Light of Alariya

Light of Alariya is an open-world, third-person, exploration puzzle game in which you traverse ancient alien temples and ruins to restore the power of the stars and awaken your sleeping civilization.

Alariya was once a quiet and peaceful desert town. Soothsayers foresaw a terrible storm that would last for centuries, so all the townspeople decided to fall asleep until it passed. However, as the world decayed over time, the ancient temples that focused the power of the stars began to crumble leaving the world’s goddess, Ari, with only enough power to wake up one young hero, Rumi.

With Ari’s help, Rumi must realign the Constellation Crystals in each of Alariya’s three Star Temples to give Ari enough power to wake everyone up. In her exploration, Rumi discovers a series of notes, memories, and murals that help her uncover the mysteries of Alariya.

Light of Alariya was developed from May to December 2022, by a team of 27 master's students from SMU Guildhall, along with 26 musicians and voice talent from SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts over a 6-month production. Light of Alariya marks several ambitious “firsts.” It is SMU Guildhall’s first open-world game as well as our first game built in Unreal Engine 5.

All the team members made significant contributions to either puzzle design, open-world design, art design, or system structures. This is the most important and beneficial team experience for us to know all the development pipeline and how to cooperate with different disciplines.