Blossom
Narrative Designer
Blossom is an interactive novel featuring a pop-up book controller that follows the life of a young Asian-American woman as processes the labels that others assigned to her growing up. The game is an exploration of childhood and how the way others see us shapes the way we see ourselves.
As the narrative designer, my focus was on depicting the intensely personal story of the main character, Aspen, with sensitivity and nuance, especially the scenes that included Aspen's struggles with anxiety and attending therapy. The goal was for the player to feel Aspen's successes while acknowledging that her journey isn't over by the time the experience ends.
The game was featured as part of Alt.Ctrl.GDC at the Game Developers Conference in 2023 and at the USC Games Expo in 2023.
An interview with the Director, Laura Meng, can be found here, or her thorough design documentation of the project is linked below.
Memento
Systems Designer
Memento is an interactive experience combining the physical "mystery box" concept with real world memory boxes used in dementia care. Players must sift through the memory box of their recently deceased grandmother to uncover the meaning of her mysterious last words. The game incorporates audio logs and physical elements alongside puzzles utilizing Scrabble tiles.
At a Glance
- Physical "memory mystery box" experience
- 3 team members
- 5 audio logs to unlock and discover
As Systems Designer, my role included:
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Leading the design process from early conceptualization to production
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Developing a lock and key puzzle system based on Scrabble tiles that scaffolded with game progression
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Connecting narrative fragments to corresponding puzzles
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Editing scripts for grammar and clarity
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Voice acting for the player's grandmother and audio editing the audio logs
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Coordinating the creation and acquisition of physical elements required for the game