Karma ascent
An Cao
Advisor: Sharleen Smith
Players awaken on their deathbed as Zhou Zhiming, climbing through fractured memories to confront their past, rediscover their lost morality, and face karmic redemption.
Project Description
In Karma Ascent, players take on the role of Zhou Zhiming — a powerful real estate mogul who awakens on his deathbed, confused and memoryless. As guided by a quiet, compassionate presence of the Buddha, Zhou relives fragments of his life through symbolic environments rooted in past regrets, corruption, and personal loss.
Set in a surreal police station, players explore and gradually collect memory fragments that piece together Zhou's downfall — from forging documents to save his sick son, to overseeing a demolition that killed his own child. Each fragment reveals a part of the cause-and-effect chain that shaped his fate.
Built in Unreal Engine 5, the game blends platforming mechanics with narrative exploration. There are no cutscenes — players must climb, fall, and search to uncover the truth themselves. The journey is non-linear: some memories are "causes," others are "consequences," and only through persistence and emotional reflection can players reach the final act — where Zhou chooses to confess, accept responsibility, and begin redemption.
Karma Ascent is not about winning, but about remembering. It is a game about regret, responsibility, and spiritual rebirth — where falling is not failure, but a necessary part of rising.
Technical Details
UE5 – First-person platformer with memory fragment trigger system, real-time visual scripting using Blueprints, and environmental storytelling.
Research/Context
Inspired by Buddhist concepts of karma, reincarnation, and moral introspection. Gameplay draws influence from Only Up!, Dear Esther, and Ether One, combining climbing mechanics with nonlinear narrative. The story also takes cues from Asian noir and redemption films, blending emotional storytelling with interactive memory puzzles.