Hungerless

Design Intent

The design goal is to put the player in the shoes of someone suffering from an eating disorder by allowing the player to experience, through the lens of psychological horror, the obsession, the compulsive need for control, and subsequently the loss of that control.

This will be achieved by gradually eroding the player’s trust in the game systems and their control over them, in a downward spiral of tension and horror, until even the very space in which the player is accustomed to navigating is transformed.

The game aims to constantly keep the player on edge, forcing them to maintain a high level of concentration even when performing routine tasks.

Role & Responsibilities

As Narrative Designer, I'm responsible for translating writer's and creative director's vision and writing into gameplay sequences. My responsibilities spanned system design, narrative integration, and a little production:

Adapted narrative scripts into gameplay sequences, focusing on player agency, immersion and experience, thereby bridging the gap between narrative and gameplay.

Managed the pacing of the story and the narrative beats within the game to allow for a more organic and engaging unfolding of the story.

Responsible for creating suspense, having devised more than 40 horror sequences and suspenseful moments to be incorporated into the gameplay.

Designed environmental storytelling with hidden elements to enhance the narrative experience and reward the most observant players.

Authored and maintained a live design document on Confluence covering every aspect of the game. As well as a Technical Design Document to boost programmers' productivity and enable them to work independently.

Process

Game is still under development and NDA.

Takeaways

Game is still under development and NDA.

Documents

Design documentation, pitch decks, and reference materials from this project.