
Vault of
Novem
Developed by Four Paws
Vault of Novem is a fun 2D single-player roguelike platformer for PC made with Unity. It has dungeon crawl gameplay with randomly created rooms full of jumping, fighting, traps, and puzzles. Players explore different areas and pick classes like Rogue, Warrior, or Technician. The game offers random bonuses to keep it fresh. It mixes platforming like Mario Bros, a cute style like Ori, and roguelike elements like Spelunky.
Meet Team Four Paws
The Making of Vault of Novem
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In Vault of Novem’s tale, a daring cat hero has spent eight lives on past adventures and now faces their final chance. Deep within a perilous cave, monsters guard a legendary treasure said to restore lost lives. To claim it, the hero must brave traps, battles, and the unknown, knowing that one wrong step could end their journey forever.
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Vault of Novem’s visual style uses richly detailed pixel art to create a dark and atmospheric world filled with mystery and danger. Each biome’s color palette and lighting are carefully chosen to evoke a distinct mood, from shadowy caverns to firelit ruins. Fluid animations bring traps, enemies, and environmental details to life, creating a visually immersive journey that draws players deeper into the vault with every step.
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The sound design of Vault of Novem is an original Ableton-crafted soundtrack that blends eerie ambience with suspenseful tones, immersing players in the mystery of the vault. From subtle echoes to deep, resonant drones, every sound is designed to build tension, spark curiosity, and make each step feel like uncovering a new secret.
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Vault of Novem’s core mechanics are built for tight, responsive gameplay that rewards skill and strategy. Modular level generation creates endless room combinations, blending platforming, combat, traps, and puzzles in each run. Player choices shape the path ahead, while a wide range of perks and upgrades encourage experimentation and replayability. Behind the scenes, efficient programming ensures smooth performance, precise controls, and scalable systems that keep the experience fresh with every playthrough.
Gameplay Trailer
This video details a demo playthrough of Vault of Novem. The game features dungeon crawl gameplay with custom designed rooms filled with platforming, combat, traps, and puzzles.
Concept Art
Character Art
Scene Art
Vault of Novem OST
The sound design of Vault of Novem is a haunting journey crafted to immerse players fully in its eerie depths. Our custom-made original soundtrack, built entirely in Ableton, weaves atmospheric layers of sound that capture the essence of mysterious cave diving exploration. Each note and ambient texture is designed to evoke a sense of suspense and wonder, driving the mood forward and enriching the narrative. From subtle echoes to deep resonant drones, the audio landscape tells its own story, enhancing the feeling that every step into the vault uncovers new secrets waiting in the shadowy unknown. This meticulously crafted soundscape isn’t just background noise; it’s a core part of the gameplay experience that keeps players on edge, curious, and utterly engaged.
Further Development
Vault of Novem was originally developed over the summer of 2025 as a project for ICS 485 at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. What began as a focused class assignment quickly grew into a passion project for our team, combining our skills in design, art, programming, and sound to bring a unique roguelike platformer to life. We would love to continue developing the game beyond its initial scope, expanding it into the following areas:
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Future chapters in Vault of Novem will introduce a cast of playable characters beyond the lone cat hero, each with their own style of play and reason for venturing into the vault. Their journeys will intersect through shared events and hidden connections, slowly revealing the vault’s origins and the forces that shaped it. Expanding lore entries, environmental storytelling, and narrative surprises will keep players curious about what lies deeper, making each descent not just a test of skill but a step toward uncovering the truth.
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In the ever-evolving world of Vault of Novem, future updates will introduce new zones with distinct aesthetics, each telling its own story through crafted backgrounds, vibrant palettes, and unique architectural styles. Players might journey from shadowy, rune-carved caverns beneath the city to sunlit floating isles draped in mystical flora, with dynamic weather and ambient animations bringing each locale to life. These stages will expand beyond visuals, adding fresh environmental hazards, platforming challenges, and interactive elements that keep each run unpredictable. Enhanced enemy designs, boss visuals, and character animations will maintain the game’s richly detailed pixel art style while amplifying immersion and intensity in every encounter.
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Upcoming audio enhancements will push Vault of Novem’s soundscape into new territory, with zone-specific music, adaptive layering, and more interactive sound cues. Each biome will carry its own identity through tone and texture, from tense, echoing chambers to vibrant, wind-swept heights. Combat encounters will be punctuated with satisfying feedback and atmospheric depth, while quieter exploration segments will invite players to linger and absorb the mood. Every step, swing, and puzzle will have a distinct sonic fingerprint, ensuring that sound remains an integral part of both the tension and the reward of discovery.
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Planned system updates will expand player options while keeping controls tight and responsive. Additional perk trees, movement abilities, and interactive objects will encourage new strategies and styles of play. Room generation logic will be refined to produce even greater variety in platforming, combat, and puzzle layouts, keeping each run fresh. Under the hood, optimization work will maintain smooth performance as features grow in complexity, while scalable code structures will make it easier to add new content without disrupting the game’s flow. The goal is to keep Vault of Novem feeling challenging, fair, and endlessly replayable.