'The Abovelands and Below'
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Genre: Action/Adventure
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Theme: Fantasy
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Tools: Arcweave, Excel, PPT
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Time: 8 weeks
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Role: Narrative Designer
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Project Structure and Overview
Goal:
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Build a narrative-focused project beginning with research and finishing with documentation tailored for team collaboration.
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Create branching and linear dialogue that is congruent with the characters and seamlessly leads to gameplay.
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Create clear and digestible character, location, and script materials for art and design teams and team collaboration.
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Development Stages:
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Quest branching dialogue writing, design, and implementation
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Bios, barks, and voice-over scripts
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Character design
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Location and building design
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World building (+ game cartography)
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Storyboarding and script design
Overview:
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Created the base world for ‘The Abovelands and Below’ as the project’s foundation, including lore, location designs, map design and layout, as well as mood boards for optimised team collaboration.
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Designed player character ‘Iliysa’ and NPCs (leader, healer, and enemy) based on established world lore and Jungian Archetypes to blend narrative and mechanics into their identities and voices.
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Designed branching dialogue integrating narrative and character development while also leading to expanding gameplay paths.
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Created an opening cinematic trailer script which leads into the introductory tutorial gameplay.
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Created voiceover (VO) scripts for each character to deliver to voice actors, including bios, dialogue, and barks of the characters, as well as voice actor casting sheets and a linked master script of dialogue for team collaboration and on-site edits.
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Created all materials in Arcweave, PowerPoint and Excel to allow for ease of collaboration, while leaving room for notes from the various teams.
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Designed Branching Quest Dialogue
Creation Process:
Step 1: Wrote branching dialogue threads which integrate variables and choices seamlessly into the associated gameplay:
Included the following branching dialogue design considerations:
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Roleplay choice HUB - Allow the player to respond to the NPC with polar opposite reactions that suit their own playing styles optimally.
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Tutorial Quest - As this quest is still part of the tutorial, there are no quest acceptance hubs (quest is mandatory).
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Polarised Choices - Polar opposite choices to cater to the various player types (i.e. offensive vs defensive, loyal vs rebellious).
Step 2: Wrote dynamic dialogue that responds to player actions:
Created thematic choices to increase player immersion:
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Conveyed Urgent Stakes - Ensured clarity on the narrative urgency for the 'Investigate the Fires'' gameplay and others.
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Respected Player Character - Established that the leader trusts the player character's insights, so that player choice feels their choice holds weight and remains valid.
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Narrative Simplicity - Quest reflects the player character's unquestioning loyalty to her leader at this stage of the game, but gives polar opposite choices to cater to different player types (i.e. loyal vs rebellious).
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Linked to Gameplay - Ensured dialogue was tight, informative, and quickly led to gameplay.
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Step 3: Developed a clickable branching dialogue prototype using Arcweave, simulating dialogue in the context of narrative flow:
Created a prototype with the following goals:
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Optimize player tap/clicks - By using the clickable prototype, the script can be better understood and felt, and from here further revised to improve pacing and player investment.
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Live design space - Through the note function in Arcweave, design teams can leave notes and feedback on experience and improvement directly in the prototype for further iterations.
Designed Linear Quest Dialogue
Creation Process:​
Step 1: Designed linear dialogue threads leading into the story directly as well as gameplay functionality.
Gameplay Needs: As part of the tutorial section, this interaction was designed to:
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Raise tension by revealing a great threat to give narrative context and stakes to the 'Investigate the Fires' gameplay.
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Introduce the Elder NPC.
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Quest Reminders - Allows the player to remind themselves of the Quest Requirements.
Step 2: Ideated linear dialogue for each character's introduction while communicating clear goals.
Wrote linear dialogue proof with the following design considerations:
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Clear goals - As part of the tutorial section, this interaction was designed to convey simple, clear goals framed by narrative lore in line with character motivations.
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Communicate Resource Cost - Gave clear resource costs for the tutorial section as a narrative incentive to claim resources from future quests and locations for future gameplay (i.e. visit Blacksmith for weapon upgrades and demonstrate what materials are required to facilitate this).
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Introduce Resource Locations - Used the dialogue to communicate the need to fulfil the player character's role within the town and the plot.
Places to iterate:
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Player character needed more context behind their motivations and role.
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Dialogue was framed in too cinematic a style, lending itself to more of a cut-scene than to a playable moment with player agency.
Step 3: Iterated dialogue based on internal feedback to increase character voice and narrative tension to increase immersion:
Revised linear dialogue proof with the following design considerations:
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Character Introduction: Made sure the player character was characterized clearly and concisely by re-establishing who they are (daily life & character lore), what they need (quest), and what is being asked of them.
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Character Voice: Ensured both the player character and the elder had strong and unique voices to increase immersion by showing the following: the Elder's authority and wisdom, prior relationship with the player character and knowledge of the threat, as well as the player character's experience leading to this moment and desire to fulfil their duties.
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Improved Stakes: I gave specific narrative examples of why the 'Investigate the Fires' and other gameplays are needed by both writing and how this disrupts the world status quo, establishing player-centric gameplay focuses and expanding on existing world lore.
Character Designs, Weapons, Attacks and Barks
Player character: 'Iliysa'
​Crafted a player character with motivations that conflict throughout the story, leading to dynamic choices that shape her growth and branch her story into three exclusive character arcs that resonate with players across various gameplay quests and mechanical themes.
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The following steps were taken when developing Iliysa as the protagonist of 'The Abovelands and Below':
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Researched, designed, and fleshed out character motivations and personality to reflect narrative themes, combat functions, and game mechanics. For example, Iliysa is a fantastical character but has a familiar and relatalbe youthful energy, ambition and naïvety.
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Wrote the character biography and gameplay barks, utilising their design, combat function, and Jungian personality archetypes. (For instance, Iliysa throws herself into battle readily and has a performed cockiness about her, which is demonstrated by her surprise at victory against a boss character.)
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Supported the combat designer by designing unique weapons and attacks for each character, as well as naming and describing their attacks. (i.e. bow "parry" to turn a ranged weapon into a melee defence, and encompassed their satyr nature into a charging ram attack.)
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Designed each character’s narrative arcs based on the three tech trees and the factions that create them to create narrative tension as their loyalties become divided. (i.e. supporting or defying the village Elder and seeking information either through direct or devious means can show either an innate virtue or a rebellious streak in her character.)
Leader NPC: 'Elder Olkeyn'
Designed a leader character NPC to act as a quest giver, and wrote their dialogue barks to connect them to their building (Elder's Tree) and biome/location (The Abovelands).
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Elder Olkeyn is familiar with the player character, and is trusting of their decisions while still offering a guiding hand. Even when the player character offers resistance, Olkeyn is accommodating and strives to broker peace and understanding.
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I strove to ensure that they were archetypally wise but also had a whimsical, playful air to them. This came to light with their traits as a lover of stories and songs, as well as creating dubious homebrewed potions.
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Olkeyn is designed with inspiration from Middle Earth's hobbits with a chaotic, whimsical air. This energy is demonstrated by their random-effect of the potions that hang from their hip, as well as their often off-kilter and bizarre barks and dialogue.
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Olkeyn is imbued in nature and is not to be underestimated despite his age and stature, and is unmistakenly bound to his duty as The Abovelands' Elder (i.e. the glowing moss in his staff matches that of his setting in the Elder's Tree).
Healer NPC: 'Tchoul'
Designed Tchoul to act as the resident cleric / healer NPC of The Abovelands. This NPC is the mandatory through-line for the Healing Tutorial for the player, and also intertwines in multiple story beats as the player encounters them both within their biome home (Tchoul's Tree) and outside of this area.
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This NPC can be visited by the player to develop healing and stat improvements and embark on side quests that inform wider lore and story factors, but these gameplay routes are entirely optional depending on the player's playstyle.
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Tchoul is characterised by being a non-conventional dispassionate healer, who is committed to their duties but seems apathetic to many other aspects of their life, preferring to pursue their studies than demonstrate their combat prowess (even when needed).
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Tchoul's attacks are deeply informed by their role as a healer and by their form of a fantastical giant grey great owl. For example, their thurible (a symbol of healing and holiness) being recharacterised as a vessel for their magic and spell weaponry, while their imposing stature and physicality informs their talon dive melee attack.
Enemy NPC: 'Firebrand Ogre'
Designed the Firebrand Ogre as a mini-boss antagonist NPC to function as a high-stakes combat tutorial which fuels story and lore and teaches core gameplay mechanics.
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This character acts at the first point-of-contact for the wider world outside of the home hub (The Abovelands) and so their character design had to be distinct from the NPCs' encountered so far, while also remaining stylistically belonging to the world. For example, using real-life gorillas and elephants to influence their design helped to inform their raw strength linked to real-world references, while still peppered with fantastical elements.
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The Firebrand Ogre had to demonstrate both melee and ranged attacks to keep the player character on their toes and quickly learn how to approach different combat scenarios within the same fight.
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Their motivations are simple and direct, and it is made clear that they have basic goals of survival but are fuelled into this violence (therefore triggering the wider plot) by being affected by the darkroot disease, which acts as the plot device for the game's inciting incident.
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Their design and voice had to be imposing and clearly threatening, while also allowing for fun interplay with the player character's dialogue choices.
Storyboarding & Trailer Script Writing​
Wrote a storyboard script for the opening sequence of the game, and designed a preliminary storyboard to collaborate with the art and marketing teams, and get internal approvals:
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Designed shots with worldbuilding in mind, creating a sequence that can be used as both a trailer for the game and the intro cinematic before the tutorial.
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Included clear location, camera view, shot functions and action for use by the art team.
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Wrote text in the POV of the main character to maintain continuity with the character-centric narrative of the game.
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Designed the text so that it could be free-standing or read by the main character's voice actor as needed by the marketing team.
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Designed a storyboard prototype with simple assets for quick and efficient communication between teams.
Voice Over Documentation​
Created Voice Over Actor documents for the Player Character, 2 x NPC quest characters and the mini-boss character, which provided detailed information for both game animators as well as direction for the voice actor to support and guide them, leading to clear instructions that were within budget and scope for animation and facilitating faster, more effective voice recording sessions.
Each document included:
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Character Design images, character bios, personality notes, motivations, and vocal directions
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All lines of dialogue for this character, along with scene details and quest summaries to provide situational and mood context for the voice actor.
Following this, I also compiled a master Voice-over Actor Casting Document to help our team cast appropriate voice performers based on the characters' cultural, age, and gender requirements.
Worldbuilding and Location Designs​
Designed map of The Abovelands (protagonist's home hub area) materials for the team, covering the key elements of the location, including:
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A reference key to help identify map details at just a quick glance.
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Sections on important details such as theme & appearance, function in the world, NPCs in the location, gameplay usage, and backstory.
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Included numbered sections for buildings that include brief descriptions of each building's core lore, themes, and current state in the game world.
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The Abovelands is set entirely in treehouses high above ground level - so high that the ground cannot be seen - and is host to a peaceful, self-sustaining civilisation of fantastical people and creatures. The Abovelands acts as a hub area for the player to return to and set out from as they must explore the wider world, fight unknown fiendish enemies and hope to find the cure to ensure their home's survival. This hub holds several gameplay functions - such as upgrades to weapons and stats - and is also the key location of the game's narrative.
Designed Locations (Exterior & Interior):​
As there is no dominating monarchical or religious force in The Abovelands, it was vital that The Elder's Tree had a sense of magnificence and grandeur in its own right. ​As such, it is the highest part of The Abovelands, frequently overlooking the sunrise and sunset, and is speckled with magical glowing moss, a feature entwined with the magic of The Abovelands' leader, Elder Olkeyn.​
The Elder's Tree acts as the quest hub for the player, as Elder Olkeyn will deliver main story quests (and reminders), and many secondary NPCs will engage with these in this hub too, as well as providing their own side quests in turn.
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The interior of The Elder's Tree continues the grandiose feeling as the player enters and can overlook The Abovelands and its surroundings. The scene is illuminated by the majestic, glowing crystal at its centre, which magically powers the lanterns and technologies dotted across the treetop village.
As fates turn for the worse, this central crystal cracks and fades, signalling high stakes as the plot progresses.