Free Will is an MFA thesis project at USC Games. It is a 2D top-down horror meta-puzzle game about struggling to exist in a world where it feels like you can't make your own choices.
You control Will, a boy who relies on the player to cleanse the digital corruption eroding his reality, by using the player's real-world desktop as a play space to blur the lines between story and software.
Creative Director & Lead Designer & Lead Narrative Designer
✦ Aligned game concept with intended experience and target audience, ensuring a cohesive and engaging player experience.
✦ Led and collaborated with over 20 artists, engineers, and writers, fostering a productive and creative team environment.
✦ Made strategic decisions on art style, narrative, and gameplay mechanics, shaping the overall vision of the project.
✦ Oversaw project timeline and scoped accordingly, ensuring timely and within-budget delivery.
✦ Supervised and implemented art assets into Unity, optimizing for performance and visual quality.
✦ Designed innovative fourth-wall-breaking puzzles, enhancing gameplay and player engagement.
✦ Organized localization scripts and brought the game to the globe, resulting in a 26% growth in players.
✦ Led and collaborated with over 20 artists, engineers, and writers, fostering a productive and creative team environment.
✦ Made strategic decisions on art style, narrative, and gameplay mechanics, shaping the overall vision of the project.
✦ Oversaw project timeline and scoped accordingly, ensuring timely and within-budget delivery.
✦ Supervised and implemented art assets into Unity, optimizing for performance and visual quality.
✦ Designed innovative fourth-wall-breaking puzzles, enhancing gameplay and player engagement.
✦ Organized localization scripts and brought the game to the globe, resulting in a 26% growth in players.
PREPRODUCTION
The idea of Free Will started in Fall of 2022. I wanted to make a game that discusses the theme of free will and how video games give the players a fake sense of control. I came up with a vague idea: a boy who has to escape the game world one way or another. The narrative is very meta, so I thought it would be the perfect game to weave in some cool meta-game mechanics.
I am a huge fan of spooky RPGs from the 2010s (like IB, Witch's House, Undertale, etc.) and figured that Free Will should have a similar aesthetic. The retro, almost broken, monotone aesthetic, with occasional RED popping on the screen, creates good visual contrast.
Nothing is set in stone yet, other than the name Will. Yeah, the main character's name must be Will, and we have to free him!! (I love puns)
I had many thoughts about the theme and the game, and I took inspiration from the Stanley's parable, OneShot, Undertale, and Doki Doki Literature Club. Each of those games contributed to different aspects of Free Will. I also did a lot of research on how to do different types of meta-puzzles with Unity, and compiled a list for my team to refer to.
During the thesis preparation, I developed a prototype that successfully showcases my "meta-puzzlle" ideas. Players can do 2 meta puzzles in the prototype: unlocking the door by dragging and dropping a file into a folder, and to edit a txt file. People were very excited about the mechanics, and it gave me the affirmation to proceed forward!
CHALLENGE & RESOLVE
I built a dialogue system in the prototype from scratch with no experience. This gave me the idea to use plug-ins like Yarn Spinner or Pixel Crusher. However, my lead engineer insisted on building a dialogue system from scratch, which caused some production delays. We had to dedicate more manpower and time to fixing this issue.
Fortunately, my producer Lena came to me 2 months into development and suggested that we scope the game. I had originally written the timeline and sprint to fit the entire school year, but she suggested that we should have some wiggle room and time for polish. So we did that. I scoped the project and cut down parts of the narrative that were not necessary. Fortunately, this decision has led to the game being complete and bug-free by the time of release.
When I scoped the narrative, I had to remove 3 of the original 5 endings that I planned for. I reflected on a lot when I scoped the game: What is the core of the game? What is the one message that I have to convey with the story? What should I keep from the current narrative, so it can still deliver that experience? I think that decision actually led to a tighter narrative and design.