Silesia

An artistic and narrative-based game exploring a family's ancestral home in the Silesian region of Poland.

Project Summary:
- Development Dates: July 2024 to September 2024
- Engine: Unity 3D
- Role: Narrative Lead + Level Designer
- Genre: Narrative Exploration
- Software(s) Used: GitHub, Jira, Blender, Audacity, Photoshop
- Team Size: 10 Students​​​​​​​

A full playthrough of the game.

A view of the game's first level, the family kitchen (7 artifacts to collect).
A view of the game's first level, the family kitchen (7 artifacts to collect).
A view of the game's second level, grandpa's bedroom (5 artifacts to collect).
A view of the game's second level, grandpa's bedroom (5 artifacts to collect).
A view of the game's third and final level, the living room (8 artifacts to collect).
A view of the game's third and final level, the living room (8 artifacts to collect).
When the player's cursor hovers over an interactive artifact, it is highlighted.
When the player's cursor hovers over an interactive artifact, it is highlighted.
My Role: Narrative Lead, Level Design
As our team's narrative designer, my main task to create the story and context of the game world through an iterative process of researching Polish and German history, planning through documentation, writing dialogue and embedded narrative, and reviewing my work with peers and instructors. Once ready, I assisted our programmers in implementating all dialogue and other narrative through the use of C# scripts in Unity. I also helped as a level designer, implementing 3D Blender assets in-engine as well as modeling additional assets using Unity's ProBuilder tool.
An example of the dialogue triggered by the player's interaction with an artifact.
An example of the dialogue triggered by the player's interaction with an artifact.
A view of the diary showing artifacts collected by the player. To read a specific diary entry, click on the artifact's picture.
A view of the diary showing artifacts collected by the player. To read a specific diary entry, click on the artifact's picture.
A full diary entry corresponding to an artifact collected by the player.
A full diary entry corresponding to an artifact collected by the player.
An exerpt from the letter read by the player at the end of the game.
An exerpt from the letter read by the player at the end of the game.
Contributions:
- Developed an extensive narrative document for the game world, including family lore, overarching narrative, and research notes.
- Wrote over 70 dialogue scripts, each one corresponding to an in-game action; also wrote in-depth diary entries for over 25 in-game artifacts collected by the player.
- Created a comprehensive string database to formalize dialogue and assist programmers in dialouge implementation.
- Used Adobe Photoshop to create various 2D art assets, and implemented those assets in-engine via UI programming.
- Worked with a VA to record and implement personal letters read by the player at the beginning and end of the game.
- Assisted level design team in-engine by setting up interactive objects and ensuring functionality (correct location, material/texture setup, script attachments, etc).
Whiteboard notes from an early production meeting focusing on solidifying the "grandpa" character's story.
Whiteboard notes from an early production meeting focusing on solidifying the "grandpa" character's story.
The string database I created to help programmers implement dialogue and embedded narrative. Each lines has an official name, categorizations, and details on sequencing.
The string database I created to help programmers implement dialogue and embedded narrative. Each lines has an official name, categorizations, and details on sequencing.
Notes from another production meeting, this time planning out artifact locations throughout the house.
Notes from another production meeting, this time planning out artifact locations throughout the house.
Inspiration photos taken by a team member when they visited a Silesian history museum.
Inspiration photos taken by a team member when they visited a Silesian history museum.

A full copy of the narrative documentation used during development.

Results:
- One of four games developed during the Poland in Pixels program.
- Met weekly with industry professionals to show game progress and discuss challenges.
- Recieved a certificate of completion from PJAIT, Northeastern, and 11 Bit Studios.
- Presented at Gamescom 2024 in Cologne, Germany (with over 300 thousand yearly attendees)!
Day one of the Poland in Pixels program
Day one of the Poland in Pixels program
Northeastern's booth at Gamescom, with all four of program's games available to play.
Northeastern's booth at Gamescom, with all four of program's games available to play.
Our team's final presentation and post-mortum at the program's gala.
Our team's final presentation and post-mortum at the program's gala.
Our finished game at the program's gala.
Our finished game at the program's gala.
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