Cryptid Climb
Secondary Narrative Design For Narrative Game
Game Concept
Cryptid Climb is a narrative-based climbing game about a married couple dealing with relationship problems after moving to Virginia, with the events taking place along a local hiking trail. After a particularly rough argument, Elmsy ventures deep into the forest where they believe that Willow, their spouse, has ran away to. The forest is full of many dangers, some more supernatural than the rest, seeing as all sorts of cryptids roam the woods. From friendly ghosts to terrifying beasts, the forces of nature all seem to command their presence over the woods, and demand to be respected else the transgressor suffers a horrible fate.
Current Role
For this project, I've taken a more secondary role when it comes to the narrative design, writing individual plot points and and dialogue rather than the general story beats. My most notable addition would be the collectible documents in-game which give context to the creatures you encounter, allowing anyone to learn more about them at their own discretion. This also allows for worldbuilding in the form of new cryptids, real or fake, which are not present in gameplay but are made to exist within the narrative. I've been working with the rest of the team to implement these collectibles comfortably and effectively,
Current Work
Document 1: The Ghost​
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The Ghost is the first cryptid encountered within the game, with his document acting as the introduction to the mechanic at large. Importantly, it gives players the opportunity to understand some of the game's supernatural events before they occur, with the ghostly voice you follow now being attributed to what must be a Ghost. Other aspects, such as the Ghost appearing as a spirit orb, as well as the characterization of the Ghost we encounter are all supported by​ the context presented in the writing.​
Document 2: The Magalam​
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The Magalam is the next cryptid that the player will physically encounter, one which appears to be a lot more dangerous. However, the story's good ending calls for the player to be kind to nature, which includes this creature. Using the document, we can make sure the player understands that it is actually quite unlikely for the Magalam to harm them, therefore allowing them to more comfortably interact with it, and make a more educated decision when it comes to those all-important choices.
Document 3: The Flatwoods Monster​
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The Flatwoods Monster is a cryptid which doesn't show up in game, however for the sake of worldbuilding we decided that a few local Virginia cryptids would be included. Seeing as they already have a pre-existing mythos, some changes have been made to fit them into the world of the game while still attempting to keep it close enough to the original so the connection is not lost. Some design decisions allude to an in-game character who seems to be testing out different ideas for these writings, and making mistakes here and there.
Document 4: The Land Seal​
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This was inspired by a placeholder image of a seal used in a previous draft, now come to life in my own original "joke cryptid". Considering there are many existing myths which are too stupid to be true, this sort of idea felt right at home with the rest of our documents. That being said, the humor is a bit on the nose, so this document would be considerably more difficult to find in comparison to the others, acting more as an Easter Egg rather than an important piece of information for the player to use.