Serving Time - Ren'Py Prototype

​In the Spring 2025 semester, I completed GAME 395, which looked at examining the basics behind narrative and learn their importance, analyzing the ways that games tell stories, looking at what makes certain game narratives compelling for players, understanding how non-linear storytelling operates, as well as exploring how interactivity influences the manner in which stories are effectively told in games. Throughout this course, I was tasked with various assignments related to game storytelling, as well as assigned games such as Disco Elysium, Hades, and AI: The Somnium Files, among others, that focused on storytelling to understand how these processes work in action. Through this, I had to create a prototype that contained non-linear storytelling elements through a visual novel game engine called Ren'Py. I was required to include a complete narrative arc (beginning, middle, and end), utilize non-verbal elements to contribute to the narrative (such as music and art), and incorporate non-linear aspects in storytelling (including modular story beats, branching narrative, emergent gameplay, and metanarrative). 
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Through this experience, I had the opportunity to develop my coding skills further, and although Ren'Py is beginner-friendly, it still provides a solid foundation for transitioning to more advanced languages or gaming engines, such as Unity or Unreal Engine. Figuring out the coding for the game was the most challenging task in this project, as I was unfamiliar with Ren'Py beforehand. I ran into some issues trying to loop back conversations, as well as coding multiple endings and ensuring they operated correctly based on players' decisions. Despite this, I learned a lot not only about coding, but also how to create an immersive experience for players through narrative. I took a previous screenplay I wrote in another course I took and decided to turn it into "Serving Time." I wanted to do this because I was passionate about this project when I worked on it, and wanted to continue developing it in a game format. 
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From this experience, I was able to achieve the goals of GAME 395 and create a deeper connection with games, understanding how narrative plays a significant role in their development. Additionally, I can critically analyze games and apply what I have learned to my own projects, such as "Serving Time," and in my future career. Understanding what players want within these game genres is essential, as it can make or break a game's reception, a crucial factor in the industry that I will keep in mind for future projects.