Maël Bustin Andriaens

Game Design Narrative Design Game Writing

Game Projects

Furin

Le chant du vent

UE5 Project Solo Developer

A wholesome and contemplative academic project. The core experience revolves around exploring a mysterious environment to place traditional wind chimes (Furin) on lanterns, gradually dispelling a dense fog to unearth an ancient dragon statue.

Managed the entire creative pipeline, acting as Game Designer, Level Designer, and Programmer from concept to final integration.
Engineered custom logic in Blueprint, bridging the gap between emotional design intent and robust visual scripting.
Developed a Dynamic Fog Clearance System directly tied to player progression and item placement.
Implemented an adaptive controller UI and handled the technical integration of all assets while ensuring performance optimization.

Game Jam

Fragment

3-Hour Exam Solo Project

Created during a strict three-hour exam based on the theme "Space changes as you move forward". A puzzle game where the player must dynamically alter the world itself to traverse it.

Game & Level Design: Conceptualized and built the core spatial manipulation puzzles.
Asset Integration: Managed the entire technical implementation within a critical time limit.

Not The End

1-Week Jam Team Project

Developed during a school Game Jam focusing on the theme "Surprise". An action experience where the player is ready for battle but completely lacks magic.

Narrative Design: Shaped the unpredictable tone to match the core theme.
Core Mechanics: Designed unexpected gameplay systems, including a random effect box to continuously surprise the player.

Overwritten

Team of 6 Academic Project

A first-person Noir detective game. The player uses a Walkman to seamlessly travel between 1955 and 1960, altering the environment to solve puzzles and gather critical clues.

Game Design & Documentation: Led the design vision and authored comprehensive Game Design Documents and pitch deck slides for jury presentation.
Production: Coordinated the workflow of a 6-person development team.
Sound Design: Handled a portion of the audio pipeline to establish the 50s Noir atmosphere.

Narrative Design

Le Tombeau de Givre

Narrative Bible Lore & Worldbuilding Survival Fiction

"Three enemies are trapped in a frozen Japanese temple. To survive the deadly winter, they must first survive each other."

Worldbuilding & Lore

Establishing the deep cultural and mythological roots of an isolated sanctuary, utilizing traditional Japanese aesthetics and architecture to craft a chilling, claustrophobic atmosphere.

Character Dynamics

Designing intersecting character arcs and psychological tension. The narrative design focuses on betrayal, temporary alliances, and high-stakes survival mechanics in a confined space.

PDF Here

Game Design Analysis

Video Essays

Video Analysis

How Phasmophobia Reinvented the Horror Genre

An in-depth study of gameplay mechanics and the core deduction loop. This video explores how the game leverages loss of control and uncertainty to generate tension organically.