We Made That!: Meet The ETC Team Behind The Tale of Oath
Students at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) are constantly creating. The ETC’s collaborative, project-based curriculum gives students the opportunity to design their own games and interactive experiences. And it doesn’t stop when the semester ends.
Many ETC students keep working on their projects with the goal of releasing them to the public. One example of this is Team Quessant: a group of 7 ETC students who created The Tale of Oath, a 3rd person action-adventure game that combines magic combat with puzzle solving and platform jumping. What started as a Spring 2025 project intended to let them practice their level design skills is now a complete game — available on Steam since September.
How did the idea for this game come together?
Ashling Tu: This was originally a semester-long project, so we were given certain topics and restrictions. Our instructor chose IP [intellectual property] for us to be inspired by. In this case, it was the tabletop roleplaying game Rifts. We were asked to make a 3D action-adventure game. After brainstorming, research, and figuring out how to best utilize our strengths, our team came up with this idea and story.
Yuhuai Huang: Our project was about level design, so the idea was always to make a game with levels. The first step was to do research and find interesting spells and settings we could use. There were so many ideas to choose from!
What was the process of making the game? What challenges did you have to work through?
Yuhuai Huang: I think the first challenge was making decisions. Because we had so many options, it was difficult to figure out what we wanted to do. We didn’t really get to the official development stage until week 4 or week 5 because it was so hard to decide on the best design and gameplay choices.
Ashling Tu: The biggest challenge for a collaborative game project always is to start with an idea that everyone is excited about – you can’t have one person direct it all. As Huai mentioned, we were inspired by an already existing role playing game, but we still had to come up with our own story and design. There were technical challenges, and there were times we had to cut ourselves off at a certain point because of time restrictions. As for game development, the point is to make the game fun! At the ETC, we constantly have playtest sessions and so outside audiences can try it and make sure it’s fun.As developers, we have an entirely different experience with our game. Sometimes there are certain things we thought were fun and nobody noticed, and then there was some stuff that we put in randomly that people loved!
What is something that you’re especially proud of from this project?
Ashling Tu: Huai made such cool music!
Yuhuai Huang: That’s true. I was the programmer, but I’m also a guitarist.
Ashling Tu: Originally it was a level design project, so we didn’t need to make a complete game. It just needed to be playable. The fact that we were able to achieve it and make an entire game experience, with tutorial guidance and actual stories and a world with cool music is what I’m most proud of.
Yuhuai Huang: For an ETC project, the experience can be 5-10 minutes. We made 30-45 minutes of gameplay which is massive as a student project, and it’s not repetitive. Players receive new mechanics for different experiences about every 10 minutes. I can see people enjoying it, which is the best achievement.
Ashling Tu: The reason we pushed it this far was that we made some good decisions at the beginning. We actually started small, and didn’t expect ourselves to make something like Elden Ring. But we valued each of our team members, and everyone was motivated because they loved what they were doing and wanted to keep polishing the game. For example, I was the producer and artist but I still contributed other ideas as part of the team.
Can you tell me more about the world of Rifts England within the game, and how you created the atmosphere and magic of Rifts London?
Ashling Tu: The world setting is based off of a fantasy version of England, so imagine Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings vibes. The fun part is that it’s a combination of cyborg machinery and old druid magic, and there’s a horror tone – like it’s nighttime instead of daytime. By adding these elements, we made a mysterious atmosphere that makes you want to discover the world more! We also aren’t just telling players what the game’s main plot is,, but instead keeping in mind that players are roleplaying: you’re a soldier and you absorb an alien mushroom — what’s next? There’s a lot of storytelling involved.
What’s next for you?
Yuhuai Huang: I’m still an ETC student! I’m part of Team 270° Fun, working on a Formula 1 inspired racing game, but instead of being in direct control of the cars the player is part of the crowd. You cheer for games and give buffs to the team you support. It’s a challenging game design choice to implement, but I enjoy it.
Ashling Tu: I graduated last spring, and my main focus is art, narration, and production. I’m working on an indie game right now that is an experimental way of showcasing self-discovery with a girl finding her identity as she grows up. I think every girl should play it! We’re aiming to publish a version of the game with half the story by next spring, and the full game out next summer.