Stylized Creek

I'll be dammed

GMTK game jam 2026

This project was created over a few short days for the GMTK game jam! I was responsible for all of the materials and mesh for the natural environment, the playground mulch and signs, and layout/set dressing of the level.

Out of 10,000+ entrees, in the year's biggest game jam, we got:

#10 in in enjoyment

#22 in audio

#65 in narrative

#65 in creativity

#67 in artwork

3rd in overall ratings

stylized Materials created in substance designer

stylized assets modeled in Maya and textured in substance painter

mESH BLENDING

For ground mesh that needed to blend in with the landscape material, I applied flat normals and world aligned materials so both the lighting and texture would always match the surrounding mesh.

River Materials

The stream lines are an opacity masked material with panners and some UV distortion, attached to the main water mesh on a separate plane to more easily match the river direction.

The main water material consists of:

Depth fade, to make anything under the water fade from light to dark blue based on depth

Distance Field Foam, which adds a border around anything the water touches, including the shore, the player, and logs

UV distorted ripples, ran through a few panners to make the water feel more wobbly/liquidy