project description
The story follows Orion Daris, a former computer science student who lost his girlfriend Amina in a tragic brain-machine interface experiment. Traumatised by the incident, Orion grew increasingly fearful of technology. Years later, having abandoned his studies and working as a salesman, he unexpectedly receives a mysterious new virtual reality device from an unknown organisation along with a letter that mentions Amina. Driven by the need for answers, Orion connects to Cyberspace, only to find himself entangled in a dangerous conflict between powerful tech conglomerates.
The story unfolds in a future where artificial intelligence, memory manipulation, and brain-machine interfaces reshape human consciousness, yet these advancements lie in the hands of monopolistic corporations. The narrative challenges players to rethink their attitude to technology. It argues that technology itself is neutral, its value determined by the intent of those who wield it.
As machines take over more of our abilities, the boundaries between AI and humanity are blurred. What truly remains ours, and are the enduring traits of humanity our greatest strengths or merely fading relics of a past that may soon be forgotten?
In game Footage
As this is a narrative-driven game, in other words, a video game that foregrounds its identity as a medium for storytelling, it positions itself as a more engaging, participatory, and immersive manifestation of narrative experiences. Consequently, narrative design holds paramount importance for this project, standing on equal footing with gameplay mechanics or even superseding them in prioritisation.
Since we lacked experience in character design, our approach was to use a well-structured template, filling out each element step by step to ensure that our characters would not have fundamental design flaws. We primarily focused on designing several main characters, including Orion, Amina, and Pega. Additionally, we briefly described several major corporations and their leaders. This approach allowed us to easily refer back to character settings during story development, preventing inconsistencies in character portrayal.
Orion
Amina
As a narrative-driven video game, designing narrative spaces is also essential. A well-crafted environment serves the story, not only engaging players and providing them with relevant information but also hiding details (these may not influence the plot direction but can enhance its depth). Such hidden information encourages players to explore further (distinct from general Easter eggs, this specifically refers to concealed story-related details).
In this section, we will primarily discuss how spatial design serves the narrative and gameplay.
Bedroom
Search Engine
Cyber Alley
Chimera Database
· Art Directing
· Spatial Designing
· Environmental Modeling
· Ambient Animating
· Lighting Setup
· Visual Effects Production
· Creative Directing
· Narrative Designing
· Character Designing
· Gameplay & Interaction Developing
· Character Rigging and Animating
· Cinematic Directing