Dbtem An is an upcoming action platformer with an emphasis on exploration and combat.
This has my dream project that I have been working on since 2018. Throughout its development cycle, it has been through multiple builds, engines, names, and storylines. I am currently working on a port to Unreal Engine, which should be the final engine change of the project. I've really enjoyed working on it and I hope you are all excited to see it released as well! I'll continue to post updates for the project on the Updates page on the main website.
Dbtem An features Tyler Hawkfield, a young boy who is warped to the island Dbtemia in an alternate reality, and becomes their foretold hero. On the way, he finds out about a strange material known as Willpower guiding him along the way, as well as a dark shadow of himself looming around every corner. With this, Tyler ventures around the island of Dbtemia in a quest to both save the world... and save himself!
(Since the most recent build just began, I don't have any screenshots at the moment. This will be updated once gameplay gets further along)
After the release of the Prototype game, I wanted to experiment more with "paper 2D" graphics. I created this build with the intention of cleaning up code from the Prototype, expanding on the platforming element of the game, and creating the pseudo-3D aesthetic of the game via sprite-stacking.
This build proved to be a significant improvement over the Prototype gameplay-wise; with collision being added to allow for more complex platforming, Tyler multiple different combat commands to allow for more fun gameplay, and an overall more polished feeling. The pseudo-3D turned out well too, with the environments feeling more immersive and game having a unique visual identity due to the sprite-stacking.
Around the end of 2024, however, I started feeling dissatisfied with Dbtem An as a whole, as I didn't like the way the project was turning out, and it began to feel monotonous to work on. In 2025 I decided to take a break and instead work on the remake of REPURPOSE, which helped to clear my mind for the project. On the way, I started to realize that I couldn't keep working in Haxeflixel forever, and I decided to let REPURPOSE be my final Haxeflixel project for now, and remake Dbtem in Unreal Engine 5. There are multiple pseudo-3D and other aesthetic elements in REPURPOSE that were planned for this build. I hope to restore or at least recreate some of the unique aesthetic elements of this build in the new version, since I really like the way this game presented itself even with its limitations.
This build has been officially scrapped due to me wanting to focus my efforts on making projects in Unreal Engine, both for being a more well-known engine I could get help with and for portfolio purposes.
When I switched engines to Haxeflixel, I began working on a solely 2D version of Dbtem An. Due to my inexperience with Haxeflixel at the time, Tyler was stuck to a single plane rather than having multiple platforms he can maneuver between. Instead, most movement was done to go between corridors in the labyrinith of levels, or to fight enemies the player encounters.
However, as the build went on, I decided it would be better if I released the build as a solo demo project that acted as the prologue to what was the Dbtem An story at the time. The build demonstrates the basic combat, maze-like exploration, gameplay loop, and Willpower mechanics that will be present and expanded upon in the final build. This game is still playable on web browser, and can be accessed on my itch.io page!
Note that this build depicts a previous version of the story that is no longer canon.
At the very beginning of Dbtem An's development cycle, the game went through some builds in Unity engine. Many of these didn't end up getting too far due to my inexperience at the time, but they are still notable due to their relevance to Dbtem An's development history as a whole. Many of these builds were made to experiment with different graphic styles or to clean up code that I ended up making. Some interesting inclusions in one of these early builds was attempts at 2-player multiplayer.