3D Environment Design
I worked on creating house layouts, neighbourhood-style environments, and explorable spaces inspired by the structure and mystery of Hello Neighbor.
Game Development ยท Unfinished and Beloved
Hello Neighbour
One of my earliest game development projects, inspired by Hello Neighbor and built while I was first learning Unity and Unreal Engine.
Overview
The game that got me into game dev
This project was a Hello Neighbor-inspired game I started working on around Grade 8, shortly after getting my first laptop. Hello Neighbor was a game I played a lot throughout elementary school and high school, and it became one of the first games that made me want to experiment with game development.
The goal was not just to copy the original game, but to use it as inspiration for a new version with my own story, house layout, puzzles, and mechanics. I started the project in Unity and later experimented with Unreal Engine as I became more interested in different game development tools.
Project context
This was one of my first major attempts at making a full 3D game. A lot of the project files were eventually lost, and the game was never finished, but it was an important early project because it helped me understand how much goes into creating even a small playable experience. Looking back, the project feels very nostalgic. It was made during the period where I was first learning how game engines worked, how 3D environments were built, and how a game idea could slowly turn into something interactive.
Project Screenshots
Early environment work, house designs, and screenshots from the Hello Neighbour-inspired project.
What the Project Included
Unity and Unreal Testing
The project started in Unity and later became a way for me to experiment with Unreal Engine as I learned more about different game development software.
Story and Mechanics Ideas
The goal was to build a new version of the concept with original story ideas, custom puzzles, new mechanics, and a different house layout instead of directly recreating the original game.
Why Hello Neighbor
Hello Neighbor was one of those games I kept coming back to. I played it a lot when I was younger, sometimes just to explore the house, mess around with the mechanics, or listen to music while playing. Because of that, it became a natural choice for one of my first game development projects.
Current Status
The project is currently paused, and many of the original files are lost. Even so, it remains one of my favourite early projects because it represents the point where I started trying to make bigger game ideas rather than small tests or simple experiments.
Looking back
Rough, unfinished, and still worth it
This project helped me learn the basics of 3D game development, including building environments, thinking about player movement, designing explorable spaces, and understanding how game engines organize scenes, objects, and assets. It also taught me that larger game ideas need planning, structure, and a lot of patience. Even unfinished projects can still be valuable when they help build skills and confidence.
This project feels like one of the early starting points for my interest in game development. It was rough, unfinished, and very experimental, but it was also one of the first times I tried to make something that felt like a real game. I may eventually revisit the idea in some form, either by rebuilding the project from scratch or using the same style of mystery, exploration, and house-based gameplay in a new original concept.