NARRATIVE DESIGN
Although it's not my main area of expertise, I've learned and practiced a lot about Narrative design over the years, notably from Kurt McClung at Isart, whose method I also studied with Charlotte Gailledreau.
Narrative design assignment – Pitch
Document in French
This text is extracted from the project page. To see everything about the project, click here.
Lore design – Altered
Another more secondary task I've been given is to take part in the development of the game's lore. Specifically, I researched and prepared documents for the lore designer, to give him some basic material to work from. The main documents I produced were classifications of themes by faction and research on popular tropes around famous and beloved characters in pop culture.
But my work on lore doesn't really stop there. In the design of a card game, the medium used is cards. For this reason, gameplay design and card design must necessarily go hand in hand with the game's lore.
Let's take Kitsune for example. This card represents a young girl lost in the forest. To express this idea, we take into account the core gameplay and during card design we assign 0 to her in the first leaf statistic, which corresponds to the forest biome. I didn't make this card myself, but I hope this example shows how my work on the lore went alongside what I did on the other elements mentioned above.
This text is extracted from the project page. To see everything about the project, click here.
Narrative design – Colorful Complexions
My main task was to build the characters and write documents describing them, their characteristics, motivations and stories. I also described the locations in which they evolved, taking particular care to give the artists we worked with the material they needed to create interesting illustrations.
Document in French
This text is extracted from the project page. To see everything about the project, click here.
Narrative design - Abawari
I spent two-thirds of the project on the system and the remaining third on worldbuilding. My task was to define the current state of the world, what the main factions were and how they interacted with each other. Below are examples of paragraphs I wrote that describe my work:
ORIGINAL FRENCH VERSION
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
Des enquêtes, du combat et de la magie
Abawari met l’accent sur les enquêtes et les combats, vous invitant à traquer divers criminels et créatures influencées par les Maux dans le but de les abattre et de purifier le monde qui vous entoure. Il faudra faire preuve de tactique pour sortir vainqueur de vos confrontations, aussi techniques que mortelles. Pour vous aider, des Abawas, dieux déchus qui veulent défaire les Maux, vous prêtent leur force magique sous la forme d’un Masque de pouvoir. Utilisez-le à bon escient et devenez un porteur de ces artefacts surnaturels : un Abawari.
Une région en plein conflit
Masud est occupée par différents peuples dont vous trouverez une description plus détaillée dans les pages qui suivent. Nakir, nation principale des évènements d’Abawari, est un rassemblement de plusieurs clans s’étant alliés pour se défendre face aux Terres de Hagu, qui menacent d’envahir toute la région dans un avenir proche. Arshed Sayem, un troisième peuple habitant une île à proximité, observe ce conflit d’un œil distant : ils préféreraient ne pas s’occuper des affaires de guerres, mais sont bien obligés d’apporter leur soutien à Nakir afin de garantir leur propre sécurité. Enfin, les Nomades de Mungo parcourent l’ensemble des territoires de ces grandes nations, tolérés tant qu’ils n’interfèrent pas avec les grandes décisions politiques qui se jouent à Masud.
Investigation, combat and magic
Abawari focuses on investigation and combat, inviting you to track down various criminals and creatures influenced by Evil in order to bring them down and purify the world around you. You'll need to be tactical to win your confrontations, which are both technical and deadly. To help you, Abawas, fallen gods who want to defeat the Evils, lend you their magical strength in the form of a Mask of Power. Use it wisely and become a bearer of these supernatural artifacts: an Abawari.
A region in conflict
Masud is occupied by several populations, which are described in more detail in the following pages. Nakir, the main nation of Abawari events, is a gathering of several clans that have allied to defend themselves against the Hagu Lands that threaten to invade the entire region in a near future. Arshed Sayem, a third nation living on a nearby island, observes this conflict with a distant eye: they would prefer not to be involved in the affairs of war, but are obliged to support Nakir in order to guarantee their own safety. Finally, the Nomads of Mungo roam the territories of these great nations, tolerated as long as they do not interfere with the political decisions that are being made in Masud.