Intervalle : A game made to be played by only one player
Aim of the project
This project was made as part of my master thesis in video game design. The goal of my research project was to create a meaningful experience for my sister through a video game that I designed specifically for her. As she walks through our childhood home and revisit specific memories, she can collect different objects, strategically placed throughout the rooms. She can also take pictures that will appear in the final room of the game representing the start of her journey as a young adult coming into her own.
Target Audience
1 player
Genre
Video Game (30 mins.)
Institution
Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Date
2017-2021
My role
Creative Director
Personal Project
Skills used in this project
Project Management
Narrative design & Writing
Design and document game mechanics
Overview of UX & UI design
Overview of Level Art and Level Design
Sound Mixing
Quality assurance testing
Design Process
-
Narrative Design & Writing
The game's journey had to be designed in a coherent way through different narrative threads. The main storyline represents the player who is about to move out of her childhood home and has to collect different objects in each room. She receives text messages from her sister who accompanies her in her move. The letters in the rooms represent other individuals who have either crossed the player's path or who have gone through similar events.
-
Creative Direction
Throughout the course of the game, I planned atmospheres and aesthetic moments that would be both immersive for the player and realistically close to her experiences. The music, visual effects and narrative elements were designed to evoke positive or negative emotions attached to each memory and to make the player relive those memorable moments.
-
UX / UI Design
The game is very simply designed in terms of game mechanics, being a walking simulator, I wanted the UX and UI to be as intuitive as possible for her. Even if the UI elements could not be visually polished in the final version of the game, the functionality is present and playable for the player.
Watch Complete Playthrough of Intervalle
Journal Article and Book Recognition
My game Intervalle and master’s thesis were featured in the academic journal Press Start:
Ferland-Beauchemin, A., Hawey, D., & Benoit, J. (2019). From walking simulator to reflective simulator: A practice-based perspective. Press Start, 5(2), 88–103.
The research project was also highlighted in Melissa Kagen’s book, Wandering Games.