Homeless

Homeless is a 2D-point’n’click-game created by a team of six during one semester of our Bachelor’s program at FH St. Pölten. Our challenge was to develop a fully playable game within four months that carried a meaningful message. After several brainstorming sessions, we chose to focus on homelessness, since we felt it was a rarely explored in games. One of our teammates had both personal and professional experience with this issue, which allowed us to craft a story that was heartfelt and authentic. The player follows Noah, the main character, through a single day of his life. The game unfolds across five levels, each ending with a short cutscene that reveals more about his past and how he came to live on the streets.

As art lead, I was responsible for defining the game’s overall tone and visual direction. While me and the team developed the first level’s paper prototype, I began sketching early concepts for the cutscenes and character designs for Noah. Through multiple feedback rounds, I refined the art style, focusing on readability, recognizability, and warmth. The visual design features cozy, autumnal tones, and a clear character artstyle that stands out from the background, reinforcing both atmosphere and clarity during gameplay.

Once Noah’s design was finalized, I created a full turnaround and began animating him using Spine, later integrating the animations into Unity. It was my first time working with Spine, so learning 2D animation from scratch was challenging. Alongside character design and animation, I illustrated all in-game assets, while another teammate handled the backgrounds. As art lead, I regularly reviewed their work to ensure a cohesive visual style across all levels.

This was the largest and most ambitious game project I’ve worked on so far. Despite the steep learning curve, I grew tremendously in both technical skill and creative confidence. Seeing our vision come to life was incredibly rewarding. I’m proud of what our team achieved and grateful for the chance to contribute to a game that tells a meaningful, emotional story.