Eye of Yadubaku, a game prototype project, was recently completed by our team of Game Art Design undergrads, The Lost Disciples. The prototype is a class project conducted at the senior level by students at the Art Institute of San Diego California. The task of the project was to design and build a game prototype with a fully functional level that could be played and shown in students' portfolios. The purpose is to give students a general understanding of the process of making a functional game level.

Eye of Yadubaku is a first person adventure that offers the player a journey of discovery through a rich environment similar to most games in the adventure genre such as Myst or King's Quest where enemies and boss fights occur less frequently. Instead the primary emphasis is on experiencing fascinating environments and story elements. Our motive for choosing the adventure genre was to allow us to focus more heavily on the environment and visuals of the game in order to make the best visual impression for our portfolios.

The story, within the adventure is centered around the discoveries of a genetically engineered soldier named F-729. This hero awakes on an island in an unfamiliar jungle where he experiences nature for the first time. The player discovers through the journeys of F-729 why he has been sent to this island. The player also learns the sacred nature of the island and the strange metal element that it holds.

As the adventure unfolds, F-729 learns about the mythology that the natives believed explained the strange island. He learns of the god of the sun, Emanu, goddess Imani of the sky and Yadubaku, the god of the moon. The "eye" of Yadubaku, as told in the myth, was plucked by Emanu and cast down to a terrestrial realm as punishment for looking upon Emanu's goddess, Imani. This same eye, as F-729 learns, is the island that he now inhabits, his mission is to discover its mystical powers.