Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – AR Game is an interactive experience developed in Unreal Engine for a live event environment. The project was delivered in two clearly defined phases, beginning with a solo proof-of-concept and expanding into full production after client approval.

During the prototype phase, I worked as sole artist, designing and building a focused section of the environment to validate visual quality, performance, and technical feasibility. This phase was used to confirm that the experience could meet the client’s creative and practical requirements.

Following approval, a production team was assembled, and the project scaled into a full gameplay experience. I continued in a lead role, driving the development of core gameplay systems and technical direction while supporting the wider team.

The experience was designed for short play sessions in a public space, therefore the gameplay needed to be cinematic, accessible, and carefully curated. I designed a guided trail-following system that allowed limited player freedom while preventing accidental failure, maintaining a relaxed and controlled experience. To support efficient iteration, I also created custom level-design tools that allowed artists to author and refine paths directly within the scene.

The project required a highly adaptable setup due to unknown screen sizes and installation layouts. I implemented extensive runtime customisation options, allowing controls, scale, and behaviour to be adjusted live during installation. A further challenge was synchronising gameplay across multiple displays. The main screen presented real-time gameplay, while a secondary screen played synchronised video content.

Rather than using multiplayer systems, I implemented a lightweight signalling workflow using AI-assisted C++, creating custom Unreal Engine nodes to communicate with an external media player running on the same machine. This approach ensured reliable synchronisation while keeping the system simple, stable, and cost-effective for live deployment.

After extensive testing, the experience was deployed successfully on-site and ran smoothly throughout the event.