About
I am a game designer with an interest in exploring the power of video games to create interactive experiences that convey emotions and concepts that may be difficult for traditional media to replicate. Games have a unique ability to immerse players within their worlds, to make their own choices, and connect with their themes and messages on a deeper level as a result. My work is particularly involved with how gameplay mechanics, environments, and atmosphere can be used to present interesting thematic ideas without explicitly explaining them to the player. My interest in this approach to game design has been largely influenced by the games I love playing myself. Titles such as Celeste, Signalis and Transistor made me realise just how powerful games can be as a medium for storytelling and emotional expression. I love the way they create deeply personal narratives that continue to resonate with me long after playing them. The way these games experiment with the conventions of the medium inspires my approach to my own projects, encouraging me to think more carefully about how different elements of game design can be used to contribute to the overall experience. As I continue developing in the field, this exploration will remain integral to the work I create.
Project overview
Show, Don't Tell: Implicit Narrative Design in Games
This project is an exploration of communicating complex emotions and ideas through gameplay, environmental design, and audiovisual elements. My main interest lies in creating experiences that allow players to engage with, and potentially even relate to, these ideas on a personal level. By utilising multiple areas of game design, I aimed to develop an understanding of how these elements can be combined to create an emotionally powerful narrative. With the initial prototype project, I investigated different ways I could convey the emotion of fear. I experimented with unsettling sounds and mechanics such as a breathing-based minigame, inspired by Celeste, to conjure feelings of anxiety in the player. This work evolved directly into my main project, which explored feelings of burnout and exhaustion. I focused on making this project a complete, atmospheric experience which tackled the sense of repetition and helplessness that can accompany burnout. Rather than explicitly stating anything to the player, I designed the game to place them within that headspace. The project encompasses my interest in games as an artistic medium, and how they can create memorable experiences that resonate with players. Instead of simply telling players what to think or feel, I hope to create experiences which allow them the freedom to interpret and connect with the ideas in their own way.
