Unwashable is a student-made video game developed during my final year of university as part of a minor in Game Development and Simulation. This project simulated the experience of working in a game studio, with team members assigned to various professional roles. Operating under the studio name: "Vortex Games," I served as the Lead Concept Artist and Art Director, guiding the visual direction and artistic identity of the game. I worked alongside two other artists who did logo and story design, while I focused on character and environment design.
The final version of the game can be played online via this link!
The Story
Unwashable is a fun and imaginative game about a pair of socks, Leftie and Righty, who are separated during a house move.
As the player, you take on the role of Leftie, on a mission to rescue his brother from being washed, as this is death for clothing. Along the way, you face off against laundry-themed enemies, including detergent bottles, laundry pod containers, and laundry pods before facing off against the ultimate laundry boss: the Evil Washing Machine. The goal is simple: save your brother and avoid being washed at all costs!
The Comic Cutscenes
At the start, middle, and end of the game, players are shown story cutscenes through three illustrated comics that provide context and drive the narrative. Beyond adding a stylized and engaging touch to the storytelling, the use of comics was a strategic choice to reduce the need for extensive animation and modeling within our limited development timeframe.
Concept Design
The concept designs showcase my personal illustration style and was an opportunity to translate my 2D illustrations into a 3D medium. Each character was inspired by household inanimate objects, with careful consideration into how they would move, animate, and attack.
Leftie and Righty
The sock brothers were designed to resemble a mismatched, well-worn pair of dirty socks. Leftie is taller and stands upright, while Righty is shorter and depicted in a crawling pose. I created simple, yet expressive facial features that would be easy for the 3D modelers to apply to the sock models. Leftie has two attacks reflected in his design: a water attack stored inside the sock's body as a range attack and a loose thread as a melee attack.
Detergent Bottle
The Detergent Bottle is the first enemy Leftie faces. A slow-moving, bulky turquoise bottle who spits toxic detergent that depletes Leftie's health on contact. The Detergent Bottle occasionally creates toxic soap puddles, forcing the player to navigate carefully around the fight.
The Laundry Pod Container and the Laundry Pods
The Laundry Pod Container is the next enemy and a mini-boss. A large and muscular brute with high health but slow movement, he attacks by slamming the ground, creating a stun effect. Inside his body are hidden the Laundry Pods. They jump out from his mouth and are fast moving, explosive enemies with low health. They cause area-of-effect damage when hit or upon close contact with Leftie.
The Evil Washing Machine
The Evil Washing Machine is the final boss of the game, an old and malfunctioning machine. Its damaged wires deliver electrical shocks and melee damage. After recieving enough damage, the lid of the machine will overflow with soap. Throughout the battle, water puddles appear where Leftie can recharge his range attack, but the boss can electrify these puddles, making them temporarily deadly. Due to its instability, the Evil Washing Machine has a weak spot at its electrical panel. Attacking it with Leftie's water attack causes an electrical overcharge, damaging the boss. The fight consists of three rounds of attacks.
Environment
The Hallway Tutorial concept art is the game's opening level. It is divided into two sections: the area near the bedroom, where the tutorial begins, and the hallway leading to the bathroom, where the player faces their first enemy, the Detergent Bottle.
Additionally, a hidden room, the Dryer Room, was conceptualized as a secret ending that would hint at a sequel, Undryable. While the dryer room was never developed, it was intended to add an extra layer of intrigue and storytelling.
Other Concepts
In addition to these concepts, I also designed various other elements for the game, such as the health and attack bars, the start screen splash art, and promotional materials like stickers and flyers.
The Game Exhibition
At the end of our game development, we presented our work at our university’s game exhibition alongside our classmates. Visitors of all ages could play our game and it was a wonderful experience to see children and adults alike enjoy our passion project. The event was a great conclusion to a fun and creative collaboration between students from different majors.
