Premise (Setting and Characters):
My narrative game is about two outcasts from different worlds who help each other discover their identity, purpose, and sense of belonging while teaching players essential social-emotional learning skills through empathy-building gameplay.
Planet Arctara – A distant planet scarred by colonial conquest
- The Celadon House (green shapeshifters) conquered Arctara a century ago, subjugating the indigenous Cerise Clan (red-skinned people with invisibility powers)
- Cerise people retain invisibility by day but become visible under the Full Selenian Moon—when Celadon forces hunt them for enslavement and territorial expansion
- Piko, a young Cerise descendant and the son of the current commander of the Cerise resistance, lives in hiding among an impoverished, oppressed community struggling for survival, while fighting for their chance for freedom any chance he gets.
Planet Earth – Yosemite National Park region, present day
- Annie (14) was born with a severe facial difference; her mother died during childbirth
- Her father Gordon, the park’s Chief Ranger, has never recovered from his wife’s death—he emotionally retreats into his work in the mountains by day and alcohol by night
- Annie endures relentless bullying at school and internalizes the rejection, believing her appearance caused both her mother’s death and her father’s emotional abandonment
- She suffers from severe self-loathing and isolation
Through an extraordinary chance encounter on Earth, Piko and Annie—two beings who feel invisible in their own worlds—form an unexpected bond. As outsiders who’ve never belonged, they recognize something essential in each other. Through their friendship, they embark on parallel journeys of self-discovery, teaching each other what they most need to learn, from self-advocacy to learning to make peace with what one cannot control.
Player Goals
- As Annie: Find belonging and self-worth despite relentless bullying and parental neglect; learn to advocate for yourself and recognize your inherent value
- Witness Piko’s journey: Understand his struggle to become a leader for his oppressed people while managing fear, anger, and self-doubt
- *** I’m currently considering switching the role for which the player takes on after the first playtest. Switching to Piko could make more sense for the narrative and also for the players to be more connected (will think more on this, but sticking with Annie as player’s character right now).
Player Conflict
- Internal: Annie’s deep self-loathing vs. growing self-acceptance; choosing between silence (safety) and using her voice (risk)
- Interpersonal: Navigating friendship tensions when Piko’s protective instincts clash with Annie’s autonomy (the school violence incident)
- External: The Celadon threat—a shapeshifter disguised as Gordon hunts Piko, forcing both characters to use everything they’ve learned the defeat the enemy
Player Choices
- How Annie responds to bullying: Stay silent or speak up after Piko’s encouragement
- Confronting her father: Choose whether and how to express her feelings about years of neglect
- Supporting Piko: Decide how to help him manage emotions during training
- Final confrontation: Navigate the danger when the shapeshifter is revealed
Player Actions
- Daily life navigation: Experience school, home, and the evolving friendship through dialogue choices
- Advocacy moments: Practice standing up for yourself in increasingly difficult situations
- Teaching sequences: Guide Piko through SEL techniques (emotional regulation, stress management)
- Climactic battle: Make choices during the confrontation that determine how Piko uses his newfound skills
- Farewell: Witness both characters embark on new chapters—Piko returns to lead his people; Annie steps into her confident self
Genre/Tone: Sci-fi adventure with slice-of-life intimacy
Target Audience: I really want this game to resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider searching for belonging—with the message that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
Map:
Project Plan:
- October 19th: first narrative prototype finish; playtest 1; gather player feedback and implement revision; begin twine prototype
- October 20th: playtest 2; gather player feedback and implement revision; finish full first twine prototype
- October 22nd: playtest 3; gather player feedback and implement revision; revise twine prototype
- October 24th: begin additional elements on twine (I.e background colors, visual elements if any)
- October 25th: playtest 4; gather player feedback and implement revision; revise twine prototype
- October 27th: playtest 5; gather player feedback and implement revision; revise twine prototype
- October 30th: final twine revision
- October 31st: submit final game and deliverables
