A Tale or Two
Platform: Windows PC
Engine: Unity
Language: C#
Tools Used: Unity Development Kit, Fungus (Unity Package), Clip Studio Paint, BandLab, Audacity
Duration: 3 months (2022)
Team Size: 1
Project Design Goals:
- Demonstrate 3D level design skills and strong use of lighting as a tool for signposting.
- Create a non-linear visual novel narrative with an emphasis on player experimentation and discovery.
- Write an investing and interactive narrative that makes players want to learn more and uncover secrets.
- Build a unique fusion of visual novel and 3D adventure games by interweaving the two gameplay styles in an engaging and purposeful way.
A Tale or Two is a hybrid of visual novel and 3D adventure games. The game has the player exploring an underground prison and collaborating with an enigmatic character known as the Storyteller.
They must collect different objects from around the dungeon to unlock new paths in the diverging narrative they create alongside their fellow prisoner. As they collaborate with the Storyteller, they come to uncover the hidden truths that led to his imprisonment many years ago.
Available Here: https://josiah-hendy.itch.io/a-tale-or-two
Development Blog: https://journal.falmouth.ac.uk/josiahhendygam140blog/
Read here for a look into my design and development process, including specifics on my approach to level and narrative design, and a thorough analysis of the project's outcome!
This first year university project was the game that helped me define my interest in novel, interactive methods of storytelling in games. A large part of development on this project was spent assessing ways to encourage players to immerse themselves in a world and uncover its secrets of their own volition.
Over time, the story of A Tale or Two transformed into a commentary on the nature of storytelling itself. The game revolves around the player working alongside the Storyteller, making a story out of the combination of trinkets they gathered in the dungeon. This way, the player's contributions to the narrative were entirely dependent on their own choices and decisions, in the same way that the past experiences of the Storyteller also fed into the story.
As a reward for experimentation and investment, the player is given hints toward secrets in the dungeon if they choose to pursue certain paths. As such, the objects in the dungeon diversify the narrative with the Storyteller, which in turn reveals more secrets to find in the dungeon, completing the gameplay loop.
This project helped me home my skills in narrative design and 3D level design. The dialogue flowcharts for the branching narrative were an effective tool that helped me visualise the relationships between different player choices and actions, and the mysterious setting and the game's dungeon taught me a lot about how to use lighting to guide players through a play space.
I believe the unique hybrid gameplay of A Tale or Two is strong and worth revisiting someday, and there are several things I would do to improve this project in the future. Adding a timeline tool to help players track their past narrative choices and inform them of where certain objects were used would reduce unnecessary repetition, and more could be done to make navigation of the dungeon smoother and coherent (i.e. moving the Storyteller's window in the wall to a more obvious position, rather than a strange little corner).
*(Note: While all 2D sprites and music were created by me, all 3D assets, textures, and most sound effects were sourced elsewhere. A comprehensive list of references is available on the game's itch.io page.)