FORSAKEN AWAKENING
Timeline
3 weeks of March 2024
Team size
3 game designers
Roles
Writing | Narrative Systems and Design | UI/UX Design | Cinematography | Voice Design
Software
Unreal Engine | Miro | Jira | Figma | Fork
Video playthrough
About the project
Why was it made?
Forsaken Awakening is a third-person narrative adventure with a strong emphasis on environmental storytelling and immersion. I created the game's story, including its characters and dialogue, oversaw cinematography and cutscenes, directed and implemented dialogue and sound, designed narrative systems — like pick-up notes — and a dialogue system with reactive subtitles.
My objective was to get familiar with the Unreal Engine. I set myself a challenge to focus on storytelling taking inspiration from titles like God of War (2018), God of War: Ragnarok and Uncharted 4. I wanted to see if I am able to create believable characters and their interactions through use of a sentient mask. The dynamic combines that of Kratos and Mimir together Nathan and Sam.
Gallery of 10 development images
Narrative
Breakdown
I created a Nordic fantastical world with two main characters; a human and an enchanted Mask. Taking inspiration from games like God of War, I took an example of Mimir who serves as a guide for exposition, and facilitates varied interactions and reactions to the player's actions and incorporated that into the enchanted Mask.
I focused on crafting witty and sometimes even snarky interactions between the two characters after Uncharted 4, trying to resemble the dynamic between Sam and Nathan, and to achieve that I blended buddy comedy with a more serious undertone. To record the voice lines I used ElevenLabs. This form of a project allowed for broad experimentation with different camera systems available in Unreal Engine and timelines.
Gameplay highlights
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I made a data table-based dialogue system and crafted a reusable UI widget for subtitles to ensure consistency across the game's interactions.
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For added depth, I wrote pick-up notes and letters that revealed key exposition elements.
Dialogue, UI, Notes - Supporting images
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In shaping the interactions between two main characters, I built a dynamic relationship between them and developed the overarching narrative.
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To ensure all narrative systems functioned smoothly, I designed a "narrative gym" that allowed for thorough testing and refinement of the tools.
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I wrote, structured, recorded and implemented all dialogue.
Narrative gym and documentation - Supporting images
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I designed the main menu cinematic with both functionality and storytelling in mind, setting the tone for the player's experience from the start.
Main Menu - (audio on!)
Cinematics - Supporting video
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To create cinematic moments, I carefully planned the composition and framing of scripted events to enhance immersion.
Reflection
For future reference
Taking a first proper shot at Narrative Design I found it to be an interesting and challenging process to write believable dialogue which not only is to stay true to the characters but also is to present contrast between characters interactions; reacting to serious moments as well as for comedic purposes. Using AI voices is a useful placeholder which could convey the idea easier.
It also serves as a good practice to grasp how to guide actors through the role to achieve a true to character outcome. Close collaboration with level designer is crucial in order to convey certain emotions or be able to highlight and emphasise story pieces and or environmental storytelling.