Welcome to
Nellie’s Alley
Interactive Media Klara on the Yard
Transcendence
Game DesignHappy Mom’s Day
Tide of Plague
Maris VR
On-goingFabuladubus Clinic (AR)
OthersWenzao Ruler
Appendix://
Mumblings
About
Resume
Little Red Book
Welcome to
Interactive Media Klara on the Yard
Transcendence
Game DesignHappy Mom’s Day
Tide of Plague
Maris VR
On-goingFabuladubus Clinic (AR)
OthersWenzao Ruler
Appendix://
Mumblings
About
Resume
Little Red Book
Happy Mom’s Day
Narrative Game | Interactive Comic | Storytelling
Game Design
Art
TIMELINE
2024/06-2024/08
TOOLS
Unity
Procreate
C#
...
HONORS
IGA TIG Competition Finalist
This is ...
A story about my mom,
and many more homemakers.
A mother's contributions are all in the trivia. In order to experience my mother's sadness, I designed an interactive circular story that allows people to experience the day from the perspective of their father, child and mother.
She said she’s tired, but...
no one could understand it.
At least that’s what I thought. I don’t think anyone, especially husbands, can understand the unimaginable effort it takes to constantly be the ONLY person in the family who can—and must—run every errand and make schedules for everyone. She has to be the family manager and meeting everyone’s need because that’s how all moms show their love.
The struggle is universal.
Gameplay Highlights
Instead of leading players straight into the mom’s entire day, I designed looped storylines for each family member. The player must experience part of each family member’s day first before entering the corresponding part of mom’s day. The comparison between the difficulty of each storyline will further emphasize the mom’s struggles.
In the game, the player will go through the day by this order:
- dad’s day
- katie’s day
- mom’s day
Incorporating 2D assets within the 3D map added more interaction and dynamics than I anticipated—
what the visuals conveyed exceeded audience expectations.
The cameras, the characters, even the objects are placed in the 3D way. The results were amazing! You cannot expect what would fall in the third dimension so you would always be aniticipating.
I created something more than what a 2D world could deliver and more fun than a 3D world contains. Seeing a cellphone fallen on the bedside table was Crazzzzy! From creating the very first scene, I finally knew what the game would look like.
Besides, it is SO MUCH easier tell a story in a comic than in a 3D world.
Use Actions to Engage
The basic interaction pattern in normal form of ‘interactive comic’ usually contains noly click and drag. To add more dynamic to the game, I first design the whole game in the
Monologue Time -- the progession of emotion
Monologue time is a set of micro games to represent individual’s inner feelings or dialogues.
As the story progresses, the monologue time will occur increasingly frequent, cutting palyer’s view into the mom’s world. Thereby, the player will become more aware of the mother’s growing inner frustration.
Process
There is something great about solo work...
I know exactly which drawing to separate & export from the layers and how to integrate them into the game engine, so the entire workflow runs with minimal friction.
To convey emotions through gameplay
Early Prototypes
The storytelling approach in a 3D environment often feels formulaic, limiting its emotional impact. At early stages, I tried using amplified objects to portray a mother’s struggle. But the interactions themselves ended up distracting audiences from the message I wanted to convey. Still, I think they have great potentials to use for other stories.
a disproportionate amount of kitchen utensils
a bad memory of a child getting lost in the supermarket
Insights
2. You’re always having more things to do than you could expect.
3. Drawing is fun! It really helps to organize your thoughts and visions. So if you’re stuck, just start drawing!