Schism

Role: Narrative Designer | Tools: Unreal Engine 5, Articy Draft

Team: Indie Development • Project: Visual Novel / Espionage Puzzle Game

Schism dialogue system showing character conversation — Dialogue system featuring branching conversations with faction leaders and intelligence operatives.

Report Writing System

I designed the core gameplay loop where players collect insights from dialogue, puzzles, and documents, then write reports to both factions. Reports influence Faction Affinity values and determine story outcomes.

Faction Systems

I implemented Faction Affinity tracking, Friendship Values for key characters, and a Lie Tracker system where factions catch lies immediately, requiring players to provide excuses or face affinity penalties.

Insight Collection

I designed interactive objects like the Weavewaver device and intelligence items that players investigate to gather insights, which are then selected and included in reports to influence faction relationships.

Overview

Schism is an interactive fiction game where players control Doliturne, a double agent between the Church of Thousand Eyes and the Order of Antlers. I designed and implemented the report writing system, faction tracking mechanics, and dialogue systems using Articy Draft. Players investigate objects, solve puzzles, and gather insights to write reports that influence faction relationships and story outcomes.

Project Context

Players play as Doliturne, heir to the Church of Thousand Eyes who becomes a double agent for the Order of Antlers. The core loop: investigate objects and dialogue to collect insights, then write reports to both factions. Reports determine Faction Affinity values, which drive story progression and ending variations.

My Responsibilities

Designed the report writing system where players select insights from collected intelligence to include in reports sent to both factions, directly affecting Faction Affinity values.
Implemented Faction Affinity tracking, Friendship Values (Calinsis, Milvitatum), and Lie Tracker systems in Articy Draft, ensuring faction responses adapt to player choices and caught lies.
Created branching dialogue trees with Significant, Major, and Minor decision types that check faction relationships, friendship values, and quest states to surface appropriate conversation paths.
Designed interactive objects like the Weavewaver device where players solve puzzles and manipulate frequency dials to collect insights for reports.
Authored codex entries and character biographies that unlock based on player discoveries, serving as both worldbuilding and gameplay resources that inform report writing.

Schism codex entry showing character biography and information — I author codex entries and character biographies that serve as both worldbuilding and gameplay resources, unlocking narrative paths as players discover information through dialogue and exploration.

Schism Weavewaver device interaction showing frequency dials and encryption — I design interactive narrative objects like the Weavewaver device that transform passive lore into active gameplay mechanics where information gathering drives story progression and unlocks new dialogue paths.

Schism report system showing faction intelligence and actionable information — I create report and intelligence systems where gathered information becomes actionable gameplay, influencing dialogue availability, faction relationships, and story branches based on player discoveries.

Technical Implementation

Articy Draft: Report Writing System

I implemented the core gameplay loop in Articy Draft: players investigate objects and dialogue to collect insights, then select which insights to include in reports sent to the Church of Thousand Eyes and Order of Antlers. Reports directly modify Faction Affinity values, which determine story progression and ending variations. The system tracks which insights players have collected and which they've included in reports.

Articy Draft: Faction Tracking

I built Faction Affinity variables that track trust with each faction, primarily increased through report content. I implemented Friendship Values for key characters (Calinsis, Milvitatum) that unlock dialogue options. The Lie Tracker system flags inconsistencies in reports, so when factions catch lies, players must provide excuses or face affinity penalties. All variables are tracked in Articy Draft's flow system and checked by dialogue conditions.

Dialogue & Decision Types

I designed three decision types: Significant Decisions (major story impact, like informing Milvitatum about Calinsis to avert death), Major Decisions (affect intelligence access), and Minor/Flavor Decisions (small variable changes). Dialogue conditions check Faction Affinity, Friendship Values, and quest states to surface appropriate conversation paths. Players must balance what information to reveal to each faction to maintain their double agent status.

Insight Collection & Interactive Objects

I designed the Weavewaver device where players manipulate frequency dials and encryption settings to decode communications and collect insights. Players investigate documents, letters, and OSINT materials to gather insights. The 75/20/5% payoff rule structures rewards: 75% immediate (insights for reports), 20% delayed (later context), 5% open-ended (mysteries left for speculation).

What I Learned

Using Articy Draft to implement a report writing system taught me to structure narrative variables as gameplay mechanics. I learned to track Faction Affinity, Friendship Values, and Lie Tracker systems in Articy's flow system, ensuring dialogue conditions and story branches respond to player choices. The project reinforced designing narrative systems where player actions have measurable, real consequences. All types of reports directly affect faction relationships, which drive story outcomes throughout different story arcs.