BONEWATER · Part 1 playable · In development
I’m Bryan, an independent game developer. I’m building BONEWATER, a first-person game about returning home to a riverside village in Sarawak, one small task at a time.
Flood Season, Chapter 5 Real capture from the game in development
01 / The game
A return toward home.
A calm first-person 3D game in a Melanau-inspired riverside setting in Sarawak. Raised timber routes, changing water and ordinary tasks guide the journey through six chapters.
Built in Godot. Cultural details remain subject to human review. The game is in development; no release date is announced.
The idea
The journey follows a return toward home. The player works with familiar objects, finds safe crossings and watches everyday actions change the place around them.
Development combines creative direction, iterative gameplay work, environment studies and original field recordings. I work with AI tools and human review; concept artwork and game footage are kept clearly separate.
Current focus: make destinations clear, give actions visible consequences and build depth through varied activities, rather than longer empty walks.
Carry a board, set a trap, lay a plank. Every task is short and the place answers: channels bridged, tides rising, water taking the ground back.
No combat and no failure screens. The game is built from weathered wood, wet ground, brown water, weather and sound, so the player wants to stay and look.
The setting is Melanau-inspired, not a claim of tradition. Cultural details are marked reference-pending until Melanau reviewers have checked them.
02 / Part 1
Each chapter is built around one everyday activity in one place. Scroll through them.
Captures from the game in development, 30 September 2026. Visuals, sound and balance are still changing.
Read a broken walkway and choose the deck that holds.
Find the loose weaving strip and finish the hat that was left unfinished.
Carry a log section to the shed and work it, step by step.
Bridge soft channels with boards, set the fish trap, and get the goods up before the water returns.
Lift sacks to the high shelf, pull the boat to its post and lay the plank that holds.
Reach the house, hang the hat by the door and choose one thing to keep.
03 / Under the hood
Notes from the actual project, as of 30 September 2026.
Systems
First-person movement and interaction, carrying and placing, hold-to-act tasks, a rising tide and flood, and a save and load format per chapter that rejects bad data. Old saves keep working as chapters change.
Testing
659
checks across 17 headless suites run before changes are accepted.
They prove the wiring works, not how it feels. I judge look and sound myself in recorded playtests.
Sound
Water, insects, digging and footsteps on mud and leaves come from my own recordings. They are in the game now and still being tuned by ear.
Environment
Ground detail, mangrove roots, wet ripple troughs, rain and silt lines are built at runtime from small scripts.
From concept to game
Drag to compare
Early concept study · not gameplay
In the game today · real capture
Development log
I recorded water, insects and footsteps on a coastal tidal flat. They are now the game’s water bed, insect chorus and walking sounds on mud and leaves. The photos shaped new mangrove roots and wet ripple troughs on the Low Tide flat. Still to be listened to and tuned.
Prototype for Flood Season: two planks float at the gap, one waterlogged. Choose the wrong one and it sags and floats back. Nothing fails; you just try the other.
Chapter 6 rebuilt around the yard, the house and the hat by the door, with a keepsake to choose.
04 / Behind the work
I’m interested in the way a place can carry a story: through its paths, its sounds and the things people leave behind.
BONEWATER is my ongoing independent game project. I guide its creative direction, gather real-world reference, and work through the practical details of gameplay, environment and sound.
This portfolio documents that process honestly: experiments, decisions and work still taking shape.
05 / A conversation starts here
Tell me about your project or your interest in BONEWATER. I’m also looking for playtesters and for Melanau readers who could review cultural details.
Service offerings and availability are being finalised. An enquiry is not a booking or a commitment.
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