What is Unwound?

Unwound is a 3D Narrative Adventure Platformer, combining gameplay elements of games such as OMORI, Undertale, Psychonauts, and classic adventure games. Set in a surreal, fanstical world where objects have come to life and candy is the most valuable resource there is, you play as an investigator sent to discover the cause of a series of natural disasters. When a storm destroys your ship and strands you on an island, you must use found objects to build yourself up from a sentient ball of yarn. By finding new body parts, you can change how you navigate this strange and mysterious place. Run for mayor, join a cult, uncover lost memories, make friends, and break hearts - just remember to figure out what’s going on before the island falls apart.

Role

Josh joined Unwound in early 2023 as a game developer on the project. His first main objective was ensuring that the player controller felt good. Throughout his time working on the game, he owned the player controller, camera controller, level design bible, and designed the minigame. He spent a great deal of his time prototyping systems for other members of the team to use. For example, creating a player controller which allowed for extensive customization meant that the mechanics of adding and removing limbs could be built naturally and easily.

Because the camera of the game was fairly clunky, Josh was asked to rework it based off of a series of references from other games. His core references were Stray, Psychonauts, and Fallout 4. He spent a great deal of time documenting and researching cameras to build a custom rig. For a full in-depth deep dive into the camera of Unwound, see this blog post: Development Dive - Unwound’s Custom Camera Controller

Development on Unwound has continued, and the game remains in full production. Unwound has been presented at several conventions and expositions, including PAX East, GDC, PlayNYC, AnimeNYC, MagFest, and more. Josh’s work on the project continues to this day as an active contributor on the project.