Download and play ↗ here.

Overview#

Taking inspiration from Time Spinner, Hollow Knight, and Celeste, Rubato aims to succeed as a fast-paced action platformer with hints of strategic combat through its unique enemy suspension mechanism.

Through traversing different environments, players activate time pillars to restore the Altar of Time. Various areas encountered require players to engage in combat and strategically suspend enemies as platforms, which provide access for previously-inaccessible locations.

Concept Art#

As the Design Lead, I led the direction of the game's art, UI, and experience. These are some examples of concept art I built while doing so-

Adagio

Earlier iterations of Adagio, the main protagonist's character, a time spirit with temporal magic that can free the Altar of Time.

Environment

End structures such as the Altar of Time and the World Tree. Opted to move forwards with the Altar of Time for biome progression, to support dynamic levels with different environments. Time pillars stood as level markers to coincide with the stone-esque end structure.

Story

Cutscenes to end each biome succession. Push the player into the immersive world of Rubato.

For more on the design of Rubato, see our ↗ design spec.

Team#

• Akane Edwards - Designer
• Ben Shen - Developer
• Catie Rencricca - Developer
• Jackie Zheng - Developer
• Kenneth Li - Software Lead
• Kevin Sun - Designer
• Will Gao - Project Lead, Audio
• Yanlam Ko - Design Lead