11 Years Ago

• Within this project, I was directly responsible for the implementation of all the game mechanics as the only Gameplay Programmer, and for the design of the core gameplay, which I decided to structure as puzzles.

• I participated, along with the rest of the group, in writing the storyline. Specifically, I created the Shooting List document, helping define camera movements and shots before the Storyboard.

• Finally, given my expertise with Source Control systems and my previous experience coordinating other projects with this team, I took on the role of Producer and was responsible for the SVN server. 

This game was created as the conclusion of an R&D project aimed at gaining practical experience with the newly released Unreal 5, in order to understand its potential.

The R&D "RED32" team consisted of 16 people, roughly divided as follows:

• 3 Concept Artists / Illustrators 

• 2 Tech Artists (Unreal) 

• 8 3D Artists / Riggers / Animators (Maya)

• 1 UI Programmer (Unreal)

• 1 Designer / Developer (Blueprint)

• 1 Promotion / Social Media Manager 

The main objectives of the project were:

• To create a high-quality title that Bigrock could use for self-promotion.

• To demonstrate the potential of Unreal Engine 5 and explore its new technologies.

• To complete everything within a month and a half in order to present the results at an event.

To achieve the objectives set within the tight timeframe, and to address the bottleneck caused by the limited number of people working on the engine, we had to come up with various solutions. Some were discussed globally with the rest of the team, while others were decided directly within the departments.

To ensure the completion of a playable experience, given the potential instability of the new engine and the limited time available, I proposed a core design based on modular elements, so we could work on one element at a time and safely increase the game’s content.

My design involved a central 'Hub' that required a series of tasks, even very different from each other, to be completed.
Specifically, I suggested using a combination chest as the 'Hub' and creating puzzles that would provide the combination for this chest, containing an item that would trigger the final phase of the game.

To make the most of the large number of people who wouldn’t be working on the engine, we decided to present and conclude the situation through cinematics. To reduce the animation workload, we chose to use still poses for every scene set in the past.

I personally defined camera movements that allowed us to 'move' the stationary characters with hidden cuts and added dynamism to the scenes filmed in this way.

Having proposed a modular gameplay, I decided to structure the level design in a modular way as well. The idea was to have only a few essential sections of the game, without ruling out the possibility of adding other areas if time allowed.

I have therefore divided the game map into rooms, starting with 4 rooms that I have deemed essential, but I designed the map in a way that makes it easy to present up to 3 additional rooms. In the end only the essentials room made it in the final product.

Although it was focused on the beginning and the end, the narrative had to accompany the entire experience and be closely linked to the puzzles.

To achieve this, I worked closely with the concept art department and the writers to integrate narrative elements into every aspect of the level and puzzle design.

In the following paragraphs, I will explain how this was achieved for each puzzle.

With the goal of launching a functional product as quickly as possible and then expanding on it, I started by designing a puzzle that wouldn't require any new features to work. The puzzle mechanism is essentially a classic enigma: in the house, there are three geometric shapes drawn with white paint. On the wall of the hub, there is another shape, also painted in white, which serves as a cipher for the three "messages."

This puzzle was conceived rather quickly, and since no application was needed to test it, I could immediately check with various testers to ensure the difficulty was appropriate and balanced.

As for the narrative aspect, I based the cipher's design on a concept created by the art department. The shape is the alchemical symbol for arsenic, which the protagonist will comment on once the enigma is solved. This should prompt the player to question the credibility of an accidental poisoning.

A more complex puzzle involves a hole in the wall that connects the study to the children's room, a music box, and a phrase on the wall of the hub. Each of these elements carries strong narrative weight:

• The phrase is taken from The Little Prince and reflects the uncle's regret for not having properly protected the protagonist during her childhood. 

• The music box features a mouse, symbolically linked to the rat poison central to the story. I requested that the mouse be depicted looking toward the wall, guiding the player to align their gaze through the circle on the music box. The brief duration of the music, followed by the music box's closure, makes this puzzle time-sensitive.

• I proposed the hole in the wall for two reasons: first, to make this puzzle’s resolution possible by providing the correct viewpoint; second, to offer a glimpse into the study before the player can enter, creating an preview of the space. To make the hole more prominent, I asked for the light from the bedroom window to shine directly on it.
  Narratively, the hole also serves as an opportunity for the protagonist to hint at how she didn't always follow the rules, as she used to spy on her uncle's sessions with his patients.

For the last two puzzles, I decided to develop a primitive item collection system. A specific pointer appears when aiming at a collectible object. Once collected, the item stays "attached" to the center of the screen until it is either dropped on the ground or used on an object that shows an interaction icon.

The first puzzle utilizing this mechanic requires finding several cards depicting Rorschach inkblot patterns, which need to be collected on a light table. By using the light table, the cards can be stacked to recreate the pattern on the wall of the hub, thus revealing the solution to the puzzle.

In this puzzle, I also used the item collection mechanic described in point #3. Here, the player must retrieve a UV lamp, which will reveal clues on the wall and on the armillary sphere that was previously present in the study (that until then worked as red erring). The player will then need to remember the book seen downstairs, consult it, and link the data revealed by the light to obtain the code for the puzzle.

Narratively, solving this puzzle unveils the zodiac signs of the characters involved in the story. If desired, the player can consult the book to learn more about traits associated with each character's sign, which could hint at the outcome of the story.

In conclusion, this project gave me the opportunity to collaborate with and coordinate an excellent, diverse team, while also allowing me to focus on two key aspects of production: development and game design. The product fully met its objectives and exceeded expectations with its success both from critics and the public, especially considering the short timeframe we had to complete it.

From this project, I began to appreciate and increasingly incorporate a modular design that could withstand a sudden interruption of production.

 I also learned how to manage the development of a more complex project using Blueprints, going beyond what I had previously experienced.

It was my first "narrative" project, so I had to collaborate extensively with writers and concept artists, and, as a producer, coordinate their work in close cooperation.

I realized too late that I should have relied more on Blueprint components to achieve greater reusability of the code, something I implemented in subsequent projects.

 In hindsight, the final explanation of the events isn't always entirely clear to the player; we probably should have made the hints provided by the puzzles (as well as the final narrative) more explicit.

The item collection system, in particular, didn't satisfy me at all—it felt very mechanical, annoying to use, and prone to breaking. A more practical solution might have been a hideable inventory menu, allowing items to be dragged onto the scene, similar to classic point-and-click games.

Of course, I would have loved to have had more time to expand the product further, with additional puzzles and perhaps some different mechanics.