Design Statement
I listened to the theme song many times. The first three notes impressed me most, and they became the basis of my core game track. Two aspects:

Atmosphere: The thatgamejam#02 theme feels dark overall. It uses F natural minor, not major (unlike the first edition’s sunny, high-saturation palette). This suggests inner dimness, melancholy, introspection, and calm; similarly, in interacting with the external world, it hints at being lost, frustrated, confused, and exploring. So my worldview is sorrowful and serious, while the protagonist is a strong little boy full of vitality and hope.

Structure: The whole track stays in F natural minor. For me, the scale is the hard criterion for whether a piece is on-theme. The middle section has clear, brisk drums—a small adventure in the forest or dark night, and a denial of absolute gloom—with an upward-winding melody repeated several times. My game LIGHTER uses this for a nested, escalating plot. For the ending, I wanted a “lifetime apart” effect, so I boldly used a bossa nova summer atmosphere to create tension and highlight the protagonist’s release and growth—a journey that nearly kills him and gives him rebirth.

That is my interpretation and design choice.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
Launch steps:
I have released a web version and a Windows version. For the web version, just play in full-screen landscape mode. For the Windows version, unzip it and open the exe file to play.
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Controls:
A visual interactive novel—you only need to click on choices and enjoy the story.
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Game Overview:
Set in a Victorian steampunk world during a frozen apocalypse. You play as Tom and experience the entire story from a first-person perspective.

1. Beginning:
You leave the migrating group to find a rare gift for your sister, but you underestimate the dangers of nature and end up near death and alone. Fortunately, your robot dog—carrying your luggage—finds you on its own, and together you set out to catch up with the group.

2. Journey:
Along the way, you encounter unexpected relics and touching moments, moral dilemmas caused by scarcity, the rewards of helping others, and farewells to loved ones.

3. Ending:
In the end, these trials forge your heart into something unbreakable.

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj4I3JvevT0

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
AI:
1. All backgrounds for the walking sections.
2. All programming. (Claude + DeepSeek)
3. All UI screens, snowflake effects, and smoke effects. (Claude + DeepSeek)
4. Movement animations. (AI-generated base, manually keyframed and adjusted.)
Some sound effects.
5. AI was used when translating it into multiple languages.

No AI, all human-made:
1. All planning and copywriting/writing.
2. All character portraits, model art, and CG illustrations.
3 All music.