& Co.
- Genre: Single-Player Detective RPG
- Type: Visual Novel
- Engine: Ren'Py
- Tools: Google Docs, Twine, Ren'Py
Role: Game and Narrative Designer
Composed of: Research and conceptualization, writing of the prose, prototyping, and balancing.
Role: 2D Artist and UI Designer
Composed of: Research and conceptualization, sprite and expressions art, environmental art, and UI art.
Iterations Overview
Goal
My goal for & Co. was to create, finish, and ship a video game. At the same time, I wanted to learn how to turn a linear piece of fiction into an interactive experience with a branching narrative.
- Navigating Interactivity: I wanted & Co.‘s branching mechanics to authentically feel like the player is solving the story’s mystery alongside the main character.
- Short Time Frame: I only had a limited amount of time to complete each step of & Co., from initial prose-writing to final in-game illustrations.
- In-Character Choices: Since & Co. borrows characters from the story of my upcoming game Underworld Blues placed into a different setting, I had to figure out how to keep each one recognizably themselves.
Overview & Technique Highlights
Game Premise: Sleuth through historical Vancouver as Reiko Espinosa, detective extraordinaire, in this LGBTQ+ romp through Canada’s Prohibition Era.
Outwit shifty clients, godlike mob bosses, and cunning femme fatales as you race to save an innocent(ish) woman from a phoney murder charge.
And make sure you don’t piss anyone too important off… or you might just get a Game Over.
Technique Highlight 1: Authentic Investigation
Goal: I wanted players to have multiple threads they could follow in order to crack the case.
Result: I created an intricate web of potential roleplay options for the player to take that will allow them to uncover the truth behind the mystery.
Techniques
- Ensured all paths that could be taken allowed the player to have sufficient information to solve the case.
- Created replayability by giving the player multiple routes to investigate throughout multiple playthroughs.
Technique Highlight 2: Genuine Stakes
Goal: I needed the pressure on the player to grow throughout the case.
Result: I connected the level of mechanical difficulty to the ramping of tension in the plot itself.
Techniques
- Adjusted the balancing of the player’s conversational opponents so they grow less and less forgiving towards the player.
- Made it so – akin to in a roguelike – a Game Over will force the player back to the very beginning of the case.
Technique Highlight 3: Unusual Suspects
Goal: I made certain the player wouldn’t get mixed up between the relatively large ensemble of characters.
Result: I ensured the cast of characters were all entirely distinct both visually and in their writing.
Techniques
- Colour-coded every character’s clothing and text boxes to be distinct from one another.
- Drew and wrote all characters consistently so they’d be easily identifiable from a glance.
Process Breakdown
1. Research, Ideation, & Theme
I knew I wanted to create a branching visual novel based off a short story I’d written in the past.
- Analyzing Games: I allowed the interactive point-and-click mystery solving mechanics from visual novels such as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Scarlet Hollow to inspire my own.
- Researching Historical Period: I did extensive research into the setting (Vancouver, circa 1919) in order to make the narrative feel incredibly immersive.
- Detective Conventions: In order to quickly immerse the player and allow them to understand the narrative in spite of its long-ago setting, I played into both contemporary and historical hardboiled mystery tropes.
2. The Short Story
Premise: I started out by researching the time period I was interested in writing in, then figured out a mystery that could compliment said era. I came up with two solid ideas I wanted to explore:
- Prohibition and speakeasies
- The mafia and its jewel trade
Theme: I knew from the start & Co. would be about relationships and trust, so the idea of a broken friendship because of an affair felt natural to explore. The Greek mythology influence hails from the game & Co. is adapted from and based upon.
3. The Conversion to Non-Linearity
Linear Twine Game
Result: Turned the short story of & Co. into a linear Twine experience.
Goal: To import all (at the time) existing text assets into Twine in the first place.
Work Implemented:
- Copy-pasted all of & Co. into a new Twine project.
- Added transition phrases so one chunk of text would flow into the next seamlessly.
Adding Branching Paths
Result: Turned the short story of & Co. into an interactive Twine game.
Goal: To add branches to the existing narrative and allow players some freedom in their choices of what/how to investigate.
Solution:
- Implemented additional Olympians, each with their own custom interactions.
- Wrote multiple potential paths to solve the mystery.
Checking Continuity
Result: Checked through all possible branches of narrative for continuity errors.
Goal: To be positive every path the player could take made sense in the context of the mystery.
Solution:
- Went through every path in Twine with a fine-toothed comb, making absolutely sure no transitions felt logically inconsistent.
- Added extra pieces of dialogue if they were logically missing.
4. The First Playable Prototype
Result: Fleshed & Co. out from a story into a game with objectives and win/fail states.
Goal: Building a full playable prototype of & Co. in Twine with all branching paths logically consistent.
Implementation:
- Mechanic Synergy 1: Conversations as combat encounters, where taking the wrong approach too many times in a row will net a Game Over.
- Mechanic Synergy 2: Rage as a narrative and mechanic fail state, where the more you anger an NPC, the closer they are to shutting your inquiries down entirely, thereby ending the investigation and the game itself.
- Narrative Synergy: Greek mythology framework for the case both paints the story in an understandable format and gives players who know the tales in question an advantage in solving the case.
5. The Development of the Visuals
The Characters
Goal: Create nine visually unique characters circa 1919 within a short period of time.
Solutions:
- Did extensive research into 1910s fashion and hairstyles.
- Drew from a wide variety of heights and body types to distinguish characters from one another.
- Colour-coded each character and kept their outfits within those visual parametres.
The Environments
Goal: Create thirteen backgrounds circa 1919 within a short period of time that would not distract from the character sprites.
Solutions:
- Researched 1910s architecture, aesthetics, and technology.
- Coloured every background in sepia tones to both enhance the vintage feel and ensure sprites would pop.
- Added the oocasional texture to large blocks of colour to keep the backgrounds visually interesting.
The UI
Goal: Create era-appropriate user interface that remained nevertheless easily understandable.
Solutions:
- Kept with a consistent sepia-toned colour palette to evoke a late 1910s feel.
- Added pops of green to direct the eye towards important elements.
- Chose fonts that were simple, legible, and reminiscent of a typewriter.
6. Polished Portfolio Piece
Results: Made a playable game on Itch.io.
Goal: Create a detective visual novel about the friendship, love, and loss of trust.
Execution:
- High Stakes: The player can lose control of the case at any time if they piss the wrong NPC off.
- Vibrant Characters: No matter which characters the player chooses to interact with, they’ll have an interesting playthrough.
- Intentional Theming: Every part of game is composed to align with the fantasy of becoming a hardboiled detective.
