When Every Choice Matters

One of my main contributions was developing and refining the game's narrative structure. I worked on rewriting parts of the storyline, planning character interactions and connecting events across different chapters.

The story needed to reveal information gradually, allowing players to uncover different perspectives and recognise the significance of seemingly small decisions. I also helped develop three possible endings, introducing different outcomes based on players' choices throughout the experience.

This meant thinking beyond individual scenes. Each interaction needed to contribute to the story, while the different narrative paths still had to make sense when brought together.

WHAT I WANTED

I wanted players to feel like they were discovering the story themselves, rather than simply watching it unfold.

I was involved in planning and designing the puzzles, knowledge quizzes and decision-based scenarios players encountered throughout the game. These included environmental interactions, hidden clues and activities that encouraged players to consider the consequences of different actions.

The challenge was ensuring that these interactions weren't simply obstacles placed between story chapters. They needed to contribute to the narrative while reinforcing the educational objectives.

I explored how information could be introduced through different gameplay formats, from discovering evidence and answering questions to making decisions under time pressure. Each interaction required careful consideration of what players needed to know, what they were expected to do and how the game would respond.

A GOOD PUZZLE

A good puzzle shouldn't just make players think about how to solve it. It should also give them something meaningful to take away.

One of the more complex parts of my work involved planning the underlying gameplay logic. With multiple chapters, interactive objects, quizzes, timed decisions and different endings, the game needed a consistent system connecting everything.

I mapped out player journeys, defined scoring rules and planned how different choices would influence the overall experience. This required thinking through the possible outcomes of each interaction.

I also needed to make sure players received appropriate feedback and understood what to do next.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

It wasn't enough for each puzzle to work individually. Every interaction needed to make sense within the larger game.

With multiple learning objectives to cover, there was a risk of relying too heavily on quizzes or straightforward question-and-answer interactions. I had to think about how to vary the gameplay while keeping the activities relevant to the story.

Another challenge was translating creative ideas into mechanics that could actually be developed. A puzzle might sound interesting on paper, but its instructions, interactions, scoring and possible outcomes all needed to be clearly defined.

I worked through these details by documenting the gameplay flows and interaction logic, refining the mechanics and coordinating with the development team. As the game took shape, I also supported testing and quality assurance to identify inconsistencies between the intended design and the actual experience.

WHAT I LEARNT

I learnt that creativity is only one part of game design. Making everything work together requires just as much attention to logic, clarity and detail.

Beyond the main gameplay mechanics, I also contributed to supporting elements such as interactive assets, character dialogue, voice-over content, sound effects and background music. These helped establish the atmosphere of different scenes and make transitions between exploration, puzzles and storytelling feel more cohesive.

I was also involved in reviewing the implemented experience, checking whether interactions behaved as intended and whether the narrative remained consistent throughout the game. It was especially satisfying to see individual components that began as written concepts or flow diagrams gradually come together as a playable experience.