Dunhuang Cave Mystery

About the Game

Dunhuang Cave Mystery is an immersive exploration game inspired by the rich history of the Dunhuang Caves. One of the key locations in the game is the Mogao Cave 285, which has been faithfully recreated to enhance the authenticity of the experience.

The game begins in a museum, where players must find and listen to audio hints guiding them to a hidden portal. This portal transports them into the Dunhuang world, where they must solve riddles and identify game objects based on the clues provided. Once the third object is successfully collected, the player is teleported back to the museum.

To create a truly immersive atmosphere, the original Dunhuang music plays in the background while exploring the caves. The museum showcases real images and historical descriptions of paintings, deepening the educational and narrative experience.

Controls

• Move: Arrow keys / WASD
• Look Around: Mouse (first-person perspective)

Development Process

One of the biggest challenges in designing this game was extracting meaningful elements from Dunhuang's history to create an engaging narrative-driven experience. After finalizing the storyline, we created custom 3D models using AI to bring the world to life.

Some of the obstacles we faced included:

• Overlapping hint text, making it difficult to read.
• Implementing audio hints clearly and ensuring they were easy to understand.
• Balancing the gameplay experience with colliders, triggers, and level design elements to enhance immersion.

Despite these challenges, we successfully integrated multiple hint variations—including audio, visual, and text-based clues—to improve accessibility and enhance the player's puzzle-solving journey.

Future Revisions & Improvements

While the game is still a work in progress, we plan to make the following updates:
- Improve audio hints for clarity and proper audibility.
- Add pop-up notifications before audio hints to alert the player.
- Enhance text hints for better visibility.
- Refine the portal interaction in Scene 1 and add audio cues to help players locate it.
- Enable and disable hints sequentially to avoid confusion.
- Implement grabbing interactions for collecting objects.
- Add boundary colliders to prevent players from leaving the intended play area.

What Players Loved About the Game

- Relaxing atmosphere – The combination of visuals and music creates a soothing experience.
- Unique concept – It blends education and storytelling, offering insights into Dunhuang’s history.
- Intuitive design – Players found it easy to navigate and interact with the game world.
- Balanced riddles – The puzzle complexity was well-paced, making it both challenging and enjoyable.