The core intention behind Babylon was to create an experience where every layer of the game -  gameplay, narrative, and level design - feeds into one another. The project set out to embody the idea of a corrupted faith and a punishing God through a risk/reward, punitive gameplay loop, a narrative built around debt and servitude, and an oppressive vertical level design shaped by the Tower of Babel itself. The world was not just meant to tell a story, but to make the player feel the weight of religious domination and the dread of a sacrificial ascent.

​

One of the main challenges was to maintain this coherence without sacrificing clarity or accessibility. The punitive mechanics had to be demanding without tipping into hardcore frustration, ensuring the experience remained within reach while still symbolically heavy. The Tower also had to function as more than a backdrop—it needed to act as a character in its own right, with each section designed as a spatial embodiment of faith’s many faces (fanaticism, dogmatism, corrupted opulence). Finally, short scripted sequences had to be carefully integrated to add narrative weight without breaking rhythm or flow.

​

To sustain a constant flow, the progression combines escalating challenges with storytelling embedded in the environment. Level sections alternate between narrow, oppressive spaces and vast, vertiginous arenas to vary the player’s sensations, while each punitive mechanic (surveillance eye, one-way platforms, violet vines, flesh blocks) is tied to a precise narrative meaning. Short cutscenes punctuate the journey, but the bulk of the story is carried through environmental storytelling and symbolic level design: every jump, every risk taken mirrors Isaac’s struggle, trapped in a world where gameplay and story are inseparable.