Escape Pod
An Interactive Story App
The Game
This project is the culmination of research, development, and design of storytelling mediums. For inspiration and part of research into storytelling, I played the critically acclaimed Lifeline where you help a stranded Astronaut Taylor escape a perilous situation by dictating actions and events through dialogue choices. The first steps were to begin developing a story and designs of my own.
The Design Process
To write and organize my story, I used the extremely helpful storytelling site Twinery.org as seen here. With each box, you can write a story and end that chapter with choices. This was a critical part of development as I needed a story to base my layout on.
The main portion of this project was completed through X-Code in Objective C coding. Using newly attained skill and knowledge of the program, I mapped out each slide and interaction I wanted the player to have in regards to the story. Basic interface building materials were used like Image Views, Buttons, Text, and Scroll to bring every page to life.
Final Design
To keep this story from expanding infinitely, many options lead you down a path of certain death were you then loop back to the first page. This design choice was made to replicate the feel and aesthetic of a classic handheld game like Mario and Donkey Kong where players need to begin memorizing correct or sensible choices in order to advance the plot.
The final version of the project was an amazing success. The handheld console feel of the game immerses you in an adrenaline-filled sprint through an incredible day of escaping perilous situations. As true to the name, if you reach the aforementioned Escape Pod, you get the option to burst out into space and continue your journey or fend for yourself among the other passengers. Your scenery and options change and adapt to your surroundings as the story progresses to further immerse the player within the world. This project helped develop my skills not only as a story-teller but as a designer and app developer as well.