A LONG GOODBYE
PROJECT: experimental narrative game
CREATOR: Dana McKay
MADE WITH: Unity 3D, Blender, Photoshop
released 2020 (five week prod.)
WINNER OF THE 2021 FREEPLAY EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE AWARD
FEATURED IN ACMI'S BIG GAMES NIGHT IN 2021
FEATURED IN FREEPLAY PARALLELS 2021
FEATURED IN 2022 ALT-SHIFT-PLAY
'GAMIFYING GRIEF: LEARNING HOW TO SAY GOODBYE THROUGH VIDEO GAMES' ARTICLE
I was invited to give a talk at Freeplay Parallels 2021 about the game, where I go through my inspirations, workflow and experience making A Long Goodbye. The recording can be watched below.
A Long Goodbye is a narrative game centered around two old friends who have to say their final goodbye over a phone conversation, and focuses on the use of a realistic conversation structure.
"It’s a beautifully written little game that feels very much like a real conversation between two old friends. What movies, TV and games often gets wrong is that in real life people don’t just blurt out their feelings and that it can often be more about the things that go unsaid then said. A Long Goodbye gets it right and it makes for a much more realistic and impactful story."
- freegameplanet.com
"A Long Goodbye takes the player directly by the throat. [...] this farewell shows us that in the face of tragedy, derisory exchanges are sometimes better."
- Focus Vif (translated from French)
GUNS FOR HIRE
PROEJCT: animatic/storyboard
CREATOR: Dana McKay
MADE WITH: Blender GreasePencil, Photoshop, Davinci Resolve
released 2021
An animatic about two guns for hire in a fantasy world. Created in Blender Greasepencil and Photoshop.
Guns for Hire is an animated storyboard about two hunters camping in the wilderness on a hunt who are joined by unexpected guests. I made this to improve my storyboarding skills, as well as to teach myself Blender and its Grease Pencil tool. While the final boards were drawn in Photoshop and animated in Davinci Resolve, the full blockout was done within Blender.
THE EDEN BUILDING
PROJECT: level blockout
CREATOR: Dana McKay
MADE WITH: Unity 3D
2019; level blockout for level design, programming fundamentals, and narrative design
The Eden Building is a playable level blockout of an art-nouveau inspired conservatory created as an exercise in level design, narrative design, and basic programming.
The Eden Building is a blockout for a theoretical first-person stealth game set in an alternate 1920s art deco inspired world. The Player's goal in the level would be to reach the safe, find the key and combination required to open it, and steal its contents while avoiding or escaping the detection of the guards patrolling the building. The Player would be unable to kill or knockout guards, and have the ability to stop time for a short period (the Player's health would drain while time is stopped). This would make the gameplay focused around avoiding confrontation and the Player to create their own opportunities with the time stop ability.
