Lefty

Lefty is a 2D platformer based around the simple idea of "what would happen if all of a sudden, a right-handed person was forced to become left-handed".

The Story: It follows the simple story of Vittorio "Lefty" Manccini, the right-hand man of a mafioso who gets captured and maimed by a rival clan before being executed and left for dead. He wakes up in purgatory with a mangled right hand that is useless and he's forced to explore his surroundings to escape this hellscape.

The basic concept and design: throughout the levels, Lefty will gain powers through his now mystically charged maimed right hand that will aid him in traversing this hellish landscape.

The whole design of the game is based around playing only using the left hand with a controller using the D-Pad. Simple actions like "Jump" are mapped to the Left Trigger for example and further powers would be mapped solely on the left side of the controller. The Pause Menu is accessible through the "Select" button on a controller so it is easily pressed using the left hand to keep up with the concept.

The whole of the game is also designed by switching around common concepts of sidescrollers: Lefty can move from left to right, but levels are designed with the most challenging parts going from right to left, while going from left to right are reserved for more calm moments. Each level is also oriented backwards from common platformers, Lefty always begins a level on the right side and must navigate it to find the exit on the left side. The overall goal is to disorient the player and make him feel vulnerable while experiencing what being a newly forced left-handed person feels like.

The aesthetic: The overall look and feel was heavily inspired by my youth, playing 16-bit games on the SNES and the Genesis and I aimed to capture that feeling of weird nostalgia by choosing free to use assets found on itch.io. 

However, I drew and animated the sprite of Lefty myself.

Why was it made: This concept was designed in about two weeks for my advanced level design class during the winter 2025 semester using Unreal Engine 5. Further levels might be added in the future to further explore the concept of Lefty.

You can play this very early protype by downloading the preview build on this page.

Credits for assets used in this project:

https://ansimuz.itch.io/gothicvania-patreon-collection

https://szadiart.itch.io/pixel-fantasy-caves