A Las Tres

Design Process

DESIGN PILLARS

I wanted to create a game about my family's experiences and reimagine what my life would be like if I was an immigrant living in the U.S trying to support my family back home.

I defined three design goals:

  1. The game will primarily use my family's stories of migration and have limited influence from other people's stories as to not misrepresent their history. I am allowed to use magical realism.
  2. The game will frame the process of migration as a very human and honest but arduous process.
  3. At the core, the narrative will be about a father and his daughter and how migration affects their relationship.

ITERATIVE PROCESS

  1. Planning:
    I created a design document in Google Drive breaking down my design pillars and the different mechanics and sytems I would need to create my vision. I also drafted a simple MDA document breaking down what I want the player to feel when playing the game. I began concepting art style and decided for simple pixel art to limit the scope of the project and avoid any "uncanny valley" effects.
  2. First Digital Prototype:
    I began testing the narrative beats inside Inform 7 and how to tell the story. If the game was centered around narrative I needed a way to test what worked and what didn't. I explored telling the narrative through stories created by the father. I also began solidifying the art style separately.
  3. Second Digital Prototype:
    I began implementing the narrative into a separate scene the player could interact with. These scenes reflect how the father wants his daughter to see him. He portrays himself as a hero going on a journey. I designed and implemented systems for dialogue, object interaction, and audio.
  4. Final Game:
    I experimented with 2D lights in Unity and added visual effects like particle systems and post-processing.
Narrative Prototype
Initial Player Character Design
Final Player Character Design
UI Prototype
Final Game

GAME LOOPS AND FLOW

Gameplay Loops:
  • 1-5 Seconds: The player explores the area by walking and listening to soundscapes.
  • 10-20 Seconds: The player interacts with objects to learn more about the father's life.
  • 1-5 Minutes: The player reads narrative elements that give exploration meaning.
  • 10-15 Minutes: The player interacts with the magical realism story segments where the father describes himself as a hero.

Project List