The Current
Role: Writer and Narrative Designer
Developer: Portaplay / Bird Island
​
A Run-Based Narrative with a Unique World to Explore
The Current is a game about a band of survivors returning to the planet that exiled them a century ago. With their moon colony on the brink of collapse, they have been sent back to Terra to re-establishing contact and procure resources for their people. ​But what Farah and her fellow explorers find is a world still recovering from the cataclysm that tore them apart in the first place.
​
Farah's quest to reach the "Lodestar," a rocket platform capable of reconnecting her people, will see her exploring unique islands and facing dangerous robotic threats. Using a roguelike structure, the game sees players engage in replayable runs, getting further with each attempt as they upgrade their gear, their skills, and their relationship with the locals.
My Role
On this Project I:
-
Mapped out and plotted the overall narrative.
-
Wrote dialogue for conversations and events, as well as text for character bios, items, and cinematic sequences.​
-
​Worked with the art and level design teams to develop our locations and encounters.
-
Worked with our mechanical designers to ensure cohesion between story and systems.
-
Worked with our tech team to develop and improve our narrative and voice-over tools.
Writing and Narrative Design
Unique Project Features
A Run-Based Narrative
One of my chief responsibilities on the Current was designing and creating the game's narrative structure. Mechanically, the game had to be run based, with the player traveling the same islands over and over again, and the narrative needed to work within that constraint.
​
I created a system of "story verticals" that progressed with each run and jumped ahead when particular mechanical milestones were met. Along with "holding graphs" that gave progress-ambiguous content (character quirks or world-building details) this ensured that the narrative advanced at the player's pace and reflected any progress they had made.
​​​
Locations in the game also had their own verticals, developing according to the player's choices and progress. A few examples can be seen in the gif to the right, where the player helps rebuild a pair of settlements over the course of several runs.
