Goals:
- Define the emotional motivation of Radial, the main protagonist, and the world of Albireo

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The 2 documents had two primary purposes:
1) To serve as references for stakeholders looking for an explanation for something not technical-related in the game.
2) To serve as an internal narrative reference for myself, as it was a live document (continuously updated).

 

These are also assets we would show to stakeholders that were interested in the game and wanted to know more about Albireo.

Process:
1) Discussed overview of the game with the team
2) Brainstormed ideas, proposed to the team
3) Wrote, wrote more, edited, wrote again
 

 

Discussed: Before their creation, the designers and I discussed big-picture ideas for what this game would be. Our creative director gave me pointers on what this game should become: a space-themed horror survival game where the players defeat difficult sound-sensitive zombie-like creatures. 

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My technical designer expressed certain limitations in the Unreal engine for the tech team, and then I was left to create the world of Albireo and design a character, later named Radial, that would be the player. 

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Brainstorm: At first, I looked at common space-adventure games like the Mass Effect, Halo, and Dead Space franchises. ( Our team eventually decided that the game was most like Dead Space in its tone and game loop. ) In doing so, our original character was meant to appeal to the broadest audience possible.

He was a male soldier assigned security detail and gets caught in the infection's spread as an immune human. The change to a female student that was a fan of N.A.S.T.A was changed for narrative purposes. I wanted players to believe why Radial was there, and her motivations for escaping. A student working a simple job to make ends meet was more believable than a soldier assigned to a niche spaceship carrying non-weaponry.

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Wrote: In creating Albireo as a remote project, I wanted to be able to explain anything. Although much of it wasn't going to be in the game, I wanted to best support our artists especially. Much of the work you see resulted from the feedback I took from the whole team: knowing what our limitations were alongside what the team wanted was part of the challenge in creating the world of Albireo.

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These two documents were created alongside meetings with mostly the artists and design teams. The document with the images was primarily created as a reference, but also to convey my ideas to the artists, who need more visual examples from things found in our world and in other games.