Echoes of Stella
- Genre: First-Person Horror Game
- Type: Narrative
- Engine: Unreal Engine 5
- Tools: Unreal Engine, Perforce, Miro, Canva, Procreate
- Role: Product owner, narrative and UI designer.
Goal
- Build a clear project vision supported by research and team goals
- Create simple, actionable tasks that guide production from start to finish
- Keep documentation organized and easy for the team to follow during development
- Build story structures that support gameplay and fit the world and characters
- Create clear and digestible story materials for art, design, and programming teams
- Create simple wireframes and screen flows that communicate intent to the team
- Create the visual style for UI buttons that fits the game’s tone and supports usability
Overview
Cutscene Progress
Created introduction and player death sequencers
Designed the opening scene for a first-person horror game that establishes the protagonist’s identity and world through environmental storytelling before transitioning into horror. Since players never see the character in first-person view, I used this cinematic sequence to introduce her appearance and create narrative investment before gameplay begins.
- Created a “before and after” structure showing the character’s normal world, then depicted the same space shifting into an eerie state after she walks through a mirror that shatters, establishing the core horror premise.
- Made deliberate choices in composition and pacing to raise questions (why did the mirror break? what caused the world to shift?) that drive player curiosity and engagement throughout the game.
- Documented progression from initial paper prototype through polished mockups, demonstrating how the sequencer evolved to effectively balance character introduction, world-building, and atmospheric tension.
Character Design Document
Player Character (Ella)
Designed the protagonist for a first-person horror game, focusing on creating vulnerability through visual storytelling. Ella is a young girl whose appearance and tools reinforce themes of childhood innocence twisted into something sinister.
- Chose a little girl protagonist to immediately establish player vulnerability and emotional investment; designed her outfit to read as youthful and approachable, contrasting sharply with the horror environment.
- Created a walkie-talkie as Ella’s primary navigation tool that serves dual functions: provides sight/guidance in the dark mirror world while allowing an unseen entity to respond to the player, transforming a nostalgic childhood toy into an unsettling gameplay mechanic.
- Designed costume variations that hint at Ella’s forgotten past without revealing it, allowing players to piece together her story through environmental clues and her appearance as they explore a twisted version of hide-and-seek in an abandoned cottage.
Character Dialogue and Voice Over
Wrote, performed, and directed all dialogue barks and voice-over for Ella, designing audio cues that reveal backstory through environmental storytelling. Strategically placed voice triggers throughout the cottage to control pacing and player discovery.
- Crafted dialogue barks that function as environmental clues, with Stella’s lines (“play with me,” “don’t leave me again”) subtly revealing the forgotten relationship between the characters without explicit exposition.
- Performed Ella’s voice-over with evolving emotional states as she rediscovers memories of her toys, parents, and past, creating an arc from confusion to gradual recognition that mirrors the player’s own discovery process.
- Composed and performed a childhood melody that Stella hums throughout the game, using the recurring musical motif as a diegetic storytelling device that unlocks Ella’s suppressed memories and deepens the emotional stakes.
- Designed location-based trigger points for dialogue activation, controlling the flow of narrative information and ensuring players piece together the mystery at an intentional pace while maintaining atmospheric tension.
Storyboarding & Trailer Script Writing
Wrote a 30-second trailer script for marketing, translating gameplay and atmosphere into a compelling pitch. Led the pre-production process from initial and collaborating with art and music teams to deliver the final trailer.
- Crafted a timed shot-by-shot script (with second-by-second breakdowns) that showcases core gameplay mechanics while establishing horror tone through darkness and musical cues, ensuring audiences immediately understand the genre and hook.
- Developed initial storyboards with pen and paper to rapidly communicate creative vision to the team, then translated approved concepts into in-engine sequencers for accurate timing and camera blocking.
- Worked closely with art and music departments throughout production, providing creative direction and feedback to ensure the trailer’s visual atmosphere and audio design aligned with the script’s vision and marketing goals.
Art & UI
Created environmental art assets and designed the UI system to maintain atmospheric consistency throughout the player experience. Developed a complete UI flowchart and tutorial system that teaches mechanics without breaking immersion.
- Illustrated a family portrait placed in the initial hallway showing young Ella with her parents rendered as featureless silhouettes with unsettling smiley faces, visually communicating her memory loss and establishing the game’s eerie tone from the first moments of gameplay.
- Designed all interface elements (menus, HUD, controls) to match the game’s creepy aesthetic, ensuring UI reinforces rather than disrupts the unsettling mood while maintaining clarity and usability.
- Created 2D tutorial art concepts that teach core controls while introducing mechanical risk, specifically warning players that the walkie-talkie provides sight but also attracts the entity, turning the tutorial itself into a tension-building moment.
- Developed a comprehensive button flowchart mapping navigation and interaction systems, ensuring intuitive player experience across menus and gameplay states.
Worldbuilding
Rapid Prototype and FTUE
Designed a simple level layout for a three-floor cottage, creating an interconnected hide-and-seek environment that balances exploration with horror tension. Led playtesting with 50+ participants to refine pacing and player experience.
- Conducted user testing sessions with over 50 players (including non-horror fans) to gather diverse feedback, using insights to refine room layouts, navigation flow, and difficulty balance across multiple design iterations.
- Placed all mirror shards throughout the cottage to control narrative progression and memory revelation, ensuring players experience story beats at intentional intervals while maintaining gameplay tension and exploration incentive.
- Documented level layouts and design rationale for the development team, facilitating clear communication of spatial relationships, gameplay flow, and environmental storytelling goals throughout the production process.
Genre and Content Research
Genre and Content Research
Performed high-level research to document to help determine the game’s popularity and help the marketing team do preliminary research with the target audience by critically consuming content from similar games as well as movies and shows that share narrative themes:
- Created a list of movies, TV shows, and games, including the official synopses of the titles, and links to their trailers
- Wrote focus notes on what elements to draw inspiration from to prove similar ideas have interest across several audiences