The Eyes of the Court: 'Looming Shadows' Quest.
- Genre: Action Horror RPG
- Type: Quest.
- Tools: Arcweave, PowerPoint, Excell.
- Duration: 8 weeks
- Role: Narrative Designer
Goal
- Research and develop documentation for art and design teams to have an unified collaborative vision for the project.
- Create branching and linear dialogue for a Playable Character with her own voice and motivations, while giving the players control over meaningful actions directly impacting the narrative.
- Integrate elements of RPGs and Survival Horror on the design and narrative for all characters, locations and script materials.
Overview
Linear & Branching Dialogue
Branching Dialogue
Step 1: Wrote branching dialogue that directly leads into gameplay:
Included the following design considerations:
- Roleplay choice HUB – Interact in dialogue, and let the player decide which align best with their worldview.
- Tutorial Quest – Quickly stablish gameplay beats of Action Horror and RPG roleplay and set a rhythm between the two.
- Polarized Choices – Choices that directly impact interactions within the quest to quickly teach player about narrative Systems and Player choice.
Step 2: Used Arcweave to simulate narrative gameplay and flow:
Created a prototype with the following goals:
- Optimize Player Tap/Clicks – Ensured dialogue was tight, informative, and quickly led to gameplay.
- Live Design Space – Design teams can leave notes on experience and improvement directly in the prototype.
Linear Dialogue
Designed 3 linear dialogue interactions for the opening questline.
Included the following design considerations:
- Gameplay Needs – Introduce the Player to the world, conflict and key Ally and Enemy NPC’s early on.
- Quest Reminders – Dialogue directs player to their next objectives.
- Worldbuilding – Mention of key terms quickly understood through gameplay exposition during the quest.
Character Design & Barks
Player Character: Magraan Cordova
Paladin. Detective. Devoted but Tired
Designed the Player Character visuals, barks and combat mechanics.
Magraan is a mix of 2 archetypes, the pious unwavering knight from Medieval Fantasy, and the tired and troubled detective common in Horror Games.
- Core Fantasy – Her weapons and backstory supports the fantasy of a knight too close to the nightmarish world she swore to fight against.
- Opposite archetypes – Players decide which archetype will guide her decision making, building a story arch based on player choice.
- Immersive Writing – Journal entries (item description, bios, etc.) are written from her perspective, reactive to player action and choice.
Medic NPC: Dreamweaver Soothsayer
Sarcastic Liminal Nymph-Scholar.
Designed a Medic NPC and the interaction around its found locations.
An ever young singular hive mind that shares their collective knowledge through multiple bodies, found on Safe Haven locations.
- Unique Voice – Character speaks mimicking telegraph style, distinctive trait for a recurring NPC for the whole playthrough.
- Clear Design – Heavy emphasis on nature and mysticism with Shaman inspired visuals reflects their gameplay purposes.
Boss Enemy NPC: The Silk Maiden
Nightmare feeding from Nature's Chorus.
Designed the Main Antagonist of the game and her enemy behaviour.
This enemy is the main antagonist of the story. A towering psychic creature of the void that will hunt down the Player throughout the entire game.
- Direct Conflict – A mystery to solve before it breaks Reality itself. Narratively a clear clash with the Player role as a Detective Knight.
- Genre Appropriate – Her design of an uncanny human with monstrous proportions with body horror elements creates a motherly eerie look.
Storyboarding & Trailer Script Writing
Drafted and sketched a rough pass for the Opening Sequence.
- Shots Breakdown – A thirty second sequence, six shots in total. All with location, action and camera angle descriptions.
- First User Experience – Sequence can be used for marketing and directly links the opening to the introductory quest.
Voice Over Documentation
Step 1: Compiled a Voice-Over Actor Casting Document:
Compiled a Voice Over Actor Casting Document to help our team cast appropriate actresses based on cultural, age, and gender requirements for the characters.
Each document includes:
- Charcter Breakdown – including name, bio, motivations, vocal direction and design.
- Script Rundown – All lines of dialogue for the character, with context notes, voice directions, and quest summary.
Worldbuilding
Exterior Designs for the Player's "Town Hub" Locations
The Safe Haven where the player can heal and change/upgrade equipment. With a soulslike checkpoint approach the asset can be easily adapted to various regions.
- Blend of Genres – Nice balance between RPG and Horror that feels familiar to both group of players.
- Cost Effective – This exterior design hosts the Healer and Blacksmith NPC locations with minimal assets.
The “Plaza” inside the Main Hub, where players check stats, quests and speak with familiar faces, driving immersion and the rhythm between the action and narrative roleplay.
- Choice Impact – This place reacts to player decisions. Reflecting the impact the player has on the world.
- Familiar Design – The player will identify this as the “Town Center”, a recurring place in RPG’s to .
The central location on the Main Hub. Where players find the Dream Mother, a key NPC that pushes the main narrative forward.
- Guiding Beacon – Helps the players navigate the map easily and give personality to the area.
- Narrative Drive – The player reports on what they did between missions, opening up for narrative choices and roleplay.
Designed the (LOCATION)'s Cartography
I sketched a preliminary design for the World Map of the game
- Living World – Key locations are varied and unique, the player can enter and navigate each part as an unique experience.
- Invisible Constranits – Limited by the environment as a natural boundary for the levels, hidden the restriction for immersion.
- Crafted Exploration – Divided in Mayor Semi-Open World Areas into phases for narrative and gameplay progression.
Genre and Content Research
I created a reference sheet with all research information.
Researched different IP’s from TV, Movies and Games, a mix between Horror, Police Thriller, and Fantasy products.
- Focus Notes – List of main inspiration draws to identify overlap of themes and tropes the audience of these genres seek.
- Documentation – Included synopsis and link to the trailer for relevant products as documentation for the team.
THANKS FOR CHECKING OUT THE PROJECT !
“The weight of the truth falls upon the eyes of the righteous”
-Spindle’s Oath