression: After completing each level, players select from randomly generated enhancement cards that can combine for interesting effects, creating high replayability despite a relatively short (1-hour) playthrough.

  • Narrative Structure: The game is divided into three chapters:
    • Chapter 1: Climbing the mountain and battling creatures
    • Chapter 2: Finding a way to reach the heavens
    • Chapter 3: Storming the Celestial Court
GAME MECHANICS

1.Dodging Falling Rocks
A bullet-hell–style platformer where players dodge divine attacks and falling rocks while climbing a mountain or fighting sky bosses. Gameplay revolves around survival under increasingly dense barrages, with power-ups providing temporary boosts to endurance and agility.

2. Card-Based Boss Battles
A Slay the Spire–style combat system where players use cards to fight bosses. After each stage, players earn n new cards to expand and strengthen their deck, creating a sense of progression and strategy.

3. JRPG-Style Turn-Based Combat (e.g., Dragon Quest, Chinese Paladin)
Players and enemies take alternating turns to use attacks, skills, items, and buffs/debuffs. The format cleanly supports numeric balance (HP, MP, crits) and scalable difficulty.



ARCHITECTURE, MODEL, and CONCEPT MAP
Draft Architecture by Eleanor
The game features a large overworld for narrative exploration and small levels for combat or challenge encounters. The story follows a prewritten branching narrative with randomly generated NPCs whose dialogue is created dynamically through the GPT API.

The main plot centers on Yu Gong’s journey to trade beyond a volcanic mountain. Along the way, players fight and recruit monsters, only to discover that these monsters are humans cursed by celestial beings as punishment for humanity’s ambition to rival the gods. Realizing this injustice, Yu Gong and his companions vow to storm heaven.

Model
Concept Map


VISUAL: Character Design
Yu Gong:
Hand-drawn design  
AI-generated based on the hand-drawn
Villain Wolf
Villain Bear

Other Cultural References:

  • Nezha (哪吒) – A rebellious deity from Fengshen Yanyi (Investiture of the Gods), known for resisting divine authority and familial expectations.

  • Sun Wukong (孙悟空) – The Monkey King from Journey to the West, a chaotic but righteous figure whose resistance to Heaven echoes Yu Gong’s arc.

  • Princess Iron Fan (铁扇公主) – Wielder of the magical Banana Leaf Fan in Journey to the West, here reimagined as both a boss and a gatekeeper of divine fire.

  • Black and White Impermanence (黑白无常) – Spirit envoys of the underworld in Daoist lore, reinterpreted as reluctant enforcers of celestial punishment.

  • Queen Mother of the West (西王母) – A powerful goddess associated with immortality and resistance, she appears as a hidden ally in the fight against tyranny.

  • Er Lang Shen (二郎神) — The three-eyed god of justice and discipline. In Yu Gong: Prologue, he serves as Heaven’s enforcer, torn between duty and empathy.
The visual and symbolic language of the game draws heavily from Shan Shui (山水, traditional landscape painting), Daoist cosmology, and folk religious iconography, embedding each setting with cultural texture.

VISUAL: Card Design
Action Cards

Skill Cards 

One-Time Cards
Power-Up Card


GAME MAP
Chapter 1


Chapter 2

Chapter 3

CARD BATTLE UI


PLAYTEST ITERATIONS
 Iteration 1: 

  1. Players were confused about card functions, especially the difference between active, passive, and one-time-use cards.
  2. The absence of a tutorial or introductory guide made the first few battles feel overwhelming, especially for players unfamiliar with deck-based mechanics.

 Iteration 2: 

  1. The combat felt disconnected from exploration, almost like two separate games stitched together. 
  2. Players suggested adding progression gates or environmental cues to control pacing and signal when combat encounters were coming.


Iteration 3:

  1. Combat started to feel repetitive after multiple encounters. Players suggested adding random effects like critical hits or unpredictable status changes to spice up decision-making.
  2. Stats (HP, buffs, debuffs) for both player and enemies were hard to access or understand, which reduced the sense of strategy.


 Iteration 4:

  1. Players had difficulty distinguishing enemy vs. player actions during battle. The combat log lacked formatting, and all text appeared similar regardless of the actor.
  2. Certain cards were imbalanced—notably, “Weaken” was seen as far superior to “Defend,” making the latter rarely useful.
FULL PLAYTHROUGH


Windows Download

Mac Download