Storyline

The player awakens at the lowest depths of a massive chasm (entitled: "HANDMAN'S CHASM") as a single oversized eyeball with grotesquely large hands as its only limbs. Disoriented and trapped far underground, the only goal is to climb upward toward the distant light.

The ascent is dangerous. The player must punch through rock, cling to ledges, and even launch their eyeball body like a slingshot to gain height.

Momentum is essential—every grab, push, and pull, making planning essential. A single misjudged jump sends the player plummeting back into darkness.

The objective is simple: survive the climb, escape the cave, and trust your hands.

Game Pitch and Core Loop

Our game is a single-player, physics-based, mouse-only climbing platformer. The player must escape a massive underground cave by using one large controllable hand as their method of climbing and movement.

To succeed, players must master precision grabbing and momentum launching management to reach the surface.

Explore: Navigate the vertical cave environment, discovering ledges, hazards, and potential shortcuts.

Climb: Grab, swing, and launch yourself upward using realistic momentum-based mechanics.

The core loop is simple but punishing:

• Climb → Slip → Retry → Climb Higher → Fall Again → Persevere → Escape.

Win Condition

Escape the enormous cavern and reach the surface to achieve freedom.

Players climb through increasingly dangerous cave segments and endure the climb long enough to reach the top.

Main Interactive Components

Player vs Environment (The Cave);

• The primary conflict is surviving gravity, physics, and treacherous ledges. The cave itself acts as the main antagonist—unstable terrain, narrow holds, and massive falls challenge the player’s skill.

Rules

1. The game begins with the player waking up at the bottom of a dark cave.
2. The player controls a single giant hand using the mouse:
   1. Grab onto rocks and ledges
   2. Throw and launch the eyeball body
   3. Interact with objects
3. Momentum is essential—players can swing, launch, or push off surfaces to gain height.
4. Falling is part of the experience; progress is not guaranteed.
5. The final goal is reaching the surface of the cave to escape.

Project Intent

Our goal was to create a game that feels humorous, unsettling, and deeply engaging. By combining bizarre body-themed visuals with physics-based climbing mechanics, we aimed to produce a gameplay experience that is both frustratingly difficult and absurdly entertaining.

The environment’s gritty, campy aesthetic, along with mixed-media art and dark comedic motifs, reflects a world that is strange, claustrophobic, and unforgettable.

Our focus was to design gameplay that rewards perseverance, experimentation, and mastery—all while maintaining the unsettling charm of a giant eyeball with monster hands.

Project Reflection

We began with ambitious concepts and quickly learned the value of scaling ideas into achievable goals. Through constant communication, collaboration, and problem-solving, we were able to refine our mechanics, visuals, and core loop into a functional and visually memorable game.

Although some ideas were trimmed or reworked, the game remained fun, chaotic, and unique. Our blend of detailed, gory humour and physics-based challenge makes HANDMAN a distinct experience that still carries the spirit of our original vision.