The Project
“Blue Moon” is a 2D top-down narrative game, developed as a second-semester project, that tells a story of people in challenging times striving to regain what is rightfully theirs. The game progresses through a blend of mini-games, simulation elements, and a dynamic dialogue system. It targets young learners, aiming to provide an interactive way to explore stories.
The project faced unique challenges, particularly in interpreting the theme “Why don’t you play by the games?” as “why don’t you play by the rules?”. This led to designing a narrative about struggling against the propaganda machine, focusing on inducing ethical questions and emotions rather than traditional “fun” or rewards. The core challenge was maintaining player motivation through a narrative that could feel initially “boring and losing” until its climax, necessitating careful game mechanics design and a dynamic economy system for the “Tavern Management” mechanics.
Time:
2018
Team:
Ahmed Adel Attaalla Salem – Programmer
Dustin Richard Terry – Programmer
Ruben Alexandar Menzel – Artist
My Contributions
- Research & Narrative Development:
- Researched historical events for fictional adaptation, focusing on emotional impact.
- Designed the game’s narrative and world based on historical events.
- Developed a handcrafted three-act story with player agency and replayability.
- Designed characters to foster emotional connections.
- Game & Economy Design:
- Designed core mechanics to maintain player motivation through narrative
- Designed game economy and mechanics in management gameplay
- Developed and balanced a dynamic difficulty system for management gameplay that adjusted based on player performance.
- Project Management & Documentation:
- Contributed to project planning and documented the entire development process.
- Utilized videography experience to create a stunning game trailer for pitching.
Learnings
Working on “Blue Moon” provided me with significant learning experiences, particularly in:
- Narrative-Driven Design: Gained expertise in crafting compelling narratives based on historical events, understanding how to structure story progression while allowing player agency and ensuring replayability.
- Motivation in Ethical Games: Learned how to design game mechanics that effectively engage players and sustain motivation in games focused on ethical questions and emotional experiences, rather than relying on conventional rewards.
- Dynamic System Design: Developed skills in creating dynamic difficulty systems for game economies, adapting parameters based on player performance to maintain flow.
- Project Planning & Communication: Enhanced my abilities in project planning, comprehensive documentation, and leveraging multimedia skills to create impactful pitching materials.
- Propaganda Analysis: Deepened my understanding of historical data and the identification of propaganda tools through narrative game design.
Gallery
