Narrative Design Doc I drafted during my time developing Changeling during Spring 2022. Due to the project's heavily iterative nature, narrative details might not reflect what's currently in the project
Themes:
Losing Control of the overarching solution ie. helping cure the baby
Falling out of touch with the family
Summary:
Aurelia enters Angela’s mindspace in hopes of finding out more about the baby’s situation and piecing together what is wrong with them. By inhabiting Angela’s mindspace Aurelia comes to grasp the full extent of how this whole situation has distressed Angela. Her myopic focus and stress about trying to save the baby caused her to unintentionally become out of touch with other family members. Seeing the rest of her family members (literally) fade away from her and still losing the baby causes her entire world and psyche to break down. But through Aurelia's guidance, Angela is able to recognize a mutual understanding of how each family member is trying to cope with the change of the baby. Throughout traversing the mindspace Angela now has a more healthy and realistic outlook in how she views her family and realizes that they all wish to save the baby and help each other along the way, opposed to Angela putting all the stress about the baby on herself. After supposedly Angela gets back her baby, her mindspace stabilizes. When Angela’s tension is subdued it quickly rises again seeing that her baby is still missing from her. Angela does not understand, her mindspace breaks down to where Aurelia cannot help her anymore. Aurelia is rejected by Angela’s mindspace and she is very distraught about the events that occurred. Figures it’s best to move on.
Context:
Beginning (Pre Mindspace Breakdown):
Aurelia enters Angela’s Mindspace after finding the family portrait
After entering the level will need one or two extra lines of dialogue from Aurelia/Angela to confirm that you are playing as Aurelia helping her traverse her own mindspace
Dialogue Proposal Ideas: Toddler, “We’re all in here mom”
Level starts with Angela in the nursery/baby room holding onto a framed photograph of the family Most likely of the one below.
The crib is there but no baby
Angela is immersing herself in the baby’s room right now as she feels solely responsible for taking care of the baby's condition. She can’t worry about how the other family members are processing recent events and puts it all on herself, so she secludes herself.
Dialogue Proposal Ideas: Angela, “It’s my fault that we’re losing Tobi, I wish they’d let me solve it myself”
The door the closed/locked
After placing the photo back where it was in the previous house scene, a faint light source can guide the player to that position, where the picture snaps into position the door unlocks/opens and you can hear the baby’s laughter
Angela walks into the living room and the family is motionlessly situated in the pose of the photograph with the exception of the father holding the baby, the ideal family, except the baby looks different an has wooden features similar to the ending scene of the level
Dialogue Proposal Ideas: Angela, “What are you doing to my baby Dylan”
When Angela reaches out to the family one by one the family members turn into light wisps and fly away leaving the baby (floating in air), where the baby more violently disintegrates rather than flying away
This whole interaction happens gradually rather than all at once
Angela is vocally distraught by these events, another extra voice line. Something along the lines of “Don’t leave me”
The different disappearance of the baby foreshadows the, being taken away
Aurelia: “Angela’s counting on me, I have to hurry!”. Break for 3 seconds. Shatter
Aurelia’s present voice line the voice line maybe need more reverb to further demonstrate her role in this scene and differentiate her voice from Angela’s
Middle (During the Breakdown):
Immediate post breakdown (Mother’s section)
Objects
Apartment pieces - flooring, roofing, furniture,
Neighborhood Object - Construction cones, barbershop signs, brick fences, metal trash bins and lids, traffic lights
Finding Kirsten (Toddler)
Dialogue
Old Dialogue from Angela: “Sweetheart, I’m on my way!”
Before Rescue dialogue from Kirsten: “Is Tobi okay?, Tobi’s so quiet, it’s scaring me…, Make it better.”
After Rescue dialogue from Kirsten: “ Yay! You’re the best! Love you!”
New Dialogue from Angela: “I love you too Kirsten!”
Objects
Tricycles, rocking horses, plushes and teddy bears, wagons, soccer balls, toy airplanes, toy trucks
Finding Douglas (Tween)
Dialogue
Before Rescue dialogue from Douglas: “I’m fine. Leave me alone., Tobi needs you more than me., You don’t get it.”
After Rescue dialogue from Douglas: “Um…Thanks, mom. I really mean it.”
New Dialogue from Angela: “I know you do.”
Objects
Guitars, Flying books, stuffed dinosaurs, repeats of other toys
Finding Dylan (Dad)
Dialogue
Before Rescue dialogue from Dylan: “We need solutions, not magicians!, What am I doing wrong?, Nothing’s working. Why is nothing working?!”
After Rescue dialogue from Dylan: “Angela… I understand now... I’m sorry.”
New Dialogue from Angela: “It’s okay we’ll get through this together”
Objects
Home stuff (wooden tables, couches, fridge, lamps), wooden bat?? (only one)
Finding Baby
Babies VFX is different from the rest of the families’ floating in space, has similar coloration to how it disintegrated
Objects
Lots of cribs, toy repeats
End (Post Breakdown):
Angela is relieved from the events that transpired in the mindspace (dialogue most like not required)
Angela’s alone in the apartment and the baby is crying behind the closed door to the nursery
Angela goes into the nursery and seeing her baby is not there vision Angela's vision gets blurry and Angela’s hands start disintegrating in the same manner as the baby from before
Angela’s mindspace starts rapidly deteriorating rejecting Aurelia for
New Voice Line Aurelia: “Stay with me, Angela! Don't leave me!”
She cries out as if she was pleading with her own mother. Her own family has faced a similar uncertain situation of processing the baggage of a loved one being a changeling.
Go back to the mind palace, Aurelia has an internal monolog that reinforces Aurelia’s distress from the situation
Aurelia, “Something something music box and moving on to father’s level
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