Inspiration
The game draws inspiration from a variety of iconic titles, blending their narrative depth and level design to create a unique experience. It incorporates the mysterious and atmospheric storytelling of Control, the intricate environments and survival horror of Resident Evil: Village, the whimsical yet immersive world-building of Harry Potter, and the psychological tension and light-versus-dark mechanics of Alan Wake.
Art Style
The art style of Phantom Rails should be a captivating fusion of Gothic aesthetics and surrealism, creating a visually arresting world that feels both timeless and otherworldly. The game seamlessly blends retro steampunk elements with modern technological designs like glowing neon lights and futuristic interfaces.
My goal is to enhance the eerie atmosphere, as players navigate shadowy corridors, ornate train carriages, and distorted dreamscapes. Every detail, from towering Gothic architecture to surreal, shifting landscapes, immerses players in a hauntingly beautiful environment.
Core Mechanics
Tool Invention and Upgrades
- Core Mechanic: Players gather materials and components scattered across the map to invent special steampunk tools for combat, puzzle-solving, and environmental interaction.
- Upgrade System: Collect resources or complete tasks to unlock enhanced tool functionalities (e.g., adding an electric shock to the Grappling Glove).
Phantom Realm Puzzles
- Core Mechanic: Unique phantom realms are hidden in the train. Players must find the abnormal part of the world, interact with the environment and make good use of the tools to solve the phantom puzzles.
Story and Interaction
- Core Mechanic: As a mentor and antagonist, the Professor provides clues or creates obstacles for the player.
Interaction Features:
- Professor Challenges: In specific areas, the Professor manipulates mechanical traps or releases monsters to test the player.
- Branching Choices: Players can choose to trust or doubt the Professor’s guidance, affecting story progression and endings.
Game Flow
Read the diagram as text
Level flowchart: Level Start → the player explores the train (going straight on, or first discovering the toilet anomaly and getting a bonus) → talk with the Professor → the Professor summons the Goblin → Goblin pursuit → navigate to the Inverted Toilet → collect components in the toilet → unlock the crafting system → create a grapple gun → grab the toilet door to prevent falling → escape the toilet → navigate back to the Professor → talk with the Professor → Level End; a branch after creating the grapple gun shows the Goblin entering the toilet and falling to the ceiling because of the toilet’s inverted gravity.
Narrative Design
The story takes place on a mysterious train that travels between “reality” and “phantasms.” Everything aboard appears normal, but a sense of danger lurks beneath the surface. The protagonist unintentionally embarks on this eerie journey, only to find themselves trapped in a world of interwoven, multi-layered illusions.
As the game progresses, the protagonist uncovers the secret behind the train: a “Phantom Expansion Project” fueled by an unknown force that uses human consciousness as energy to create these illusions. Players must unravel the truth behind these phantasms and find a way to escape this perilous “train of life and death.”
Prologue: Train 7407
- The game begins with the player boarding a vintage steam train, marked with the mysterious number “7407.” While everything initially seems ordinary, the player will notice subtle details aligning with the urban legend of a “ghost train,” causing unease.
- As the train departs, strange phenomena gradually manifest. The player must explore the carriages, interact with other passengers, and uncover clues to realize this is an illusion disguised as reality.
First Illusion: The Academic Institution’s Truth
- The train arrives at a bizarre academic facility as its first “destination.” The player must identify flaws in the illusion, triggering its collapse. During this process, the player will temporarily return to the train before entering a deeper layer of the phantasms.
Second Illusion: Gothic Castle and Secret Plans
- A castle resembling a magical academy introduces horror elements and combat mechanics. The player infiltrates the castle’s upper levels, overhearing the antagonist faction’s plans for the “Phantom Expansion Project.” The player will navigate stealthily and engage in action-packed combat while escaping pursuit.
Third Illusion: The Altar and the Monster
- At the deepest level of the illusion, the player will encounter a mysterious altar and a monstrous figure. The player must engage in a tense boss battle, wielding the “Sword of Stone” to defeat the monster and trigger the collapse of the phantasm.
Final Chapter: The True Train
- The player returns to the train, only to find lingering anomalies (hinting the illusion isn’t entirely broken). Observing details like the reversed restroom, the player will discover the train serves as the “core node” of the illusion. By solving critical puzzles or using specific items, the player might be able to break the final illusion to escape the loop.
Game Assets
Used from the Unreal Epic Asset Store
Character Design
The Mechanic Girl (Player Character)
A brilliant young inventor with a knack for crafting ingenious steampunk gadgets, the Mechanic Girl is resourceful and fearless. Her creations, ranging from grappling hooks to energy-powered gauntlets, allow her to solve intricate puzzles and combat the menacing creatures haunting the Phantom Rails. Driven by a mysterious personal loss, she embarks on this perilous journey to uncover the train’s secrets and her own destiny.
The Professor
Once a famous physics teacher, the Professor was trapped in the phantasms for so long that, in a desperate bid for freedom, he began studying the forbidden knowledge within. However, the deeper he delved, the more he was corrupted by the phantasms, ultimately transforming himself into a robot. Now a walking relic of his own experiments, he acts as a mentor and occasional adversary, torn between aiding the Mechanic Girl with his vast scientific knowledge and succumbing to the train’s dark influence. His mechanical form hides both great power and a tragic past.
The Goblin
The Goblin is a twisted monster from the phantasm realm, symbolizing the corruption of the phantasms. Its glowing, mismatched eyes and bloody axes create an unsettling yet resourceful enemy. Acting as both pursuer and puzzle element, its erratic behavior keeps players on edge.
Environment Concept · The Train
The Phantom Rails is the game’s central visual concept—a steampunk locomotive racing along the tracks toward a moonlit castle illuminated by a blend of neon lights and steampunk aesthetics. This scene emphasizes the game’s artistic style, merging steampunk elements with high-tech neon visuals.
I created this scene in Unreal Engine 5 and encountered an initial issue: with standard camera parameters, the distant castle appeared very small, occupying a minor portion of the frame. While this perspective emphasized the vastness of the railway, it lacked visual impact. To address this, I adjusted the camera’s focal length, enlarging the castle’s presence in the frame through changing the camera focal length, thereby enhancing the scene’s dramatic and striking visual effect.
Environment Concept · Inverted Toilet
The Inverted Toilet will serve as the first environmental puzzle in the game. Players will encounter this abnormal phenomenon—a toilet flipped upside down—while onboard the train. At the same time, they will face their first glimpse of a phantasmic creature, a goblin. Entering the toilet becomes the key to evading the creature’s pursuit and attack.
I created the concept for this scene in Unreal Engine 5, starting with a standard toilet design. To enhance the steampunk aesthetic, I used stylized models featuring intricate gears and metallic textures. After finalizing the design, I converted the toilet into a blueprint and placed it within the train environment, flipping it upside down. Using post-processing volumes, I adjusted the color grading and added stylized effects to amplify the surreal and atmospheric tone.
Final Renders
