The Vessel: Game Design Overview
Developed by Sue, Olivia, Victor, Richard, Cecilia and Alex
Artist’s Statement
”The Vessel” is a pixel art game that plunges players into a psychological sci-fi horror aboard a stranded battleship infected by an alien parasite. The game centers on Matthew, the vice-captain and player character, whose calm and dependable nature is challenged as the parasite takes hold, distorting his perception and threatening his humanity. Through interactions with a deeply developed crew, players navigate a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere where trust erodes and paranoia mounts. The narrative unfolds dynamically, driven by player choices that influence relationships, survival, and the ultimate fate of the ship and its inhabitants.
The tone of “The Vessel” is dark and emotionally charged, blending moments of quiet intimacy with sudden bursts of violence and dread. The pixel art style enhances this mood with expressive character sprites and moody environments that reflect the decaying state of the ship and the crew’s unraveling sanity. Themes of love corrupted by necessity, moral ambiguity, and tragic inevitability permeate the story, inviting players to confront impossible decisions about loyalty, sacrifice, and control. The protagonist’s unreliable narration mirrors the creeping loss of self, immersing players in a haunting descent into monstrosity.
Design-wise, the game emphasizes branching narratives where every choice from dialogue to critical actions shapes multiple endings. The ship itself is an interactive, reactive environment where scavenging, repairing, and uncovering secrets are vital to survival and story progression. Character-driven storytelling is paramount, with each crew member harboring hidden motives and emotional complexities that influence the player’s journey. Ultimately, “The Vessel” aims to create an immersive experience that challenges players to balance hope and horror, control and chaos, as they navigate a doomed voyage through isolation and infection.
Game at a Glance
For this project, we chose to deliver a highly polished vertical slice focusing exclusively on Day 0 and Day 1 of the game. This decision was driven by tight time constraints and our desire to showcase the depth and quality possible in the full experience, rather than stretching our resources thin across the entire narrative. By concentrating our efforts on these opening days, we ensured that every aspect such as visuals, audio, and narrative was thoughtfully integrated, resulting in an immersive and thematically rich experience that feels complete and intentional. This approach allows players to fully experience the intended atmosphere, mechanics, and storytelling, clearly communicating our broader vision for the game. Our vertical slice serves as a compelling proof of concept, demonstrating meaningful progress toward a larger project and providing a clear system model for future development.
The core fun centers on narrative discovery and psychological tension. Players are drawn into a web of relationships and secrets, making choices that profoundly impact the fate of each character and the unfolding story. This focus on emergent narrative and emotional stakes caters to players who value story-driven games, enjoy replaying for different outcomes, and appreciate complex character arcs. Our design supports diverse playstyles: whether players prefer methodical exploration, emotional roleplay, or strategic decision-making, each can find their preferred mode of engagement reflected in the game’s branching paths and multi-layered character interactions.
Mechanically, the game focuses on exploration, interaction, and branching dialogue. Players move through a pixel art spaceship, searching for vital ship components, managing resources, and solving environmental puzzles to restore systems and progress the plot. Dialogue choices are central to the experience, allowing players to influence relationships, uncover secrets, and determine the fate of both themselves and their crewmates. As the infection within Matthew deepens, the mechanics evolve: the player’s perception becomes unreliable, and agency is subtly eroded, reflecting the protagonist’s internal battle with the parasite. Resource and time management are crucial, as supplies dwindle and the threat of the parasite grows, forcing players into difficult moral decisions.
The game’s dynamics emerge from the interplay of these mechanics and the shifting relationships among the crew. Paranoia and mistrust escalate as characters die or reveal hidden motives, and alliances are constantly tested. The infection system creates a sense of mounting dread, as players must weigh the costs of survival against their humanity. The branching narrative ensures that every decision has weight, leading to multiple possible endings from tragic sacrifice and heroic containment to monstrous transformation or a bittersweet, doomed romance.
Aesthetically, “The Vessel” delivers a claustrophobic, emotionally charged atmosphere. The pixel art style juxtaposes nostalgic visuals with intense psychological horror, while the soundtrack and environmental storytelling heighten the sense of isolation and impending doom. The narrative is deeply character-driven: each crew member is richly developed, with personal histories, hidden traumas, and complex relationships. The player’s journey through Matthew’s unraveling mind is mirrored by the breakdown of the crew, as hope gives way to desperation and the boundaries between love, duty, and monstrosity blur.
Narratively, the story unfolds over six harrowing days. After losing contact with the mothership, the crew is beset by suspicion and terror as the parasite’s presence becomes undeniable. Early deaths, such as Ella’s, serve as catalysts for paranoia and emotional collapse, while the fates of characters like Lee, Connor, Emma, Sarah, and Noah are shaped by both player choices and the inexorable progression of the infection. The climax sees the surviving crew facing impossible decisions as the ship nears rescue or total destruction. Endings vary dramatically: Emma may execute Matthew to prevent further horror, Sarah might choose to stand by him in tragic devotion, or the player may sacrifice themselves to contain the threat. Each outcome is a reflection of the player’s moral compass and the relationships they have forged or broken along the way. Here is the attached Notion that list the details of each day: Notion
Looking to the future, the team envisions expanding the game to cover all six days of the narrative, allowing the infection and paranoia to escalate and giving player choices even greater weight. Planned additions include a broader variety of puzzles such as gravity-and-maze mini-games, wire connection challenges, narrative-driven logic puzzles, and more complex environmental interactions. The infection system could become more advanced, introducing hallucinations, unreliable narration, and further erosion of player agency as Matthew’s condition worsens. Narratively, the full game would offer a wider array of branching outcomes, with the fate of each crew member and the ship itself hinging on cumulative player decisions. Relationship systems would deepen, tracking evolving alliances, betrayals, and emotional arcs that ripple through the group. Optional side stories, hidden logs, and emergent events could further enrich the world and provide replay value, while additional accessibility and interface enhancements would ensure that the experience remains welcoming to all players. In essence, while the current version demonstrates the game’s core mechanics and narrative strengths, the future vision is to amplify complexity, emotional stakes, and player agency across a much larger, more dynamic story.
Target Audience
The Vessel is designed for players who appreciate mature, narrative-rich experiences and psychological horror. It appeals to fans of story-driven games like SOMA, Until Dawn, and Disco Elysium, as well as those who enjoy branching narratives and character-driven drama. While the game’s themes and mechanics are best suited for experienced gamers comfortable with complex moral choices and emotional intensity, onboarding is carefully integrated through gradual escalation, clear tutorials, and contextual hints, ensuring that newcomers to the genre can engage deeply with the story and mechanics without feeling overwhelmed
Setting
The game takes place on a massive, isolated spaceship adrift in the void. The vessel, once a symbol of human ingenuity and hope, now becomes a claustrophobic arena for paranoia and survival. As the infection spreads, the ship’s corridors, medical bays, and living quarters transform from safe havens into sites of suspicion and dread. The protagonist, Matthew, must navigate this labyrinthine environment, piecing together clues, managing relationships, and confronting the ever-present threat of the parasite both within himself and among his friends. The setting amplifies the sense of isolation and inevitability, with the ship’s failing systems and dwindling resources mirroring the group’s psychological collapse
This is a screenshot of control room:
This is the map of the spaceship:
Our original vision of the spaceship was something like this:
Narrative:
Day 1: Catastrophe and Unseen Infection
The game begins in the aftermath of chaos. The ship has lost contact with the mothership, and the crew is reeling from the attack. Matthew awakens from a blackout, greeted by Connor, the brash pilot, and Lee, the ship’s meticulous medic. As the crew regroups and begins searching for missing parts to restore communication and power, an undercurrent of unease sets in. That night, tragedy strikes: Ella, the idealistic bio-scientist and Emma’s half-sister, is found dead, her body horrifically mutilated. This event is the catalyst for paranoia, shattering the group’s fragile sense of safety. Unknown to the crew, Connor has already been infected by the parasite, which compels him to kill Ella in a sleepwalking state.
Day 2: Suspicion and Sacrifice
With Ella’s death, suspicion and fear spread rapidly. The crew begins to fracture, with Emma—cold, calculating, and deeply resentful of her half-sister—becoming increasingly aggressive. Lee, the rational medic, tries to maintain order but is forced to confront his own moral boundaries as he discovers Connor’s infection. He secretly attempts to placate the parasite within Connor by feeding it remains, but this only delays the inevitable. That night, Lee is killed by Connor, whose humanity is slipping away. Lee’s death marks a turning point, both for the group’s morale and for Connor, who is now fully under the parasite’s control.
Day 3: The Horror Revealed
Connor’s infection can no longer be hidden. The crew, now reduced to Matthew, Sarah (Matthew’s gentle but emotionally resilient girlfriend), Emma, and Noah (the naive, youngest crew member), is forced to confront the reality of the alien threat. In a desperate act, they restrain Connor and prepare for his execution. Emma, wielding an antique revolver once gifted by Ella, carries out the grim task. The execution is traumatic, especially for Noah, who insists on witnessing it, desperate to prove himself. The horror of the parasite is now undeniable, and the group’s unity is shattered.
Day 4: Descent into Monstrosity
Only four remain. Noah, traumatized, locks himself in his room, while the others try to maintain a semblance of normalcy. Matthew’s infection, contracted earlier by drinking from Connor’s cup, is beginning to take hold, distorting his perceptions and eroding his self-control. That night, driven by a hunger he cannot resist, Matthew who unconscious and overtaken by the parasite devours Noah. The loss of the ship’s last innocent soul marks Matthew’s true fall into monstrosity, and Sarah’s response is chilling: out of love and desperation, she conceals Noah’s death and begins feeding his remains to Matthew to keep him sated and delay his transformation.
Day 5: The Final Days
With the mothership only a day away, hope and dread intermingle. The remaining crew being Matthew, Sarah, and Emma are haunted by what they’ve done and what they’ve become. Emma, wracked with guilt and a need for control, may choose to end her own life or prepare to execute Matthew if he becomes a threat. Sarah, fully aware of Matthew’s infection, is torn between love and survival, crossing moral boundaries to protect him. The atmosphere is thick with tension, secrets, and the ever-present threat of the parasite’s final takeover.
Day 6: Arrival and Endings
As the ship nears the mothership, the narrative reaches its climax. The infection within Matthew is at its peak, and the player’s choices throughout the journey determine the outcome.
Design and Process
Initial Brainstorming
At the outset, we didn’t know we would end up making The Vessel. What we did know was that we wanted to create a game with certain core traits: a simple 2D RPG in the style of Undertale, a strong sense of moral complexity, and a setting in outer space to evoke claustrophobia and psychological tension. These goals were shaped both by our interests and the assignment’s emphasis on spatial design. During initial brainstorming, the team considered several different directions for the main story, including an action JRPG aboard a prison work camp ship, a J-horror scenario, and a 2D action game set on a crumbling mining colony. The common thread was a desire to explore how people behave under pressure in closed, high-stakes environments, but the specifics were still very much in flux. This was our moldboard.
In the early development phase, we generated three distinct narrative concepts, each with its own unique setting, themes, and gameplay focus. The process was highly collaborative, with team members pitching ideas that ranged from dystopian social systems to post-apocalyptic mysteries and psychological horror. The three main narratives we developed were: “Terma,” a story about a society trapped in a cycle of enforced social rotation on a generational spaceship; “Faultline,” a sci-fi drama centered on the moral dilemmas of a space station technician uncovering the truth about Earth’s fate; and “The Vessel,” a psychological horror experience set aboard a stranded battleship infected by an alien parasite.
Each concept underwent several rounds of brainstorming and refinement. “Terma” explored the philosophical consequences of a society ruled by an impartial AI, where class conflict was replaced by ritualized cycles of power and subjugation. This narrative was rich with allegory and systemic world-building, but its focus on abstract societal mechanics made it challenging to ground in character-driven gameplay. “Faultline” offered a more personal story, with the player uncovering secrets and making high-stakes decisions about the fate of Earth and the orbital station. Its branching endings and repair-based mechanics provided strong replay value and emotional engagement, but the narrative’s scale and reliance on external stakes sometimes diluted the sense of claustrophobia and immediacy we wanted.
Ultimately, we chose “The Vessel” as our core narrative because it best aligned with our goals for emotional intensity, moral ambiguity, and player agency. The setting naturally fostered a tense, character-driven story where every choice could have immediate and far-reaching consequences.
Iteration History
Iteration 1: Text-Based “Choose Your Own Adventure”
Playtest Goals & Questions
Our initial goal was to explore how branching narrative and player choice would affect engagement and immersion in a purely text-based environment. We asked:
- Does a text-heavy format maintain player engagement, or does it encourage skimming?
- Can players follow the branching narrative and retain important story details?
- How do choices impact the sense of agency and investment in the story?
We were especially interested in whether our approach would support explorer-type players and those motivated by information-seeking, as discussed in class.
Successes
Players enjoyed the ability to make meaningful choices, and the branching structure allowed us to test narrative outcomes rapidly. This format was invaluable for mapping out the story’s skeleton and identifying which choices resonated most. The flexibility of text made it easy to iterate on story branches and consequences, giving players a sense of control over the narrative and supporting autonomy.
Room for Improvement
However, the sheer volume of text quickly became a barrier. Many players skimmed dialogue and lost track of key details, breaking immersion and reducing narrative impact. This highlighted an issue with cognitive load: too much information at once can overwhelm players, undermining the aesthetic of discovery. The lack of visual or interactive elements also meant the narrative was delivered passively, limiting player agency and the sense of mastery. To address this, we realized we needed to streamline dialogue and incorporate visual storytelling, shifting to a “show, don’t tell” approach. This would better support embedded narrative principles and diverse player types, making the experience more dynamic and accessible.
Iteration 2: Streamlining Narrative and Visual Thinking
Playtest Goals & Questions
With this iteration, we aimed to:
- Test whether concise, natural dialogue improved pacing and engagement.
- See if visual cues and environmental storytelling could replace lengthy exposition.
- Assess how players responded to a more visually-driven narrative.
We wanted to see if reducing cognitive load and leveraging environmental storytelling would enhance the aesthetic of discovery.
Successes
Shorter dialogue and a focus on essential lines made the experience more accessible and improved pacing. Players responded positively to character animations and environmental details, absorbing story elements through gameplay rather than just reading. This shift supported environmental storytelling, embedding narrative in the world and increasing engagement for explorer types.
Room for Improvement
Despite these improvements, players were sometimes unsure when they were supposed to make choices, leading to confusion and accidental selections. This revealed a lack of clear affordancesand feedback, which are crucial for reinforcing agency and supporting the consistency heuristic. We decided to introduce color-coding and more prominent highlighting for dialogue options, making moments of player choice unmistakable. This would ensure that interactive elements were easily recognizable and maintain player autonomy, a key aspect of effective game design.
Figure: This is the improved version with color-coded names
Iteration 3: Transition to Pixel Art 2D & Enhancing Interactivity
Playtest Goals & Questions
In this phase, we wanted to:
- Determine if visuals and interactivity made the world more engaging.
- Evaluate if players could recognize when to make choices.
- Test the impact of environmental storytelling on immersion.
We focused on how spatial architecture and visual cues could enhance embedded narrative and support exploration.
Successes
The transition to pixel art and interactive elements brought the world to life, enhancing immersion and engagement. Players became more invested in exploring and interacting with the environment, aligning with spatial architecture and environmental storytelling concepts. Color-coded dialogue options improved clarity and reinforced agency, making interactive narrative elements more intuitive.
Before
After
Room for Improvement
Playtests revealed inconsistencies between narrative and visuals. For example, a medbay described as chaotic appeared sterile, breaking immersion and violating the principle that environmental cues should reinforce narrative context. We revisited our art direction, adding visual cues like scattered supplies and flickering lights to better match the story’s emotional tone. This was essential for creating a cohesive, believable world and deepening the aesthetic of discoveryand emotional engagement.
Players were also confused about room accessibility and navigation. To address this, we will introduced a “More Door” tag and implemented clear color-coded indicators—red for unavailable rooms and blue for accessible ones—making it immediately apparent which areas could be entered. This improved wayfinding and reduced unnecessary backtracking.
Iteration 4: Onboarding and Narrative Structure
Playtest Goals & Questions
Our objectives were:
- Determine if onboarding provided enough context and prepared players for challenges.
- Assess if players understood their objectives and the protagonist’s motivation from the start.
We wanted onboarding to support both novice and experienced players through adaptive messaging and clear narrative cues.
Successes
Introducing a “Day 0” segment provided essential background and set the emotional tone, anchoring players in the narrative. This improved onboarding aligns with adaptive messaging and player-centered design, giving all players the tools to engage meaningfully. Players felt more anchored and emotionally invested, facilitating smoother progression into the main story. The new color-coded indicators and tags made it much easier to understand which rooms were accessible, reducing confusion and streamlining navigation. This clarity helped them navigate the environment more confidently and minimized unnecessary backtracking, leading to a smoother and more enjoyable gameplay experience.
Figure: The Day 0 scene that we added to explain the background story
Figure: Added instructions during Day 0 and is seamlessly incorporated into the game, the “Press E to leave/enter” only show up when player is near the door
Room for Improvement
Even after refining onboarding, some players continued to feel disoriented or uncertain about their next objectives, highlighting that both spatial layout and in-game guidance required further improvement. The lack of intuitive navigation and clearly defined goals led to frustration, particularly among casual players. To resolve this, we decided to introduce a map, a checklist system, and more distinct room boundaries—measures designed to enhance clarity, reinforce instructions, and minimize friction. These updates were informed by spatial design principles and the critical role of feedback and guidance in fostering player autonomy and mastery.
Iteration 5: Navigation, Pacing, and Quality of Life
Playtest Goals & Questions
This round focused on:
- Testing if the new navigation system (map, checklist) improved orientation and reduced confusion.
- Evaluating if quality-of-life improvements (readability, text speed, interactive indicators) made the game more accessible.
We aimed to see if these changes could reduce cognitive load and enhance the player experience.
Successes
Players found that the map and checklist made objectives clearer and navigation easier. Improvements in readability and interactivity reduced friction and made the experience more enjoyable, supporting the consistency heuristic and accessibility. Adding character portraits and avatars to dialogue boxes helped players track relationships and remember characters, supporting narrative cohesion and investment. Instructions are seamlessly incorporated into gameplay: prompts like “Press E to leave/enter” only appear when the player is near a door, keeping the interface clean and minimizing distractions. This contextual approach ensures that guidance is available exactly when needed, supporting player agency and maintaining narrative flow.
Room for Improvement
The environment still felt sparse, with little incentive for exploration beyond main objectives. This limited the fulfillment of the psychogenic need for information and the explorer player type. To enrich the experience, we planned to add optional interactives, hidden items, and environmental puzzles that reward curiosity and deepen engagement. This aligns with rewarding exploration and supporting different player motivations through optional content and environmental storytelling.
Iteration 6: Interactivity, Exploration, and Puzzles
Playtest Goals & Questions
Here, we wanted to:
- Test if optional interactables and environmental puzzles increased engagement and rewarded exploration.
- Assess if players were motivated to explore beyond main objectives.
We focused on supporting the aesthetic of discovery and rewarding curiosity.
Successes
Adding hidden objects, flavor text, and puzzles increased engagement and rewarded attentive players. Early-game puzzles taught players to be observant, supporting embedded learning and rewarding exploration. The medbay sequence was reworked so players needed to find their ID before leaving, teaching them to pay attention to their environment and look for clues. If a player attempts to enter a restricted area without the required ID, a ‘walk back’ animation is triggered, softly prompting them to search for the necessary item within the accessible room. This approach provides a gentle hint without breaking immersion or overtly directing player behavior
Figure: Players are prompted to find their ID before leaving the room
Figure: One of the early puzzle that was added
Figure: Hinting the player to explore the control room first
Room for Improvement
Balancing challenge and accessibility for different player types remained a concern. We needed to ensure puzzles were neither too easy nor too difficult, maintaining motivation and supporting diverse playstyles. Ongoing iteration and playtesting were necessary to fine-tune difficulty and ensure all players could enjoy the experience, regardless of skill level.
Iteration 7: Bug Fixing and Iterative Refinement
Playtest Goals & Questions
The focus was on:
- Ensuring movement mechanics, dialogue options, and interactive elements functioned smoothly.
- Testing if iterative bug fixing improved overall experience and immersion.
We wanted to ensure the game was stable and responsive, supporting a polished player experience.
Successes
Systematic bug fixing and refinement improved stability and playability, demonstrating user-centered design and iterative practice. Movement mechanics were refined, allowing running, smoothing navigation on stairs, and clarifying movement boundaries. Rooms evolved from simple backdrops to interactive spaces, with items offering flavor text and world-building.
Example Play:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GWFdNcaPAhWidAb24luWSSq7HW6mBElx/view?usp=sharing
Building Playtest Questions and Rationale
At each stage, we crafted playtest questions to target specific research objectives:
- “Did you feel confused or unsure about what you should do?” (testing onboarding and clarity)
- “What was your favorite/least favorite part?” (identifying strong and weak points)
- “Was there a moment you felt lost or frustrated?” (testing navigation and spatial architecture)
- “Did the environment feel alive and rewarding to explore?” (testing environmental storytelling and the aesthetic of discovery)
These questions elicited actionable feedback, enabling us to iterate effectively and align decisions with course concepts such as cognitive load, embedded narrative, spatial architecture, and player motivation.
Character Design
When developing “The Vessel,” a significant amount of time and discussion went into naming each character and carefully assigning their roles to ensure the plot’s emotional and logical coherence. We started by brainstorming character names that felt evocative and memorable, then debated what function each person would serve within the story’s closed environment. The goal was to make every character’s presence and absence deeply meaningful to the unfolding narrative.
This process was especially crucial because the premise relies on the crew’s interdependence. For example, after the captain is killed early on, the crew is left without clear leadership or a way to communicate with the mothership. That’s where Matthew’s role as vice-captain becomes central: the rest of the crew naturally looks to him for guidance, and his struggle to hold everyone together under impossible stress forms the emotional backbone of the game. Without Matthew’s reluctant leadership, the group would have no anchor, and the player’s choices would feel less consequential.
Naming and defining Ella as the ship’s bio-scientist was another pivotal decision. We made her the only crew member with real knowledge of biology and alien pathogens, and then chose to have her die first. This was a deliberate narrative move: by removing the one person who might recognize or explain the parasite, the rest of the crew is plunged into confusion, fear, and superstition. Ella’s early death doesn’t just shock the group, it also ensures that the mystery of the infection lingers, fueling paranoia and tragic mistakes throughout the story.
Our character design process was also highly iterative, revealing how even well-planned narratives require constant refinement. Originally, we did not plan to include Captain Nolan among our cast. However, as we developed the story through multiple iterations, we began to notice plot holes and unanswered questions that could undermine player immersion. Why was Noah allowed on the ship despite his age? How does the player’s role fit into the crew’s established dynamics? How exactly does Matthew get knocked out without knowing how? Rather than leaving these questions unresolved, we decided to create Captain Nolan as Noah’s brother, using their familial connection to justify Noah’s presence on the ship while simultaneously addressing the Day 0 plot inconsistencies. This addition also transformed Noah from what had initially felt like a disposable character destined to die on Day 4 into someone with genuine emotional depth and a meaningful bond with the protagonist—making his eventual death at the player’s hands far more devastating.
By spending so much time on these details, we ensured that every character’s name, personality, and function were tightly woven into the plot. The result is a story where every death, betrayal, and act of kindness feels earned, and where the absence of any one crew member like especially the captain and Ella fundamentally alters the group’s chances of survival and the player’s emotional journey.
Puzzles and Level Design
For Day 1, we’ve already implemented object-based access puzzles, such as requiring players to find their ID card in the medbay before they can leave. This not only introduces players to the logic of searching and interacting with their environment but also helps teach them to pay attention to details and clues right from the start.
We’ve also built out a Sokoban-style puzzle for Day 1, where players must move objects around in the engine room to access a fuse and restore power. This puzzle ties directly into the story, making the act of solving it feel meaningful and connected to the ship’s ongoing crisis. These early puzzles are designed to be intuitive, helping players get comfortable with the game’s mechanics while keeping them engaged with the unfolding narrative.
Looking ahead, we’re planning to expand the puzzle variety in future days. Ideas in development include a gravity-and-maze mini-game that combines spatial navigation with time pressure, as well as wire connection puzzles where players must repair or reroute circuits under constraints. We’re also exploring narrative-driven puzzles, like assembling torn notes to uncover backstory or solve for codes, and text-based logic challenges involving ciphers or interpreting logbook clues. Some more ambitious concepts, like a balance puzzle involving weight distribution, are still being considered for later sections if they fit within our development scope.
Overall, our approach is to make sure each puzzle feels like a natural extension of the world and story. For Day 1, the focus is on accessible, story-driven challenges that introduce core mechanics, while future days will layer in more complexity and variety to keep the experience fresh and rewarding as the narrative deepens
Accessibility
Accessibility and inclusion are integral to our design. Every character is fully voiced, supporting players with visual impairments and enhancing immersion for all. Subtitles and content warnings are available throughout, allowing players to tailor the experience to their comfort level. To further support diverse needs, we offer three different font options, adjustable text scrolling, and a speed slider for dialogue, ensuring readability and pacing preferences are met. Audio accessibility is enhanced with dedicated sliders for sound effects, voices, and background music, so players can customize audio levels to their liking. We have also considered edge-case players by providing multiple input methods and clear feedback for all interactive elements, ensuring that no player is excluded from the core experience.
Final Playtest
For more information visit our Notion
Credit:
Thank you for our voice actors:
Connor: Richard Chen
Ella: Megan Tsoi
Emma: Esugen Dashdorj
Lee: Ethan Chen
Noah: Marcus Chu
Sarah: Alexis Young
Captain Nolan: Matteo Tucci
System Voice: Catherine Yue
