Narrative Development
This week, the narrative team initially focused on writing the Trigger Warning scenario, developing the script and character dialogues. However, with the Half Presentation approaching next week, our Producer suggested prioritizing the first-day storyline to ensure clarity for the audience. As a result, we shifted our focus to the opening scene, which introduces the Heckler’s Veto incident and the prologue leading up to it.
In this opening sequence, we introduce three key characters, establishing their personalities and internal conflicts through concise interactions. To balance engagement with educational value, we integrated three key legal and academic freedom concepts into the dialogue, ensuring that the narrative remains both informative and immersive.
Character Development
The character team dedicated significant time to developing personified representations of our core concepts, defining their personalities, visual traits, and backstories. After consulting with faculty members for feedback, our character artist, Enn, finalized concept sketches for our three central figures:
- Lawrence (Law) – Wields a sword symbolizing justice and is portrayed as a member of the fencing club.
- Poli (CMU Policy) – Represents institutional regulations and policies.
- Norma (Social Norm) – Embodies societal expectations and unspoken rules.
These characters serve as interactive guides, offering different perspectives on the freedom of speech dilemmas players encounter.
Gameplay Implementation in Unity
On the development side, our designer Jiwon and programmer Jack collaborated on implementing the main menu and interaction flow in Unity. With the core map models integrated into the engine, Jack developed basic interactions, including mouse hover effects over interactive objects, clickable dialogue options and decision-making interactions, initial UI layout for in-game choices and navigation.
This progress helped us establish the game’s fundamental structure, allowing us to test and refine the flow of player interactions in the coming weeks.
Half Presentation Preparation
Midweek, we started working on our Half Presentation slides. Consultant Jessica provided valuable input on layout and content flow, helping us rearrange sections to improve clarity. She suggested starting with easily digestible points before introducing complex ideas to prevent overwhelming the audience.
Our advisors also provided presentation tips, recommending that we act out a section of the script to make it more engaging. Additionally, Chris proposed an interactive approach, where instead of a live demo, we could structure our slides like a branching narrative, allowing the audience to participate in decision-making and experience the consequences of their choices.
While these were excellent ideas, we ultimately decided not to incorporate live performances or audience interaction due to time constraints. Since we are presenting on Monday (the first day), implementing these elements would require additional rehearsal and preparation, which we couldn’t accommodate on short notice. Instead, we plan to save interactive elements for the Final Presentation, where we will have more polished visuals and a refined script.
Next Steps
- Weekend rehearsal to refine our delivery.
- Present the Half Presentation next week.
- Attend Playtest Night to gather initial feedback on our current content and direction.