BFA THESIS
My thesis exhibition at UW-Madison is a culmination of my graphic design degree, game design certificate, and passion for visual development. I created a fake video game with 3d environments, hand-drawn illustrations, and a custom UI that was showcased in a looping teaser trailer in the Art Lofts Backspace Gallery from 4/28-5/1/2026.
This project celebrates indie game culture and encourages audiences to consider video games as not just entertainment, but a legitimate form of art, design, and storytelling. Thank you to my lecturers, mentors, and fellow students for helping me bring Rustwood to life!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WELCOME TO RUSTWOOD
This case study encompasses the design process for bringing Rustwood to life and solving the age-old problem of many indie games not having the tools and marketing to entice new audiences. I also talk about the game mechanics themselves and the story, alongside faux gameplay screenshots and a full visual toolkit for font, palette, and icons.
For a breakdown on each individual part of this project, continue scrolling!
GAME TRAILER
A teaser trailer that introduces Rustwood’s game mechanics within the story in an easily digestible format, alongside movement within environments, simulated gameplay, and dialogue interactions.
Intended to play on loop projected onto a wall, made in Blender and Adobe After Effects.
A peek into lori's journal
Rustwood’s main game mechanic uses a journal to track clues and unlock new areas. Promotional material introduces this mechanic to new or casual gamers who may feel overwhelmed with unfamiliar gameplay, and teases specific story beats available to explore.
General poster for the game cover
Poster introducing Lori, the player's avatar and main character
Going deeper into the process...
3D Models and renders
Lori
This model has a basic rig for posing Lori in promotional pieces.
Originally, their face would be used in dialogue sprites, but I ended up switching to hand-drawn sprites to fit the rest of the visual style.
Below:
Various 3D environments used in-game. Click for more info!
Lori's Journal
While the final deliverable culminated into a ten-second clip to show in the teaser trailer, Lori’s journal included 3D animation in Maya with a simple rig.
Each page was created in Photoshop and then textured in-program using UV-mapping.
Concept art
Explore 2 years of iteration and reworking to make Rustwood what it is today!
