Shattered Infinity: Call of the Wild Frontier
- Genre: Sci-Fi Action-RPG-Shooter
- Type: Game Writing & Narrative Design
- Engine: Arcweave
- Tools: Arcweave, Excel, PowerPoint
- Duration 13 Weeks
- Role: Game Writer | Narrative Designer
Project Goals
Construct a narrative-focused game project within a realistic studio production context, beginning with research and finishing with documentation tailored for cross-team collaboration.
Create and iterate on linear and branching quest dialogue that is congruent with the characters and seamlessly leads into gameplay.
Design clear and digestible character, location, and script material, so that the potential art and design teams can assist with their collaboration.
- Create all documents in Excel and PowerPoint for ease of collaboration, leaving room for notes from the various teams when uploaded to Google Drive.
Overview
Branching & Linear Dialogue
Branching Quest Dialogue
Step 1: Wrote branching dialogue that integrate variables and choices seamlessly into the gameplay, including the following design considerations:
- Roleplay Choice HUB – Allows the player to respond to the NPC with reactions that best suit their own play styles.
- Polarized Choices – Polar opposite choice to cater to the various player types.
Step 2: Wrote dynamic dialogue that responds to player actions and creates thematic choices to increase player immersion:
- Urgent Stakes – Ensured clarity on the narrative urgency for the Build the Armory and Settlement Defenses gameplay.
- Respected Player Character – Made it clear that the leader NPC trusts the player character’s insights so that player choice feels it holds weight.
- Tied to Gameplay – Ensured dialogue was tight, informative, and quickly led to gameplay.
Linear Quest Dialog
Wrote linear dialogue to proof the story to gameplay functionality including the following linear dialogue design considerations:
- Gameplay Needs – This interaction was designed to raise tension by revealing a threat to give narrative context and stakes to the gameplay.
- Introduce Characters – Introduce the Player Character Lana Starr, Leader NPC Ezekiel Bradley and the Enemy Leader NPC Hive Queen K’chaal.
- Quest Reminders – Allowing the player to remind themselves of the quest requirements.
Character Designs & Barks
Player Character: Lana "Starr-Fighter" Starr
Designed a player character with motivations that conflict throughout the story, leading to dynamic choices that shape their growth and branch their story into multiple character arcs that resonate with players across various gameplay quests and mechanical themes. To do this, I did the following:
- Researched, designed, and fleshed out character motivations and personality to reflect narrative themes, combat functions, and game mechanics.
- Wrote the character bio and gameplay barks while keeping their design, combat function, and Jungian personality archetypes in mind.
- Supported the combat designer by designing unique weapons and attacks for each character, as well as naming and describing those weapons and attacks.
Ally Leader NPC: Commander Ezekiel Bradley
Designed a Leader NPC quest giver in the same style as the player character. As well as crafted a narrative arc for this character connected to the gameplay:
- Based his design on characters like Cable from the X-Men and Jim Raynor from StarCraft, good in a fight, rough and ready, yet still keeping goodness in their hearts.
- This character is a friend of the player character’s father, and like an uncle to them, which connects them deeply both in terms of emotion and also gameplay with him giving her important missions.
- He cares deeply about both the player character and the colony he now oversees. He can be stubborn and stuck in his ways, leading to clashing personalities with other NPCs, however, is very dependable and will always be there for the people around him.
Enemy Leader NPC: Hive Queen K'chaal
Designed the Antagonist Leader NPC of an enemy faction named The Wraxx to be the main opposition for the Player Character and their colony:
- They are an insectoid race much like Earth’s Wasps; however, they can take on attributes of other species that they ingest. This is their first time encountering Humans, and so after having eaten some of them they were able to take on more humanoid forms, with their current leader Hive Queen K’chaal being the first of her kind to do so.
- The Human colony on the planet Adamus is an unexpected revelation to the planet’s current inhabitants, and one race The Wraxx see them as encroaching invaders that must be driven out.
- The Wraxx are motivated mainly to feed, reproduce, and spread. The Human colony obstructs one of their desired expansion routes on the edge of their territory, so when they are encountered this brings them into direct conflict.
Game Progression, Storyboarding & Script Writing
Designed the Potential Game and Story Progression
Wrote and designed a flowchart for the overall pace of the story and when certain elements/mechanics of the game will unlock:
- Stuck with a four act structure, with room for growth inside each act.
- Stuck to the major story beats, with secondary and side content to be added in later.
- Kept it as simple as possible for cross-team collaboration.
Created an Opening Cinematic Storyboard
Outlined a storyboard script for the opening sequence of the game, and mocked-up a preliminary storyboard:
- Designed a short sequence of shots with worldbuilding in mind that can be used as both a trailer for the game and the intro cinematic before the tutorial.
- Included clear location, camera view, and action information for use by an art team.
- Wrote text in a movie-trailer style, where the voice over explains the basic narrative.
- Designed the storyboard with simple assets for quick and efficient communication between teams.
Wrote Sample Gameplay Dialogue Scripts
Voice Over Documentation
Step 1. Compiled a Voice Over Actor Casting Document that would help a team cast appropriate actors/actresses based on culture, age, and gender requirements for the characters.
Step 2. Created Voice Over Actor documents for the Player Character, three friendly NPC quest characters, and an enemy leader character, that provides detailed information to support the actors and provide faster and better VO sessions.
Each document included:
- Character Design images, character bios, personality notes, motivations, and vocal directions.
- All lines of dialogue for this character, along with scene details and quest summaries to provide situational and mood context for the voice actor.
Worldbuilding
Genre and Content Research
Researched and constructed a high-level research document to help determine the genre’s popularity that would help a marketing team do preliminary research with the target audiences, by critically consuming content from similar games as well as movies and shows that share narrative themes:
- Created a list of movies, TV shows, and games, including the official synopses of the titles, with links to their IMDBs and trailers.
- Wrote focus notes on what elements to draw inspiration from to prove similar ideas have interest across several audiences.
Created a Logline and Game Summary
Created the Starter Settlement of New Tombstone
Fleshed Out Exterior Locations
Each building exterior in the New Tombstone settlement was designed to be recognizable at a glance, and to clearly communicate its gameplay function naturally.
The Infirmary is where a player can go to heal their character and restock their support supplies between gameplay sections.
Each building exterior in the New Tombstone settlement was designed to be recognizable at a glance, and to clearly communicate its gameplay function naturally.
The Command Center is where a player will receive a variety of missions and manage aspects of New Tombstone itself.
Each building exterior in the New Tombstone settlement was designed to be recognizable at a glance, and to clearly communicate its gameplay function naturally.
The Armory is where a player will go to purchase new equipment, upgrade their items, and restock their combat supplies between gameplay sections.
Fleshed Out Interior Locations
Each building interior in the New Tombstone settlement was designed to be naturally intuitive to navigate, with available NPCs and resources easily distinguishable at a glance.
The Infirmary is where a player can go to heal their character and restock their support supplies between gameplay sections.
Each building interior in the New Tombstone settlement was designed to be naturally intuitive to navigate, with available NPCs and resources easily distinguishable at a glance.
The Command Center is where a player will receive a variety of missions and manage aspects of New Tombstone itself.
Each building interior in the New Tombstone settlement was designed to be naturally intuitive to navigate, with available NPCs and resources easily distinguishable at a glance.
The Armory is where a player will go to purchase new equipment, upgrade their items, and restock their combat supplies between gameplay sections.