01 | Project Overview
Overview
The Last Verse is a spatial puzzle game developed as a university project. The player inherits an apparently ordinary office and gradually discovers that its layout, objects and poems form a connected sequence of environmental puzzles leading to a hidden final room.
Design Challenge
How can a familiar interior be structured as a sequence of puzzles in which written clues, physical objects and spatial relationships continuously reinforce one another?
Design Direction
The space was designed as an interconnected puzzle system rather than a passive environment. Poems establish the initial clues, while objects, room layouts and architectural details provide the information needed to interpret and solve them. Αdditional rooms appear as the puzzles are solved
02 | How it plays
01 — Navigate
EXPLORE THE OFFICE
Move through the available rooms and inspect objects, poems and environmental details for clues.
02 — Interpret
READ POEMS AND CONNECT CLUES
03 — Interact
MANIPULATE THE ENVIRONMENT
Grab selected objects and interact with keypads to uncover hidden information and new paths.
04 — Solve & Progress
REVEAL WHAT IS HIDDEN
Solving each puzzle changes the accessible space, gradually leading from the initial office to the hidden final room.
03 | Level Design
The level was designed as a coherent office space rather than a sequence of isolated puzzle rooms.
Each area has a functional relationship to the others, allowing environmental clues and puzzle elements to remain grounded within a believable interior.
The main office areas were organized to support both navigation and puzzle placement. Objects, framed poems and interactive elements are distributed across the space so that information can be discovered gradually rather than presented in a single location.
The two hidden rooms are embedded within the overall floor plan rather than presented as obviously separate spaces. Their entrances and transitions are concealed by the surrounding layout, allowing the player's understanding of the office to expand as the puzzles are solved.
01 — Reception / Entrance
02 — Main Office
03 — Hidden Room 1
04 — Final Room
04 | Puzzle Design
A — CLUE → OBJECT
The poem establishes a visual relationship between colour and rust. Rather than providing the solution directly, the clue requires the player to compare the four keys with the door itself.
B — REMOVE → COUNT → INPUT
The solution emerges through a sequence of physical actions rather than from the poem alone. Removing the interactive books reveals the keypad, while the remaining books provide the two values required for the code.
C — DISTRIBUTED INFORMATION
The final code is assembled from information distributed across the office. Each part of the solution must be discovered in a different spatial context, turning navigation itself into part of the puzzle.
A → CLOCK → 1
B → NOTE / ROMAN NUMERALS → 8
C → FRAMES → 7
D → FLOOR PATTERN → 6
A & B → CLOCK → 1 & 8
Hints needed to solve the riddle regarding the clock. These are found in different places of the second room.
C → FRAMES → 7
The player has to count the total amount of frames shown in all areas. The diagram shows their exact positions
D → FLOOR PATTERN → 6
The player has to stand near the clock and observe the pattern made by the rags that shapes the number 6. This frame is presented in the Hidden Room 1 in order to assist the player.
05 | Technical Implementation
The game was built in Unity with XR Interaction Toolkit, combining VR movement and object interaction with the puzzle progression of the environment.
A | Movement
VR LOCOMOTION
The player can navigate the office through direct movement or teleportation using the controller rays. Access to new areas is progressively enabled as puzzle states change.
B | Object Interaction
GRAB & RAY INTERACTION
Physical puzzle objects use grab interaction, including keys, selected books, and frames. Ray interaction is used for interface elements and the two in-game keypads.
C | Puzzle Integration
INTERACTION DRIVEN SYSTEMS
Custom C# scripts connect VR input and object states to the puzzle logic. Interactions can trigger events such as opening doors, enabling new teleport areas, or activating keypad responses.