The Idea
A Creative Question
Around 2023, Amy's love of level editors and her experience making Team Fortress 2 maps in Hammer began shaping a more approachable way to build 3D levels.
Cardboard Catacombs · Development
Building Cardboard Catacombs one system at a time.
The first playable foundation is in place.
Now Cardboard Catacombs keeps growing.
Development Journey
From Project Blueprint to Cardboard Catacombs.
The project has grown through experimentation, feedback and increasingly ambitious systems.
Prototype Hero
Proving the Loop
While still learning Unity, Amy created an early Project Blueprint prototype for a college competition with support from an approximately €800 development budget. The rough but playable build helped validate the central idea.
Skill Building
Learning Through Other Projects
College work, personal projects and smaller VR experiments broadened Amy's development experience before she returned to the concept.
Game Lab
Rebuilding the Editor
Project Blueprint returned through Game Lab with a stronger player-facing editor focused on making complex 3D spaces emerge from simple actions.
Cardboard Catacombs
From Editor to Game
The project evolved into today's action-adventure framework, adding combat, responsive enemies, connected objects and a clear treasure-chest objective around the creation tools.
The Foundation
Turning a level editor into a game you can build and play.
Cardboard Catacombs grew by bringing three key parts together.
Built by Amelia April Joy HantkeWhat's Next
Where the Game Goes Next
These ideas are planned for future development and are not finished features yet.
Planned
Editor Redesign
Make Build Mode easier to understand before inviting more people to test it.
Planned
More Playtesting
Watch new players build levels, then see whether other people understand and enjoy playing them.
Planned
More Gameplay
Add new ways to move, hazards, interactive objects, goals, enemy behaviors and enemy types.
Planned
Performance Testing
Make sure bigger, busier player-made worlds continue to run smoothly.
Gamescom 2026
Cardboard Catacombs will be exhibited at gamescom 2026.
Build a level, jump in and play at gamescom 2026.
Watching new players create and play will help shape the next stage of development on the road to a public release.