1887 — The Mason County Herald
Presents early accounts of the phenomenon framed as superstition and unexplained violence. Establishes the myth before it is understood.
Narrative & Systems Design Case Study
Stalked by Moonlight
A werewolf survival horror project built around isolation, folklore, environmental tension, and layered narrative design. My contribution focused on world-building, narrative structure, supporting gameplay systems, and foundational development documentation.
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Overview
What this project let me build
This case study focuses on the narrative systems, documentation, and creative problem-solving I developed for the project.
The work demonstrates how I structure atmosphere, progression, lore, support systems, and player-facing narrative elements for an interactive horror experience.
My Contributions
What I can honestly and confidently claim
World-building & Lore
- Developed history, folklore, and setting documents to reinforce tone and internal logic.
- Created narrative support materials such as lore drafts and werewolf concept documents.
- Built contextual artefacts to deepen immersion and imply a wider world beyond direct gameplay.
Narrative Structure
- Worked on writing department planning, milestone support, and game bible documentation.
- Outlined narrative beats, day and night scripting concepts, and structural support for progression.
- Helped shape how tension, discovery, and environmental storytelling would unfold across play.
Gameplay Support Systems
- Designed support documents for trophies and achievements, audio logs, and related player-facing systems.
- Considered how mechanics and information delivery reinforce atmosphere rather than interrupt it.
- Built design material intended to support immersion, pacing, and replay value.
Creative Documentation
- Produced working design materials that help align writing, world logic, and gameplay intent.
- Contributed organised documents rather than loose ideas, which is where a lot of hobby projects quietly die.
- Created materials that are useful for collaboration, iteration, and future implementation.
Documented Systems
Selected excerpts from my design work
Game Bible — Core Pitch & Structure
“On a cursed Appalachian farm, you are hunted by a sadistic werewolf — your own uncle — and haunted by the ghosts of its victims. Over five nights, you uncover the generational curse… You must balance survival, crafting, and discovery to cleanse yourself and the land — or become the beast.”
The narrative is structured across five escalating acts: Arrival, Realisation, Descent, The Trap, and The End. Each phase progressively blends survival mechanics with psychological pressure.
Narrative Flow & Player Exhaustion System
The game’s pacing is built around a day/night loop where exhaustion is a lived mechanic rather than a forced timer.
- Day: preparation, repair, investigation
- Night: survival, escalation, discovery
- Sleep: triggered by physical and psychological collapse
“Sleep deprivation, panic, and physical breakdown are gradual, believable, and horrifying.”
Audio Log System
Audio logs were designed as optional narrative rewards that track the uncle’s psychological collapse.
Early tone: rational, grounded explanations of events.
Mid tone: fear and confusion.
Late tone: guilt and acceptance.
“I locked myself below ground. I thought it would help… It’s not the beast you have to fear. It’s the land.”
Core Lore — The Hollow Man
The central conflict is built on a generational curse originating in 1693, where a family pact binds one member each generation to become the “wolf of the hollow.”
The land itself is sustained through sacrifice, meaning survival mechanics are directly tied to narrative consequence.
Environmental Storytelling
In-world artefacts
Instead of relying purely on direct exposition, I created artefacts that allow the world to tell its own story through time.
1974 — The Valley Gazette
A more modern perspective, reframing events as missing persons cases while still hinting at something unnatural beneath the surface.