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Pandora's Snake

Pandora's Snake

Pandora’s Snake is a fast-paced, absurdly comedic 2D action-arcade shooter where you play as a streamer who got cursed by a witch and turned into a giant, world-destroying snake… with a machine gun strapped to its back.

Executive Summary & Role

Pandoras Snake developed by various developers under Slafurry Studios, for GameSeed 2026, a game making competition hosted by GameSeed Team Indonesia. My role is Lead Programmer, responsible for implementing the core gameplay mechanics, integration and communication with the rest of the team.

This is not classic Snake game. Instead of just eating apples and avoiding your own tail, what if your growth was a vehicle for mass destruction? We built this game in Unity to be a fast-paced, top-down run-and-gun (or slither-and-gun?) experience. The player cursed into Jormungandr by an unhinged witch and need to hunt down a legendary Sage to break the curse.

The game have a feature called “livestream chat” that reacts to your gameplay, throws absurd challenges your way, and directly impacts the gameplay directly with “donations” from your loyal streamers.

We made it to become top 61 among 196 games in GameSeed 2026! (not first place, but still a huge achievement for a small indie team like us).

Key Features

  • Destructive Growth System: Just like classic snake games, you are constantly growing. But here, getting bigger means feeling like an unstoppable, world-destroying monster.
  • Run-and-Gun Mechanics: You literally have a machine gun strapped to your snake body. You have to shoot through enemies, bosses, and entire environments while managing your ridiculous length.
  • Simulated Livestream Chat: A dynamic, fake Twitch-style chat filled with multiverse viewers. They react to your actions, spam emotes, and trigger random gameplay modifiers that completely alter the flow of the game.
  • Expressive Artstyle: The game features a vibrant, exaggerated pixel art style that emphasizes the absurdity of the situation and enhances the comedic tone.

The Problem & The Solution

The Problem:

  • Stale Mechanics: Classic Snake games get repetitive fast. The core loop of “eat thing, get longer, don’t die” lacks the high-octane engagement modern arcade players want.
  • Static Gameplay: Top-down shooters can sometimes feel like you’re just holding down the fire button while walking in circles.
  • Lack of Player Interaction: Many games fail to create a sense of community or player engagement beyond the core gameplay loop.

The Solution:

  • Weaponized Growth: We turned the snake’s growth into a massive gameplay advantage. Managing your body while dodging bullet hells makes movement a puzzle in itself.
  • Dynamic Stream Events: The simulated livestream isn’t just for jokes. The chat actively disrupts the game by spawning enemies, dropping buffs, or changing the rules, ensuring no two playthroughs feel exactly the same.
  • Comedic Tone and Art Style: The dynamic and expressive pixel art and absurd scenarios making the game feel fresh and engaging.

Challenges & Learnings

Game dev is never as easy as it sounds. Here is what I learned while working on Pandora’s Snake:

  • System Integration: Integrating all features from different programmers was a nightmare. I had to constantly communicate with the team to ensure that the features all worked together seamlessly, and constantly coordinate which architecture and how to make placeholder testing logic.
  • Using Existing Algorithms: I had to research and implement existing algorithms for Boss Behaviour (HFSM), Pathfinding (A*), etc. to make sure the game worked as intended without sacrificing performance and time (because its a competition).
  • Game Feel and Juice: I learned that the small details like screen shake, particle effects, and audio feedback when destroying things made the game infinitely more satisfying.

Key Takeaways & Results

Building Pandora’s Snake was an absolute blast and a huge learning experience in game feel and juice.

  • Game Feel Matters: Nailing the screen shake, particle effects, and audio feedback when destroying things made the game infinitely more satisfying.
  • Existing Algorithms are Your Friend: Using existing algorithms saved us a lot of time and allowed us to focus on the other parts of the game (its not wrong, as long you understand how they work).
  • Team Communication is Key: Constant communication and coordination with the team was essential to ensure that all features worked together seamlessly.