Category: narrative design


  • In this article I examine from an analytical perspective, how ambiguity plays an important role in the game experience and success behind one of the best narrative driven games of the last times: Return of the Obra Dinn.

  • I’ve recently been interested in the way branching (or not so branching) choices can be applied not to plot, but to define context and tone in interactive experiences. Here’s a tiny little experiment I made with Twine>> http://nadiaorenes.es/in-crescendo.html I’d like to keep on exploring how to use, as a way to engage players, resonance and emotional […]

  • I was recently lucky enough to come across a hidden gem in narrative driven puzzle games called Sexy Brutale. Here’s a small teaser: The game, developed by Cavalier Games in collaboration with Tequila Works, delights with its cheeky art style, polished UX, and a very peculiar atmosphere and sense of humor. However, it’s the narrative implementation […]

  • Before I tried Cuphead I was always very curious about the criticism the game always got for being extremely difficult. I couldn’t believe that the developers, who seemed to have spent quite some time and effort in building such a big thing, would just mess up with a basic principle of game design such as […]

  • Types of branching narrative trees I’m always surprised by how differently story-driven games with mechanics where content branches approach their narrative design. Each game seems to have its own understanding and implementation of what the player will feel is a satisfying experience. There are only certain types of systems in video games where choices and […]

  • When thinking about themes for story-driven games with choice mechanics, I can hardly think about one that fits better than helping a civilization gain the right to choose their future. Yep, Detroit is a game where theme and mechanics flow wonderfully together, exploring all the scenarios that are related to the nature of choice itself. […]

  • I’ve always been curious about the use of camera angles as an expressive resource in story telling. I remember studying some film history and theory back in the day, and being especially struck by some specific shots from some classic movies, which brought the storytelling to a different level. You can find a few on films […]

  • On the post I published last month I talked about telling stories without words, and how tempting it can be to abuse of a minimalist approach to puzzles and experience design. Then I remembered Tiny Thief, and how it actually did the same thing as Virginia, which is telling a story (a very different one, […]

  • I’ve been playing Virginia, the 2016 game by Variable State. It’s a fantastic game, very interesting from a narrative point of view. I’m sure it took them a great creative effort to figure out its visual language, which tells a complex story without any text at all. And the result is very good, because the […]

  • This is a topic I find myself thinking about very often. So often that I though I would end up having a saying on it. But as with humor in general goes, it gets difficult to state anything that sounds precise and comprehensible enough. But since the topic keeps on fascinating me again and again, […]