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Spiral - Writer's Knot

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My role in the project:

  • Narrative designer

    • Developing the tone of the narration with my colleague Roman Cros

    • Develop the ethos of secondary characters

    • Staging dialogues to support missions

    • Collaboration with character artists

  • Game Writer

    • Writing dialogues

    • Cutscene storyboard

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Challenges:

  • Responsiveness to follow the evolution of Level Design needs

  • Match the humorous tone of the project

  • At that time, biggest team I had

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Story Rich

Flight

Flight

Indie

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/spiral/9pnmz439vv0t

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2779220/Guano/

Spiral is a project developed using the Unreal Engine 4 by Folklore Games. I joined the team as part of my final-year internship in Création de jeux vidéo. My involvement lasted 4 months of full-time work.

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(Scene 14)

Description

Play as a delightfully dumb seagull, find food and complete quests to help free the Grand Masters and gain their powers. Harrass humans and free the Pohemeda Islands from the evil Food Inc. with your powerful poop and loud screams!

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Level Design

Context

Throughout development, Roman and I adjusted and provided materials for the different missions in Guano. Very often, an order would come to us with the constraints (mechanics, environments, etc.) and we would have to produce a narrative context in return. This had to include the character who gives the quest and the dialogues which clearly indicate the objectives of the mission. Over time, certain characters have been associated with a certain mission archetype. For example, it makes more sense that our handywoman Dr. Squawkson asks you to test her flying buoys, untested of course.

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Also, it was our task to ensure that the overall story adjusted to the rapidly changing size of the Pohemeda Islands.

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Plan

The script (and therefore the dialogue lines) preceded the level design for this level. As a result, the proposed level had to work in tandem with the pacing established by the narrative.

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Entrance

Bernard is lost in thought about how to approach Emily​

  • Convey to the player that Bernard’s latest book is divisive

    • ​Encounter with a fan

    • Harsh critique on the radio​

      • Block access to the park with a family taking a photo, giving enough time for this interaction​

  • Draw attention toward the park and Emily​

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​​Emily

Bernard joins Emily, who seems eager to avoid talking about herself.

  • Establish a slow pace that will gradually accelerate as the level progresses

    • The sky features clouds on the horizon, foreshadowing upcoming troubles

  • Add to Bernard's frustration about his latest book

    • A jostle forces us to pick up our notes

    • This causes a moment of release and creates an opportunity to briefly reconnect and open up with our friend

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Greenhouse

The greenhouse provides a moment of respite for the two characters, where Bernard once again notices the growing distance between himself and his friend.

  • Multiple interactions to emphasize this point

  • An open, less guided space

  • The presence of whimsical vistas parallels Bernard's longing to reclaim the Emily he knows

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Hill

Upon seeing a kite, Bernard gets the idea of making one with Emily again (as in previous levels). After repeatedly urging Emily to draw, she snaps and runs off as the rain intensifies into a downpour.​​​

  • Requires the creation of a mini-game: hidden objects (refer to the completed game design) for kite pieces

  • The weather gradually darkens

    • The downpour escalates to a breaking point

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Chase

Bernard runs after Emily. The radio reveals that Emily is suffering from an illness, explaining the illustrations that were poorly received. Bernard catches up to Emily and promises to be there for her.

  • The tension builds as the environment closes in

    • The radio broadcast returns, relentlessly pressing on

  • A release occurs again upon learning about Emily's illness

    • The rain eases, shifting from a violent storm representing Emily's anger to one reflecting the prevailing sadness

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Technical Design

Mini-Game for Kite Pieces

V1 - Search and Find​

  • Too static​

    • Creates a disconnect with the scene

    • Difficult to notice the appearance of new pieces​

  • Does not feel rewarding to find items

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V2 - Hidden Objects​
Inspired by this type of game but with adjustments

  • Emphasis on the environment

    • Allows for the creation of intimate mini-scenes and showcases the talent of our artists

  • Interactivity

    • Movable objects and fake hiding spots in the environment

  • Remove scoring

  • Duration aligns with narrative segments

  • In this case, after finishing one scene, the player chooses the next

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Hidden Objects

 

The final version works with an area featuring a predetermined camera (BP_KiteZone) that contains kite pieces (hiddenParts) and movable objects (movingParts)​.

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LD

© 2020-2025 by Vincent-Valérie Dubois

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