Blind Hope is a 2D platformer game developed in Java. I worked on this project for half a semester together with a colleague from university. We were free to choose the theme and type of game we wanted to create, so we came up with this idea: Blind Hope – the story of Esperis from the planet Caligo. His mission is to search for and collect the ingredients needed to craft a cure that could save the queen.

For the visual style, we chose pixel art, which gave the game a retro and nostalgic atmosphere while also fitting perfectly with its mysterious and adventurous tone. Many of the assets, especially the backgrounds, were based on free resources we found online, but we carefully selected, adapted, and integrated them into the project so that they would match the artistic direction of the game and blend naturally with the elements we created ourselves. This approach allowed us to build a consistent visual world without losing the personal touch of our own design work.

The unique feature of this game is the idea that the planet is covered in a poisonous fog. In order to continue his mission, the player must pass through these fog-infested areas by wearing a blindfold. I created a special animation where Esperis puts on the blindfold, and at that moment the fog of war mechanic activates, limiting visibility and adding both challenge and atmosphere to the gameplay.

My main responsibilities were focused on both the visual and gameplay aspects of the project. On the visual side, I worked on the design of menus, the game logo, character sprites, character animations, and backgrounds. On the gameplay side, I was responsible for implementing core mechanics such as character movement, collisions, combat, player health, and overall game logic. Last but not least, I also handled the coding and integration of maps using tilesets, making sure that the levels were functional and visually consistent with the game’s style.

In the end, we managed to build a game we were truly proud of and a project we worked on with real enjoyment. Even though some of our solutions weren’t always the most efficient, the process itself was incredibly valuable—we learned a lot about Java, discovered how to apply design patterns in practice, and gained experience in collaborating as a team using GitHub.

davidburaga 2025