Between Steps
In development
A mountaineering game about a guide and a climber, with Joy-Con stepping input and a story based on my climbing experiences.
- Project
- Personal project
- Engine
- Unity
- Focus
- Embodied movement · Companionship
Gameplay
Joy-Con walking
Players use Joy-Con stepping input to travel along a mountain route with a companion.
Each accepted input triggers a complete step. Movement timing and character gait need to agree so the visible motion matches the distance travelled.
Step
Trigger a physical movement.
Traverse
Coordinate travel and character gait.
Foot contact
Connect foot contact to the snow.
Design focus
Step timing and terrain
Step timing coordinates forward travel with the character’s gait, while terrain contact informs the walking pose.
Explore character movement ↗Footprints and snow trails
Footprints and snow trails make movement visible in the environment.
Explore snow interaction ↗Route & narrative
Mountain route
The route follows the guide and climber through a mountain environment. Terrain and character placement are used to indicate where to move next.
Mountaineering references
The story draws on my mountaineering experiences and is intended to connect the fictional climb with real footage.
Technical implementation
Character movement
The movement work combines companion following and procedural animation. The challenge is to coordinate route movement, gait timing and terrain contact.
I use each accepted Joy-Con trigger to advance a full step rather than mapping every controller change directly to movement.
Movement scope
The prototype uses triggered steps, not continuous leg-angle tracking. Physical-device tuning is still in progress.
Snow interaction
Footprints are placed from foot contact rather than a fixed timer. This ties each snow mark to the animation’s contact point instead of the character’s general movement speed.
In development
Current work focuses on step timing on snow and keeping the companion in sight along the route. Physical-device tuning is ongoing.
Between Steps
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