Brainstorming

As someone who has always been into True crime and growing up with shows featuring detectives and crime; I knew I had to find a way to bring out my interest and combine it with my love for art.

During my brainstorming process, as you can see below, I delved into a murder case almost immediately. I knew I wanted to I explore themes of tragedy, suspense, and mystery. I knew that the goal was to create an immersive and interactive visual novel experience that would hook players. I wanted to leave the player yearning to unravel the truth behind the case.

That's when it hit me-

Time travel.

What if we were the victim but the murderer at the same time?

I came up with the idea for this story by exploring questions about who we are and how chance events can shape our lives. I was inspired by my own traumas and future anxieties and the things I've read to overcome these bad experiences. That's when I thought- What would I do different if I could change the past or go back in time?

Would I do anything different?

Or learn to love me?

That's when I decided to explore the idea of self love and acceptance and came up with the character Jordan.

I wanted to challenge his sense of self and make him question what's real. That's why I created "other" characters. Himself, but, from the past and the future.

A call from the past.

An email from the future.

Re: Call

Designing

After I was done with the story, then came the design process- why do what? What is my colour palette?

I decided to utilize the symbolism of colors to enhance the narrative.

Each color represents a different time period and conveys specific emotions and associations.

The choice of yellow for the past symbolizes nostalgia, evoking a sense of warmth and fond memories. It reflects the idea of looking back on previous experiences and the lessons they have taught us.

Purple, representing the present, carries a touch of enigma and intrigue. It symbolizes the uncertainty and mystery that often surrounds the present moment.

Blue, used to depict the future, embodies tranquility and possibility. It conveys a sense of calmness and serenity, as well as "cool headedness" and a sense of "growing tired of emotions" .

I used Ren'Py to make this story because it's a helpful tool for creating interactive stories.

It lets me combine words, pictures, and sounds to tell a story that you can play and make choices in.

It is a python based language and that makes it is a very flexible a tool that lets me make the story exciting and engaging.

By adding lines of code (pictured on the left is my code for this project) ,, it helped me combine two other things I love-

Art and Coding.

This made the project even more valuable and personal for me.

It helped me pour my heart out. (As well as blood sweat and tears and many sleepless nights)

But having everything put together and doing my first test run made me so happy, like a proud mother watching her child take their first steps..

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