I.M.D.

Project overview

I.M.D. is a short first-person psychological horror prototype developed in Unreal Engine 5 during a university game jam.

The game takes place in a building inspired by a real location in Natal, Brazil. The player controls a student who returns to the IMD building at night to recover a forgotten backpack, only to find the place closed, empty, and increasingly disturbing.

The project focused on atmosphere, spatial tension, and a compact first-person experience rather than complex combat or large-scale mechanics.

My role

I worked on the project as a gameplay programmer and game designer, with additional support in level structure.

My contributions included:

• implementing player interactions;
• building the first-person gameplay flow;
• organizing player progression;
• helping structure the level;
• supporting environmental pacing;
• setting up basic scripted moments;
• working with Sequencer and cinematic elements;
• testing and preparing the Itch.io build.

Project goals

The main goal of I.M.D. was to create a short horror experience based on a familiar university environment.

To support that goal, we visited the real IMD building, collected photo references, and used those references to guide the layout, atmosphere, and mood of the prototype.

Because it was a game jam project, we had to reduce the scope and make production decisions quickly. Building the environment took a significant amount of time, so some mechanics were simplified or removed to keep the prototype playable.

What I learned

This project helped me understand how much horror depends on pacing, lighting, sound, space, and player expectation.

It also gave me practical experience with rapid prototyping in Unreal Engine, especially when balancing level construction, interaction systems, and the limited time available during a jam.

The project was also valuable because it required us to translate a real physical location into a playable digital space, which made level design decisions more concrete and challenging.

Result

The final result is a short psychological horror prototype published on Itch.io.

Even with a reduced scope, the project was a useful exercise in atmosphere, first-person design, and building a complete playable experience under jam constraints.