The Shadows That Linger is a supernatural mystery game. Taking on the role of a medium named Ilana, peer into the realm of shadows to solve a haunting murder.

• Release ........ May, 2021

• Studio .......... Crimson Ink Games

• My role ........ Game Designer / Producer

• Platform ....... PC (Itch.io)

• Engine .......... Unity

• Team size ..... 10

• Managed a team of 10

• Owned design documentation

• Designed detective mechanics, clue systems, and resources

• Crafted the game's lore and central narrative, including its setting, characters, and plot

My primary goal with The Shadows That Linger was to immerse players in a dark world of paranormal noir while making supernatural investigation feel both intuitive and thematically cohesive.

To support this vision, I established a black-and-white visual style accented by purposeful bursts of color. Rather than serving as decoration, color became a gameplay language: whenever players encountered color in the world, it signaled the presence of a spiritual trace connected to an important clue.

I designed two core detective abilities around the protagonist's supernatural powers. The first, Shadow Vision, allows players to uncover hidden clues by sensing lingering spiritual traces. The mechanic transforms clue discovery into an act of paranormal investigation, encouraging players to feel like a genuine spiritual medium rather than a traditional detective. The second ability, Shadow Dialogue, reveals the true forms of characters' shadows during conversations, exposing hidden motives and secrets. Functioning as a supernatural lie detector, the ability provides players with another avenue for gathering information and solving the mystery.

Because these abilities are powerful investigative tools, I designed an energy system that limits their use. Players can restore energy through acts of self-care, such as drinking tea, petting a dog, or freshening up. Beyond resource management, these moments help relieve the tension of a murder investigation while revealing a more personal side of the protagonist, Ilana.