.png)
KIM CYSIQUE
Game Narrative Designer
Type
Adventure
game
Date
2022
Role
Narrative
Designe
Engine
Unreal
Platform
PC
Team
8 peoples
Duration
13 days
Universe
Fantasy
Burden Of The Past
Play as Kalem, a 14-year-old teenager, and his companion Brocc, lthe chatterbox toad, in search of answers to the mysterious illness he's been suffering from since childhood. He'll have to cross the inhospitable lands of the Terama region and face a brotherhood that will only make his task impossible.
Role : Tech Narrative Designer
Main tasks on the project :
- Story, worldbuilding, character sheets
- Writing and integration of narrative content (pages, letters, object descriptions)
- Implementation of a FR to EN translation system
- Layout and writing of documentation
- Puzzle Design (Flowcharts, Gameloop) and implementation within the engine
Try out the project here :
MY WORK
Dialogue integration
&
FR/EN translation
During the development of Burden of the Past, we had to implement a multi-language function in our vertical slice.
I therefore used csv forms combined with Google sheets to facilitate implementation of the game's various texts.
This ensured that the texts were easily translatable into French and accessible to the whole team.
Worldbuilding
As the level was very short, it had to focus on few characters, with simple but impactful stakes.
First of all, I had to draw up detailed character sheets to establish the universe.
the idea of a strong duo emerged, and I had to think about how the 2 protagonists could cplement each other, playing on constrasting sizes and words.
Once the characters and their stories were in place, I structured the worldbuilding around a prophecy and a timeline of the universe. The characters are linked to the world, and the path taken by the heroes has a real impact on it.
I decided to start with a division of time: the past (lore) is provided by the writings in the game (letters, book excerpts) and the environment and dialogues, in the present, recount the events experienced by the player.
Puzzle Design
Library puzzle Design :
-
Several books scattered throughout the level
-
With symbols identical to those on the house doors.
They are placed in the right place according to their color.
This puzzle necessitated the creation of a script and associated font to immerse you in the universe. The font is also used in the game's illustrations, as well as on the 3D props used to solve the puzzle.
Conclusion
Work on the dynamics and specificity of a particular genre : high fantasy.
Use game design to convey lore to the player, but also to move through the level and unlock the passage to the next room.
Make the player understand the story of the place and characters in a small area, being clear without overwhelming him with text or dialogue.
Lore serves as a reward for curious players, but does not punish more direct players.
