Mario Chuman
Dahlia: The Onion Witch
Description
Dahlia: The Onion Witch is a monster-collector auto-shooter where players nurture a plant companion, an Antipal, to fight alongside them. The game explores emotional growth through its protagonist, Dahlia, who begins the game isolated and evolves through connection with her Antipal.
Overview
Role: Game Director, Writer, Gameplay Programmer
Genre: Auto-shooter
Engine: Godot
Jam: Godot Wild Jam #79 (Growing)
Rankings: 🥉13th Overall, 🥈 2nd Place in Accessibility
Release: 2025
Key Contributions
Design & Gameplay: Led initial design direction and prototyped core gameplay inspired by Vampire Survivors with a farming twist.
Narrative & Writing: Wrote full branching narrative using Dialogic, building an emotional arc around growth and recovery.
Accessibility: Implemented colorblind options, keyboard remapping, scalable UI, and an organized settings menu. Ranked 2nd in Accessibility out of all entries.
Art Direction & Implementation: Collaborated with artists on character/environment design, implemented tilesets, visual polish, and shaders.
Production: Coordinated cross-disciplinary collaboration, facilitated structured playtests with 30+ players, and integrated feedback into final build.
Results
Shipped a polished, accessible, and emotionally resonant game a full day before the jam deadline. Received highly positive feedback from both playtesters and judges, with recognition for polish, accessibility, and storytelling.
