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Monkey Business is a VR escape room game developed using the source version of Unreal Engine 4. The player embodies two unlikely heroes — a clever monkey and a resourceful mouse — who must cooperate to escape from a high-tech control center. Designed around immersive puzzle-solving and time-based challenges, the game blends humor, tension, and teamwork in a uniquely stylized environment.

project developed in 2022

For more details

Monkey Business is a VR video game developed using the Unreal Engine 4 (Source build). Designed with the intention of being ported to the Oculus Quest 1, the game places the player in the role of a lab monkey locked in a cell to undergo cognitive tests.

After failing one of these tests, the institute running the lab decides to eliminate us. With the help of an artificial intelligence and a lab mouse, we must escape before the threat is carried out.

Players will need to manipulate and subvert their environment to achieve their goal and ultimately realize that reality is not what it seems. The player can switch between a chimpanzee and a mouse, each with unique abilities, allowing for synergy when solving puzzles.

The tone of the game is light and humorous, featuring a quirky, burlesque, and ironic storyline.

My Work

Game Design

As a Game Designer, I was responsible for shaping the player experience and designing the interaction systems. One of the main challenges was working within a strict constraint: the playable area had to remain within a 3m² space. To overcome this, I devised creative solutions to maximize interaction without exceeding the physical boundary.

This included:

• Embedding hidden elements within walls that reveal new interactive objects once puzzles are completed.
• Designing a dual-character mechanic allowing players to switch between a chimpanzee and a mouse, each with unique abilities.
• Instead of a single large room, I designed two interconnected 3m² environments—one at the scale of the monkey, the other scaled to the mouse. This maintained the physical constraint while expanding gameplay possibilities.

Level Design

As the Level Designer, I:

• Wrote the full Level Design Document (LDD).
• Built and structured the two main scenes, including asset sourcing, scaling adjustments, and layout composition.
• Designed a whitebox prototype to validate gameplay logic and spatial coherence between both character perspectives.
• Ensured consistency between the monkey’s and mouse’s views—for example, the monkey could see the mouse’s cage and its interactive components, and vice versa.

One of the core goals was to create visual and gameplay interconnectivity between the two spaces, despite their different scales. When playing as the monkey, the player could overlook the mouse’s room. When switching to the mouse, the environment appeared much larger, offering a different perspective on the same space.

Development

My development role focused on implementing player interactions within the VR environment. This included:

• Programming interactive elements like levers, buttons, and switches.
• Setting up Unreal Engine 4 Source Build and ensuring compatibility with the Oculus Quest 1, handling deployment and performance testing for standalone VR.