Design Statement
Onward with the Wind interprets the theme track as a journey through growth, memory, and homecoming. Its quiet moments and expanding energy became a passage through five stages of life: infancy, primary school, secondary school, university, and work.

Everyday belongings become the landscape. Players cross rattles, schoolbags, exam papers, moving boxes, and work objects while the traveler gradually grows. Wide gaps and jumps that carry momentum make moving forward a deliberate commitment. Curved surfaces, narrow edges, and uneven footholds encourage players to look closely at familiar things.

Players collect three stars in each stage and offer them to a statue to open the way onward. Checkpoints make falling part of trying again. Objects, character changes, light, and sound communicate the journey. The piano and guitar score becomes quieter when players stop to observe, leaving room to breathe between leaps. A wordless comic and a return home close the experience, connecting the desire to keep moving with the people and memories we carry.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
Browser: Click Run game, then click the opening scene or press Enter to begin. Fullscreen is recommended.

Windows: Extract the entire downloaded ZIP, then launch Onward with the Wind.exe.

Controls:
- WASD or arrow keys: move
- Mouse: look around
- Space: jump
- Shift: walk slowly
- E or left mouse button: interact with a nearby statue
- Esc: pause and release the mouse
- R: return to the current checkpoint

Touch controls: Use the left joystick to move, drag the scene to look around, and use the jump and star-shaped interaction buttons.

Follow the floating belongings through five stages of life. Build momentum before long jumps and steer early in the air. Approach stars to collect them. Gather three stars in each stage, then offer them at its statue. In the first four stages, wait for the stone gate to descend and use it to continue onward. The final statue leads to the ending.

Progress saves automatically. Falling returns you to a checkpoint.

Video note: The linked clip is a temporary gameplay preview. A fuller walkthrough will be added to the game page.

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nTxfT3tHL5BjKN-SZYipmahSFEaa10my/view?usp=sharing

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
Yes. OpenAI Codex assisted with programming, implementation, debugging, testing, and development documentation.

Tripo was used to generate the traveler and selected environment and prop models and textures, including statue islands and gates. AI-generated visual references were used in the asset production pipeline.

OpenAI image generation was used for visual references and the wordless ending illustrations.

ElevenLabs was used to generate the music and selected sound effects, including shallow-water footsteps and splashes.

Generated assets were selected, edited, and integrated during development. Other sound effects also use existing licensed audio assets.