TINA HA

From a safe distance

Generalist Programmer

UI/UX Designer & Programmer

Gameplay Programmer

Overview

From a safe distance is a single-player isometric narrative-based game developed alongside my Bachelor Thesis on the connection between game user interface and cognitive dissonance. As a player, you wound up to the town to help with your older brother’s funeral proceedings, but you can’t seem to recall anything about the yourself and your past. The more you interact with the townsfolk and look through your old possessions, the more you get a feeling that something is wrong, as everyone seems to remember a YOU that you fail to recognise. And so, you have 3 days before the funeral wraps up to uncover the truth hidden beneath the surface. Exploring the themes of mystery and self-identity, the game will aim to create an unsettling, uncomfortable and uncanny experience reminiscent of psychological distress and confusion.

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Overview

Details

Time:

January 2026 - present

Team Size:

Platform:

Windows, PC

Engine:

Unreal Engine 5

Check out the game!

Contribution

As a generalist programmer and UI designer, I am currently responsible for:

implementing gameplay mechanics, like movement, item interaction etc.

building a UE Blueprint dialogue system compatible with cutscenes

designing and implementing affective UI inspired by cognitive dissonance

implementing clue collection and updatable journal system

Highlights

Dialogue System

Affective UI

Dialogue System

For this project, I have made a custom dialogue system using UE Blueprints.

This dialogue system utilises CSV data bases to import information like the speaker, text or dialogue type (dialogue line or dialogue choice). When the player is presented with a dialogue choice, the system continues the dialogue following a "dialogue branch" (it goes into a specified data table row). The text is written with a typewriter effect (letter by letter).

The reason I decided to develop one myself, instead of e.g. using Unreal Behaviour Trees (BTs), was that they were highly unreadable and it would be meticulous for the team to implement dialogue or any changes to it during the development. Though the current format still requires a certain level of effort to implement, it is much easier as it is compatible with Google Sheets or Excel as it utilises CSV files.

Dialogue System

Affective UI

Dialogue System

For this project, I have made a custom dialogue system using UE Blueprints.

Dialogue System

Affective UI

Dialogue System

For this project, I have made a custom dialogue system using UE Blueprints.

Takeaways

Though it's still in its development, From a Safe Distance is a project I hold close to my heart. As the research instrument for my Bachelor thesis, it provided me an opportunity to think more analytically about UI design. Its focus on narrative and emotional resonance gave me an opportunity to explore affective potential of user interfaces as well.