Description

Project Duration: 14 Weeks

Role: Project Manager & Artist & Story Co-Writer

Project Description:

This is a visual novel game I designed my visual story course. It’s an interactive narrative story we designed and developed from scratch.

Artificial intelligence and robotics are digital technologies that will have a significant impact on the development of humanity in the near future. They have raised fundamental questions about what we should do with these systems, what the systems themselves should do, what risks they involve, and how people can control these. Based on this, we will establish a fantasy of the future artificial intelligence world.

Logline:

In this science fiction, HMIA researcher Sofia has to find CRO Virus to resolve the crisis of the human by entering Dr.Lee’s subconscious through conscious shuttle ‘Hugo’. In this exciting unknown adventure, the truth gradually is blown out of the water.

Main Character Design:

Sofia

Female, 28-years-old.

A researcher in an organization.

(Audience’s point of view – i.e. first person pov)

At the beginning of the story, audiences follow Sofia’s point of view and finish the mission. They will not realize who is Sofia until they experienced a serious of coincidence and unsolved mysteries gradually. Finally, the audience will find out that Sofia is actually an AI robot performing its regular task.

Why do we design this character?

The whole story is to explore humanity, not only real actual humans but also AI.

We searched that “Sofia” is the first AI robot who has citizenship in the world. The future is here and her name is Sophia, the world’s very first humanoid celebrity. The toast of the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Sophia has graced the cover of Elle magazine, appeared on Chinese television, spoken before the United Nations General Assembly, and named the first non-human citizen of Saudi Arabia.

Name design:

HMIA： represent for Human Interactive Association

CRO virus： “CRO” 1st derives from Corona-Virus（ an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus）, we recreated. CRO(Creature Re-organization) Virus leads to the genetic recombination of creature

Why the conscious shuttle called “Hugo”?

We are thinking this conscious shuttle can save people or turn the table, therefore, it should be a wonderful thing, but in the story it creates a lot of crises.

Victor Hugo is an outstanding writer in the history of French literature, his famous works are almost tragic. And then we searched the dictionary and found that “Hugo” has the meaning of intelligence.

Story Design:

The story has 5 chapters.
Each chapter has its independent
climax and hidden clues.

Chapter 1：

Chapter 1 is the exposition of the entire story. It Explains the story background, main characters and the reason for Sofia insists on entering doctor Lee’s subconscious world to look for the CRO- virus.

According to the player’s choice, the player will enter the second or third level subconscious world.

Chapter 2:

The second chapter is about the Shadow of the world, which is the wonderworld of doctor Lee’s favourite detective novel. The key to solving the puzzle is in this book.

Chapter 3:

And then in Chapter 3, the player is going to travel to the city of hopelessness. And experience the doctor’s most profound concern. And All the subconscious worlds are in‘separable from the doctor’s beloved little daughter.

At the climax of the entire story, Sofia will enter the multi-dimensional space to find the truth. According to the hints in each chapter, you will see what’s the fact behind the scene.

Chapter 4 & 5:

Chapter 4 is the falling action. Sofia returned to the first level of the doctor’s subconscious mind, fighting against the saboteur. However, she found a sub’versive secret.

In the last chapter. Sofia returned to the real world and found the location of the CRO virus. But Arthur stopped her，and told her the truth of the CRO virus.
Sofia may accept or believe in what she insists.

The Story Arc:

The Story Moodboard:

Interaction Design:

Every day, we make hundreds of choices. Some small choices like we choose what to wear，Sometimes people make decisions that are even bigger than these because the decisions affect hundreds of millions of people – decisions about war and peace or about changes in the laws.

Often a straightforward decision could change one’s entire life. nobody knows which option determines what. Not every choice we made in a lifetime is essential, but every decision is a test.

Interaction Flow:

Art Style:

Our style tends to focus on a “combination of low-life and high tech” featuring advanced technological and scientific achievements.
Alessandra and Cathy create all content you see in the game, including the character and environment design, UI design, game development.