Legend of Kuppu
A 2D game project inspired by Tamil folklore.
Overview
Legend of Kuppu is a 2D side-scrolling runner game built in Godot 4.4, inspired by Tamil folklore. You play as Kuppusamy, armed with a single umbrella, navigating through enemy waves: frogs, bears, and spikes, across procedurally scaled levels.
Developed entirely solo, the project combined software engineering, game architecture, and systems design to deliver a responsive, culturally rooted gameplay experience.
Approach
I designed and coded the entire game using C# and GDScript, applying over a dozen software design patterns to ensure modularity and maintainability within the Godot engine.
Key systems engineered:
● Game Architecture: Modular ECS-style structure for extensibility.
● Physics & Collision: Jump, glide, and hit-response using physics layers.
● Global State: AutoLoad (Singleton) for dynamic level persistence.
● Event System: Pub-sub event bus for decoupled entity communication.
● AI Behavior: Finite-state machines for adaptive enemy logic.
● UI & HUD: Dynamic menus and score HUD via Control nodes.
● Optimization: Refactored scripts to eliminate frame stalls on mid-range hardware.
The design of the main character needed to stay true to Tamil folklore, and none of the available sprite packs online did it justice. After an extensive search, I decided to roll up my sleeves and design the character myself. Pixel art was new to me, and the learning curve was steep. Still, I was able to successfully design the main character and complete a full sprite sheet covering all essential movements required for the game.
Outcome & Impact
Treevah’s new architecture brought measurable engineering outcomes:
● Fully playable 3-level prototype at 60 FPS on mid-range devices.
● 14+ reusable design patterns implemented for scalability.
● Combined engineering discipline with cultural storytelling.
What's Next
This was hands down the most challenging and fun project I have ever worked on. Learning Godot 4.4 from scratch felt like diving into a new world, and once it started to click, I couldn’t stop building. Watching my code come alive through movement, physics, and gameplay was incredibly satisfying. It pushed me technically and creatively, and turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my journey so far.
Tech Stack
Godot 4.4 · C# · GDScript · Piskel · Audacity · TileMap Editor · Git
Link
You can play the game from here: Legend of Kuppu
Asset Credits
The guys saved me a ton of time, check them out:
Assets (other than the main character) are from: Itch.io by Ansimuz
Wild running bear is from: ArtStation by Alex Noun