Design Statement
I read the theme track as a single breath: short phrases that rise and fall, then the bass arrives and everything opens. So the game is built around listening. The opening is choreographed to the music: the elf is born on the breathing phrases, and when the bass enters the fog lifts and the forest is revealed.

"You Hear" became the core verb. The elf has almost no words; she listens. Every villager is a person hiding behind a closed door, and hearing their story is what lets her help them: a girl who needs warmth, an old man paralysed by fear, a musician playing in secret, a stubborn smith.

The key design choice is that the light you wake behind you is what gives you a shadow. Each person you help lights the village, and that light gives birth to your shadow, which repeats what you did and helps you solve puzzles. Sound guides play too: stones crack before they fall, a fairy ring hums louder as you approach.

At the end, the elf meets her shadow and integrates it: moving forward means carrying everything you are.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
LAUNCH
Browser: click "Run game" on the itch page (fullscreen recommended). Windows: unzip, open the "thatgamejam02-0.1.0-win" folder and run thatgamejam02.exe (if SmartScreen warns, click "More info" → "Run anyway"). Headphones recommended.

CONTROLS
WASD / Arrows — move · Shift (or Tab) — run · Space — jump
E — listen / interact (hold E when asked to stay)
Mouse drag — look around · Scroll / pinch — zoom

OVERVIEW
Walk through the forest to the village and listen to its people. Help them (bring warmth to the girl, stay with the old man in the dark, raise the great lantern) and the light you wake behind you gives birth to your shadow, which repeats your steps. Use it to solve puzzles, kneel at the old altar to enter the hidden plane and cross the collapsing bridge for star iron, help the smith forge the key, and open the old gate. At the end of the road, meet your shadow.

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://youtu.be/x-wihp7CAaw

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
Yes. I used Claude (Anthropic) as an AI coding assistant: parts of the code were written with its help, and some English dialogue and on-screen text were drafted or translated with it from my own ideas and Spanish writing. The story, design and creative direction are mine. No AI-generated images, 3D models, music or sounds were used: 3D models are by Quaternius (CC0) and CGTrader ("Free Ritual Stone"), animations are from Mixamo, and the music is the official jam theme by Jason Grace.