Yuntai
⊹ ࣪.⋆~⊹₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆✩࿐

by Ashley Shi, Crisen Li, Hari Zhou, Henk Fan, Jasmine Zhang, Jerry Zhang, Mary Zhang, Qiqi Chen, Sallya Jiang, Tina Xiang

For Capstone

Yuntai is a story-driven horror game, where Veris travels to Yuntai City for the Qiqiao Festival after a friend's invitation, but ends up uncover a sinister cult and a series of eerie supernatural events.

Yuntai - Trailer

Interview:

✧ In one or two sentences, describe the main themes present in your game.

Yuntai is a 2D story orienated, horror game that represents the issues of Traditional, real-life inspired Chinese cult culture.

✧ What was the inspiration of the game? What made your team decide to make this game specifically?

Our inspiration came from rural China, Chinese folk rituals, and psychological horror.

We wanted to make a horror game that feels scary, emotional, and culturally grounded. Through the story and characters, we explore family, memory, growing up, and the hidden pressure behind local traditions.

Instead of making a generic horror game, we wanted to create something more personal to our culture.

✧ What were some of your most memorable moments from making this game? What did you learn from those moments?

One of our most memorable moments was bringing the game to Playtest Thursdays. Watching players interact with the game in real time was extremely valuable, because it showed us problems that were hard to notice while developing by ourselves. Some parts that felt clear to us were confusing to new players, and some moments players reacted to emotionally helped us understand what was actually working.

The biggest lesson we learned was that player feedback can reshape the direction of the game. After multiple playtests, we realized that our original narrative was not communicating the feeling and message we wanted clearly enough. Because of that, we went through a major narrative overhaul. This helped us clarify the emotional direction of the game, refine the story, and better connect the gameplay experience with the themes we wanted players to feel.

We also learned that playtesting is not just for finding bugs. It is a way to understand how players read the game, what they care about, and where the experience needs stronger guidance. Those moments taught us to stay flexible, listen carefully, and treat feedback as part of the creative process rather than something that only happens at the end.

✧ Talk about your teammates! What was everyone's role?

Ashley Shi — PM, Designer, Set Dresser, Video Editing, Narrative Designer
Crisen Li — Animator, Character Artist, Environment Artist
Hari Zhou — Tools Engineer, Programmer, Technical Designer
Henk Fan — Programmer, Narrative Designer, Designer, Set Dresser, Audio Designer
Jasmine Zhang — Programmer, Tech Artist, Technical Designer
Qiaoyu Zhang — Audio Designer, Designer
Mary Zhang — UI/UX Designer, Environment Artist, Video Editing
Qiqi Chen — Concept Artist, Character Artist, Environment Artist
Sallya Jiang — Narrative Designer, Designer
Tina Xiang — Environment Artist, Character Artist, Narrative Designer

wishlist this game on steam

@yuntai_offical

NYU Game Center Showcase 2026

EXPLORE THE GAMES:

NYU Game Center
Showcase 2026 　　