Race for Sanctuary: Design Document

A 3D endless space runner game - a metaphor for breaking down global cultural barriers

In Race for Sanctuary, I’ve introduced a set of cultural barriers—the Burning Stares, the Cryptic Beams, and the Inhospitable Guardian—each posing a distinct challenge for players. Every barrier carries its own symbolic significance, illustrated by its unique aesthetic and further clarified through SIRS, the robotic companion for the main character Skully who explains their deeper meaning. By confronting these cultural barriers, players gain insights into the real-world difficulties others face, which encourages empathy and a broader perspective on shared human experiences.

A. Intentions

The idea for The Race for Sanctuary emerged one fall afternoon as I grappled with my first heartbreak - showering my college crush with attention only to be stonewalled 3 months later. Encouraged by my mentors to convert my emotions into something creative, Race for Sanctuary became my way of processing, reflecting, and rebuilding. What started as a solo project grew into a team effort after I pitched the idea to my network and won the hearts of a programmer overseas, an industry mentor from SONY Playstation, former game designer from Teachers College, Columbia University, and several game artists in my cohort. The last 12 months, I’ve led a team of 5 into designing and developing the story below.

B. The Story of Skully and SIRS

Skully, a robotics engineer at SpaceZ, faces a profound loss when his lover, Sophia, leaves for Planet Sanctuary as Earth becomes uninhabitable. While stationed in an outer space outpost owned by the immortal Spectre Blackwell, Skully builds a robot, SIRS, for companionship. Unexpectedly, SIRS uncovers Blackwell’s dark agenda: Blackwell is responsible for Earth’s ruin and intends to exploit Sanctuary’s resources for his own gain. When a secret meeting is accidentally broadcasted through SIRS, Skully learns of Blackwells’ plans. Determined to stop him, Skully devises a plan to destroy the station and scatter its wealth across space, hoping to use this chance to reunite with Sophia on Sanctuary.

C. Symbolism: Cultural Barriers

The game evolved into a metaphor for breaking down global cultural barriers in pursuit of a meaningful connection with someone from a different world, inspired by what I later realized to be the root of my first breakup. Furthermore, each game element embodies a specific cultural barrier. The meteoroids, a.k.a. The Burning Stares, represent passive aggressive judgment that others project; lasers, a.k.a., The Cryptic Beams signify communication challenges where a single verbal misstep can lead to conflict; space soldiers, a.k.a., The Inhospitable Guardians are xenophobic locals; gravity traps, a.k.a, Judgment Cages capture the weight of familial/peer pressure, sucking the player back into a conventional mindset; the space station, a.k.a., The Nightfall Station represents an overwhelmingly unfamiliar environment; the robot companion, a.k.a., SIRS stands as a symbol of genuine friendship; the antagonists are represented by a spaceship and its pilot, who reminds Skully of his past self, particularly through the pilot’s similar appearance to him and adherence to the law - by destroying them, the player faces fear, grows and achieves love.

***All game elements are being revamped by our artists. Version 3 will be available via Itch.io and Youtube shortly***

D. Lessons Learned

I believe the most profound skill I’ve honed during this project is leadership. I learned that the leader in me isn’t the guy who can do it all. Instead, it’s the guy who can inspire all the talent around him to believe in his vision, and to create synergy among varying personalities, values, and skill sets. Without my programmer Leo, my artists Keegan, Samantha and Sebastian, and my industry mentors from SONY, Tencent and JPM, I believe the current prototype of Race of Sanctuary would be nowhere near what it is today.

E. Looking Ahead

Reflecting on the project, I would beef up SIRS’s role and combat mechanics during gameplay, making his survival and interactions more central to the player’s experience. This would emphasize the emotional bond between the protagonist and SIRS, deepening the narrative impact. Additionally, I’d leverage Unreal Engine for a richer game world for players with stronger 3D modeling and animation.

Version 1: https://youtu.be/pKq07V5GfGw
Version 2 (updated with The Burning Stares): https://youtu.be/5sDMq6bSQyw

Instructions: Please click the link to access and playtest Race for Sanctuary. The Windows version RFS_12_2_1.zip is preferred. Once the file is downloaded, kindly unzip the file and click on Race to Sanctuary.exe. It will then save to your hard drive.
Thank you and enjoy!