Soggo Zito
Break free. Defy your fate.
PITCH:
In this whimsical 2D platformer, players embody Zito, an anthropomorphic ziti pasta navigating a cartoonish Italian kitchen. The experience combines physics-based movement, environmental interaction, and playful combat to reach freedom.
ROLE & CONTEXT
Role: Game & Level Designer, Solo Developer
Platform: PC | Genre: 2D Platformer | Engine: Unity
Team: Solo | Duration: 5 months
Project Year: 2023
TOOLS
Photoshop, Unity, Visual Studio, Google docs
GAME INSPIRATION
This project blends platforming and ragdoll physics within a vintage Italian kitchen, the world draws from 1930s cartoons and Art Deco environments. Influences from Cuphead and Fleischer Studios guide exaggerated characters, playful interactions, and pastel-toned aesthetics.
MY MISSIONS
Prototype spatial concepts to test player abilities and core mechanics
Shape level layouts from concept art and narrative direction, ensuring smooth gameplay flow
Integrate gameplay systems into environments, iterating through playtests and design reviews
Design a full vintage Italian kitchen environment, balancing style and function
Lead playtesting sessions to refine mechanics and fix issues
Create immersive spaces that make players feel like a pasta navigating a colorful, cartoon-inspired kitchen
RESEARCH PHASE
Collecting visual references from 1930s–1950s cartoons, vintage Italian kitchens, Art Deco design, and nature still lifes.
Sketching and prototyping gameplay situations to explore ragdoll movement, physics and environmental challenges.
Translating findings into level layouts, interactive storytelling and visual composition.
DESIGN INTENT & VISION
Soggo Zito aims to create a playful, immersive platforming experience where players feel like a pasta navigating a colorful, cartoon-inspired kitchen. Key principles:
Expressive Movement: Ragdoll physics encourage experimentation and adaptability
Progressive Discovery: Mechanics are learned through interaction
Environmental Readability: Clear visual cues guide player actions
LEVEL DESIGN SCOPE
Duration: ~15-minute short experience
Structure: 2 main levels + boss encounters
Mechanic Focus: Ragdoll movement and environmental interaction
Difficulty: Gradually increasing while maintaining readability and player agency
ONBOARDING & PROGRESSION
Gradual exposure introduces Zito’s physics-based movement and systems:
Safe zones for experimentation
Incremental introduction of interaction, tool usage, and combat
Progressive combination of core mechanics
The onboarding required prioritization, as multiple systems had to be introduced within a short experience.
CORE SYSTEMS & GAMEPLAY
This visual communicates how Zito’s core systems and gameplay mechanics interconnect across levels. It also highlights the resulting player actions and interactions.
It serves as a bridge between game design systems and level design implementation.
Design Intent:
Encourage experimentation and mastery of ragdoll physics
Guide players subtly without explicit instructions
Foster emergent gameplay through interactive spaces
LEVEL BREAKDOWN
LEVEL 1
Learning flow:
Introduce movement and ragdoll behavior
Teach head interactions and moka pot usage
Validate mechanics with simple encounters
Design intention:
Build familiarity and safe experimentation spaces
Provide safe spaces for experimentation
Establish core gameplay loop (move → attach → interact → attack)
LEVEL BOSS LASAGNA
Arena Boss Lasagna tests combat and timing under pressure
Design intention:
Reinforce core mechanics and pattern recognition
LEVEL2
Learning flow:
Reinforce traversal and attachment mechanics
Introduce multiple paths and navigation choices
Combine movement and combat in more complex spaces
Design intention:
Encourage exploration and curiosity
Allow player-driven navigation
LEVEL BOSS MAMA
Arena Boss Mama focuses on avoidance and mastery and introduces non-violent resolution with environmental prop.
Design intention:
Shift dynamics, test mastery in creative ways
ENEMY DESIGN APPROACH
Elbow Macaronis
Butterfly Pasta
Spiral Pasta
Lasagna Uncle
Mama
Elbow Macaronis:
→ Passive obstacles that create constant contact risk, encouraging spatial awareness and careful navigation.
Butterfly Pasta:
→ Charging enemies that react to the player, introducing bursts of pressure and forcing quick repositioning.
Spiral Pastas:
→ Leaping enemies that add vertical unpredictability, challenging timing and control.
Lasagna Uncle:
→ A direct confrontation that tests endurance and pattern recognition through increasing aggression.
Mama:
→ Shifts the dynamic from confrontation to avoidance, requiring a non-lethal, environment-based solution to progress.
LESSONS LEARNED
Mastered design for physics-driven player control and ragdoll systems
Developed concise, readable short-level progression under time constraints
Improved solo workflow: iterative prototyping, playtesting, and visual storytelling
Strengthened skill in balancing player agency with level readability
