KEY ELEMENTS
Design Goal
Obey or Burn was created as a stylized colony-building and resource management game centered around balance and progression.
Players must satisfy both an ancient dragon and a growing goose settlement, navigating the tension between prosperity, survival, and sacrifice.
Inspired by Worshippers of Cthulhu and other resource management games, the project combines strategic decision-making with a whimsical storybook-inspired world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals.
Focus Areas
player progression through regional expansion
resource management and settlement growth
balancing competing faction needs
readable isometric gameplay
storybook-inspired character design
stylized environment art
Design Exlporation
Visual Direction & Art Bible
Established the game's visual identity through stylized proportions, readable silhouettes, and storybook-inspired character and environment design.
Gameplay Systems Planning
Designed progression systems, production chains, and building categories to support long-term settlement growth and strategic decision-making.
World Building
Resources, vegetation, and landmarks were carefully placed to create believable environments while guiding exploration and progression.
Challenge:
Initial UI concepts had to be repeatedly adapted to match technical limitations and implementation requirements.
Solution:
Iterated on the interface design and provided revised layouts that balanced usability, readability, and technical feasibility.
Resource Detection Pipeline
Challenge:
Gameplay systems required manually detectable resources while environmental assets were generated through foliage tools.
Solution:
Established a placement workflow separating decorative foliage from gameplay-critical resource nodes to maintain both readability and functionality.
