A Thief's Dilemma
An interactive comic that explores the concepts of quantum mechanics on a larger scale.
Roles
Project Leader • Lead Programmer • Artist • Animator • 3D Modeler • Level Designer • Sound Designer
Technical Stack
Overview
A story-based interactive comic book about a master thief who has access to powers related to quantum mechanics. As the thief loses his perception of reality over time, the art style, and the unique games connected to each of the three sections, devolve into further abstract visuals and mechanics.
Showcase
Act 1
Story:
The first act of A Thief's Dilemma stories the prison escape of
our protagonist, Mac. He is a master thief that can use quantum
powers through the use of mysterious pills. He receives the
opportunity to escape using one of these pills, as long as he
agrees to one last job...
Style:
As our story starts off relatively normal, the art style is
primarily a black and white, hand-drawn look. The game for this
section is the prison break of the act. This is shown through a
3D, maze-like prison that the player has to navigate through.
Quantum Mechanic Focus:
The quantum mechanic we explored in this act was Wave Particle
Duality. This is represented through the player being able to
turn from their normal particle form to a wave-based form that
distorts the world around them. When in this wave form, Mac can
move through various cell bars to progress further through the
prison.
Comic:
Game:
Act 2
Story:
Act 2 delves into the heist that centers our story, as well as
our protagonist's future. At this point, the use of the pills
have begun to distort Mac's perception of reality.
Style:
As a result, the art has now become pixel art, with the central
game mechanic being an "endless" runner of avoiding obstacles.
Quantum Mechanic Focus:
The quantum mechanic we explored in this act was Quantum
Entanglement. This is represented through the protagonist
splitting himself into two, with the copy being an opposite of
himself. This makes the "endless" runner game section more
difficult, as you have to focus on two runners at the same time,
with each reacting to controls in opposite ways.
Comic:
Game:
Act 3
Story:
The final act of our story finds our protagonist after his
successful heist. However, with the success of stealing his
target prize, he finds himself completely losing his perception
of reality, leading to dire consequences.
Style:
By this point, Mac now sees the world in an abstract, 2D point
of view. The world changes visually almost constantly, and the
foreground is made of simple shapes, to the point where nothing
is concrete. The central game mechanic is now a 2D side
scrolling platformer, with the ability to reverse time.
Quantum Mechanic Focus:
The quantum mechanic we explored in this act was the Flow of
Time. This is represented through a mechanic of reversing Mac
through his previous locations of up to 10 seconds. Through this
mechanic, the player is able to progress through a series of
difficult rooms and puzzles, and hopefully avoid the madness
that comes with it.
Comic:
Game:
End
At the end of Mac's journey, he realizes that his newfound freedom is not worth the distorted world that he now finds himself in. As a result, he decides to use this newfound time-reversal to undo everything that has happened, sending the player, and himself, back to the very beginning of our story.
Challenges
The biggest challenge of this project was the constant change in art
style. Finding ways to present this to the player in a way that was
not jarring was a difficult task. We also had to ensure that the
story was still coherent and engaging, despite the changes
throughout. Ultimately, we were able to succeed in this task by
ensuring that the changes were gradual and that the story was still
the central focus of the project.
Another large challenge was the development of the game mechanics.
We had to ensure that the mechanics were not only unique to the
respective section of the story, but also engaging to the player.
This was done through a series of playtests and feedback sessions,
which allowed us to refine the mechanics to be more engaging and fun
for the player.