I’m currently working at Don’t Nod as a writer and narrative designer to develop Aphelion, an action-adventure game set in space, blending exploration, traversal, stealth… and mystery!
Together with my colleagues I’m designing scenes, narrative tools, I’m working on the story structure, writing dialogues, barks, texts and cinematics.
Jusant
I’ve worked close to 3 years with an incredible team of talented people, writing and designing Jusant, an adventure game by Don’t Nod.
I first got to focus on the themes of our game with the directors and explore mechanics that would fit these themes with game designers. I worked with level designers on the pacing and structure and on the aesthetic of the game with the art team.
I learnt to use Unreal, in which I had a layer where I could place all the props and collectibles related to the narrative I could leave feedback as well, for all the other departments (FX, enviro, art, sound…) and collaborate with them to try to merge all these voices into one that conveyed our themes in an organic way.
I also wrote all the game texts, then oversaw and integrated the localization in 10 languages.
- A set of narrative tools on par with the art and gameplay:
Jusant is a game that has simple and evocative art, focused on one mechanic: climbing. The main goal was for our players to feel the world around them. I wanted the narrative tools to reflect and add to that, by having our players touch, grab, look around, and listen to the world they explore.
- A world deserted, but full of life:
Together with level designers, concept artists, environment artist and FX designers, we’ve worked down to the smallest detail to design the everyday life of the people that lived there and their habits, their relation to their environments. We meant to create places that feel like they’ve been inhabited and that would illustrate our themes and story.
- A fragmented story to encourage exploration:
Environment and audio aside, Jusant’s story is experienced through letters, articles, posters, but also dispersed in the menus, chapter titles, and even the achievement list. All to create immersion, allow players to rest in a physically demanding game, and let them participate in the story by actively piecing it together.
- Flora and fauna:
Our players and main character connecting with nature was our central theme. I worked with concept artists and game designers to create creatures that would embody our story while, for some, be an integral part of the gameplay mechanics.
Quantic Dream
Quantic Dream was my first job in the video game industry, back in 2019. With a team of narrative designers, we designed and wrote branching dialogues for close to a year. I’ve learned a lot!
Félix Elvis 