At the End of the Lure

At the End of the Lure on itch.io

This atmospheric and moody walking simulator was built in Unity using only free assets available on itch.io and the Unity Assets Store. The game takes place in a liminal world-between-worlds, a place where things that are forgotten wash up and rot. The player wanders around the foggy, mostly obscured environment, guided by TVs that speak to them about what this world used to be like before it turned predatory and attempt to point the player towards an exit, should they want to take it. The title of the game comes from the idea that this liminal space, in a way, is like an anglerfish, dangling lights to lure in unsuspecting prey. The theme of consumption is prevalent here, too, although it is more insidious in this walking simulator because while the player is not actively being pursued by something, they are wandering through a world that seeks to absorb them. This game toys with scale as well, as objects appear to be a regular scale from further away and upon approach they are much larger than the player.

I worked on At the End of the Lure for 2 weeks from the end of October to the second week of November in 2023 as the sole writer, level designer, and programmer. Through the use of free assets, I wanted to combine them into an array that was from different artists and sources but felt cohesive, like they would be found in an uncanny space at the edge of memory.