Narrative Design
Haut Comme 3 Pommes
Haut Comme 3 Pommes (HC3P) is a Zelda-like which wants to be calm and who bases his puzzles mainly on reflection. The goal in this game is to use the Mark's power to make the objects around him larger or smaller. One of the strong intentions is to give the player a full freedom in solving the puzzles.
This game bases its experience on reflection, exploration and storytelling.
Introductory scene
During the production I was mainly Narrative designer. Having previously established the stories, the Lore and the characters, I had to find ways to convey them through the game. For this, several tools were set:
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The cutscenes
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Environmental staging
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Some Game Design mechanics
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The notes
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The stelae
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Grand father
Cutscenes
The cutscenes both conceal the loading time and introduce the player to the Lore and the story. If this is not the most subtle way to tell a story, it can quickly put the player in the mood and initiate the link between the hero, Marc, and his grandfather, the cornerstone of the storytelling. .
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Example: end's cutscene
Papi's hut
In the story, the main character (Marc) has the ability to enlarge or shrink objects thanks to an amulet given to him by Grandpa. The two lived together in this cabin. The first thing Marc does is use his power over the cabin to carry it as a backpack and take his home and his grandfather, with him. This hut is Marc's resting place. The player can rest there without any danger and it is here that he will have access to all the settings and customizable elements.
The environment
Each visual element aims to express something, each shot and composition is rich in meaning. The goal is for the player to let his curiosity guide him and by himself discover the whole story.
The environment being very natural, the elements manufactured by the man contrast with the whole. They are underlined, their goal is to express the stories of the island and the past of the grandfather.
This scene at the start of the game is in the area of the island where the hero grew up. Then, we have to feel that a young boy lived here. This little nut that we throw between the woodsticks illustrates this idea.
The player, if he pays enough attention, has elements available to understand the full depth of the story. In the cabin where Marc and Grandfather live, you can see a sailor's outfit. Outfit that can be found during the adventure, attributed to the former pirates who landed on the island in search of the amulet that Marc has. These elements are very evocative of the past of the grandfather who was one of these sailors.
Other, more independent compositions are rich in narration that the player is free to interpret.
Narrative tools
The grandfather is a central element of the story. He serves as a mentor and guides the player around the world in addition to creating a strong relationship between the two, which will make the end scene more moving. The grandfather speaks when the player crosses specific areas of the level.
The notes scattered around tell the story of the sailors who stranded and perished on the island. The captain's diary recounts the mutiny and the fate of the sailors who landed on the island (it reveals that the grandfather were their captain), and the diaries of a castaway explain Marc's origins and the reasons for his presence on the island. These are puzzle pieces allowing the player to build the past of the characters, while being very optional to end the adventure.
The stelae offer verses presenting in an abstract way the origins of the island, the people who lived there and the power of the medallion. They are very different from the notes in style and shape. To understand all the lore, the player must find all these stelae.
Writing
The game follows the adventure of Marc, raised by his grandfather whose entrusts him with an initiatory quest to ensure that he is ready to stand on his own feet. Marc only knows the little stretch of beach where he grew up, this adventure will take him across the island in the footsteps of his origins.
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The grandfather gives him an artifact with the power to enlarge or shrink any object with the mission of returning it to the place where, in his youth, his explorer's greed had led him to steal it. Now too old but consumed with regret, he can no longer put it back himself and asks Marc to do it. This adventure aims to allow Marc to prove his values and discover the truth about who he is to finally leave this island and live his own adventures.
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The lesson this story tries to convey is simply that no matter the adventure, the important thing is not the reward, the treasure that is hidden at the end, but the journey that you take to get there.
The island through the ages
Several stories have taken place on this island, of different temporalities. The goal is to attract the player by his own curiosity and push him to discover each of them piece by piece: the origins of the people who once lived here, the arrival of the Grandfather on the island, then the arrival of Marc, and finally the main story which is the quest for Marc and the artifact. In order not to lose the player in this narrative chronology, the elements of each frame can be identified in the way there are set and told.
The sailor's crew stranded on the island in search of the mysterious artifact. This story relates the arrival of the grandfather on the island.
Marc's quest to give back the artefact in the temple in the heart of the island, accompanied by his grandfather.
Ancient civilization that has disappeared at the origin of the power of the artifact. The stelae evoke this culture.
The surviving castaway couple who luckily landed on the island with a baby. This story tells about Marc's past and how he was discovered by the grandfather.
Today: Marc's quest
Marc, always rocked by the adventures of his grandfather, dreams of living his own and traveling the world. His grandfather always delay the moment he would let him go, but that moment does come eventually. However, to make sure he was ready, he gave Marc a final request. He gave him a necklace, an ancient artifact borrowed from a mysterious power: Enlarging or shrinking objects in his environment. This request he gave him was surprising: bring this necklace back to the temple in the heart of the island. In his youth, the still adventurous grandfather had stolen it and since regrets had gnawed at him. The necklace belonged to the island, too old, he gave it to Marc. However, this adventure had an underlying goal: to ensure that Marc was ready to stand on his own feet. The grandfather then decided to accompany him in an unusual way ... Marc left the hut and used the power of the artefact on it which instantly shrank to the size of a backpack. . This is how Marc embarked on this adventure, his home and his family on his shoulders.
During the adventure, the grandfather will guide Marc. He helps him during the puzzles and comments on the young boy's evolution while sharing his own anecdotes. These interactions create a strong relationship between the player / Marc / the grandfather to reinforce the emotional impact of the separation at the end of the game.
End cutscene script:
The recent past: the origins of Marc
Marc was not born here. It was taken in by the "Grandfather", a sailor who had discovered this island years before and who was trapped their. Marc's past is then part of the puzzles of the game that the player has the opportunity to discover through notes.
“I am so worried! It's panic on the deck, but your daddy managed to get us a rowboat. He even fought for it! He recovered a map and a compass. He's going to save us Marc, I'm sure of it! If only this storm could calm down! "
“Two days that he did not come back, he had gone to look for food for us in the forest… I am so worried. I can barely move, the storm has weakened me too much. No, I can't give up, I have to hold on, for you Marc! I will… I will save you… I promise you… I… I love you more than anything… ”
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When the player reaches the cross, the grandfather reacts and allows to contextualize and link the different frames:
"I'm sorry, she was already gone when I found you…"
“My dear and sweet, it looks like I'm not such a good adventurer. I find myself there, injured and trapped on this lake, while you are in pain and the boy is hungry. But have you ever seen me giving up? I would fight to the end to hug you again. Hold on, I love you… ”
For more details on Marc's past:
The past: the arrival of the Grandfather
The grandfather arrived a few years before Marc on the island. He had come with a crew to reach the island's treasure: the artifact. But very quickly, the greed of his men led them to mutiny. The grandfather, then captain, took the artifact for himself and used it to trap his former crew in the forest, in the company of crabs he enlarged... He could not leave them this object. The necklace had to stay on the island and he made sure of that. It was years later, while traveling the island, that he discovered Marc, then a baby, whose parents had just succumbed.
"Captain's diary:
Now that I'm no longer alone, we need a safe place. I'm going to set up fires on the beach, that will keep the crabs away and that will give me time to find where to settle… Hold on little one, I'll take good care of you, I promise. "
“Yet everything had gone perfectly. We blindly followed the captain on the beach, in the forest, until this damn tower. We all trusted him. He was a true legend! We all respected him. So why ? Why did he betray us? "
We are there, a stone's throw from our final objective. I trust the captain, if he dragged us here, the treasure must be worth a lot. To us the wealth and the power! Nothing will stop us!
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The grandfather comments on this note with:
"Someone had to stop them..."
For more details on the grandfather's past:
The distant past: the ancient civilization
The island was once inhabited by a people who based their culture and traditions around the power of the artefact. They worshiped the spirit of the guardian, the true source of the power of the necklace which was only an extension of it, allowing them to use its power in exchange for offerings, in particular the lotus that the player must recover during the second level which allows to be immune to its power (thus allowing to defeat the boss at the end of the game). One day the people disappeared. Fearing the invasion of peoples from across the seas, the tribal chief used the artifact to reduce his kind and live hidden in the forest. Even today, they live somewhere on the island.
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The stelae are the memories and warnings left by this people. Older, only the grandfather had traveled and studied the island for years, is able to decipher their messages. To culturally differentiate these messages, they are written in Alexandrines.
Seul celui qui est digne peut prétendre au fruit.
Si tu n’as pas été choisi passe ton chemin,
Seul l’artéfact pourrait te l’offrir alors fuit !
Ou tu risques d’être là encore demain.
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(Only the worthy can claim the fruit.
If you're not the chosen one run away,
Only the artifact can give it to you so flee !
Or you could still be their tomorrow !)
Grandfather's comment:
"The power of the artifact is the only way to reach this fruit!" "
Chef de tribu en cette forêt sois prudent.
Va, agrandit les cœurs et réduit les egos,
Use du Pouvoir en sage et sois bienveillant,
Sans être tenté d’assujettir tes égaux.
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(Leader of the tribe, in the forest be careful.
Go, enlarge hearts and shrink egos,
Use your power wisely and be benevolent,
Don't be tempted to dominate your kind.)
Grandfather's comment:
“The tribal chief had to use this power to collect food for his people, without seeking to dominate them. "
Noble pèlerin, avance sous l’arche, soumis.
Et que te sois accordé la Bénédiction.
Pour ne jamais avoir à nourrir les fourmis,
Fournir le lotus sacré est la condition.
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(Noble pilgrim, reach the arch, submitted.
Prey to receive the Blessing.
To not feed the ants,
Bringing the sacred lotus is the condition.)
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Grandfather's comment:
"From what I know, the lotus immunizes to the power of the great Spirit… It is no coincidence that I wanted you to look for some for our meal. "
For more details on this civilization and its fate: