A
WORLD-BUILDING
Before starting the game design, I focused on organizing and defining the overall narrative system and world framework of the project.
Using the World-building Map, I outlined the structural relationships and intertwined destinies among gods, humans, and demons. At the same time, I created a Character Mood Board to visually define each main character’s personality, color palette, and symbolic meaning.
On the narrative side, I integrated the Intro Animation with the Main Game Story to ensure a smooth transition between the two mediums. To make the story more traceable and coherent, I designed a Branching Story Map that clearly marks all key decisions and their outcomes.
The main goal of this stage was to establish a solid foundation for the interactive storytelling system, ensuring the game world has both internal logic and long-term scalability.
https://whimsical.com/intro-of-wod-GfwM5K2eucEkNBHchJLHC7
B
CHARACTER CONCEPT EXPLORATION
I intentionally stayed away from detailed rendering or finalized shapes. Instead, the focus was on open-ended visual exploration, using large colour blocks, shape language, and silhouette rhythms to experiment with the characters’ personalities and emotional tones.
By repeatedly testing different body proportions, volume distribution, and colour weight, I gradually identified how each character expresses power, mystery, or emotional tension. Sharp and angular forms tend to communicate danger and aggression, while smoother, flowing contours are more suited for allure, restraint, or hidden strength.
These sketches remain part of the early exploration phase, not final designs. However, they form an essential foundation for refining the visual style, establishing transformation logic, and developing a coherent character system in later stages.
C
CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP OVERVIEW
The story centers on three key figures: King Zhou, Daji, and Nüwa. Together, they form a core dynamic shaped by fate, corruption, and rebellion.
Nüwa issues a divine command, sending Daji into the Shang court to seduce and manipulate King Zhou, guiding him toward his own downfall. She does not strike directly—destiny does the work for her.
Daji, a nine-tailed fox in human form, becomes the instrument of this mission. As she infiltrates the palace, she begins to waver, torn between obedience to the goddess and the desire to choose her own path.
King Zhou, blinded by pride and marked for heaven’s punishment, refuses to yield. He resists the will of the gods and pushes back against Daji’s influence, spiraling toward destruction through his own rage and defiance.
The three are bound yet divided—their tensions drive the collapse of a dynasty and determine the course of fate.
D
ESTABLISHING GAME TONE & STORY STYLE
In defining the game’s tone and narrative style, I wanted it to be more than just a story-driven card game — it is a psychological duel filled with tension and symbolism. The story revolves around the conflicts between fate and freedom, divinity and desire, aiming for a balance where events feel both logical and unexpected.
The overall tone carries a dark and absurd religious atmosphere — combining the solemnity of an epic myth with a cold reflection on faith, destiny, and human nature. Both the visual and narrative language emphasize psychological tension and symbolic structure, infused with a touch of black humor and cruel irony.
This phase of scriptwriting and documentation established the game’s overall narrative tone and emotional direction for future levels and gameplay systems.
E
GAME CORE LOOP
In this phase, I focused on building the core gameplay loop and branching logic system of the game.
The loop centers around three key actions:
Draw a Card → Make a Decision → Change Stats
Each card represents a moral or narrative event. Every decision the player makes alters four main attributes — Love, Corruption, Divine Favor, and Freedom — which together determine future story paths and possible endings.
The Figma prototype visualizes how these branching outcomes evolve across multiple layers of interaction.
Each branch connects dialogue choices, stat variations, and reward conditions, forming a dynamic structure that supports replayability and moral complexity.
To enrich the overall player experience, I also integrated mini-games into key decision points, adding emotional tension and interactivity to the narrative flow.
F
FIRST PROTOTYPE
In less than two weeks, I completed a quick playable prototype to test the feasibility of the narrative flow and interaction system.
Although the demo had a fairly complete structure — allowing players to experience dialogue choices, branching paths, and the core gameplay loop — user feedback showed only moderate engagement.
Players understood the concept but lacked emotional investment in the story.
Through this test, I realized that the core loop lacked strong appeal and rewarding feedback, and that future iterations should focus on making the interaction more dynamic and immersive.
D
Under Construction
After the first round of testing, I revised the core game loop to enhance the strategic depth of the card gameplay.
The project is still in progress and is expected to be completed by December.
Coming soon.