Writing task

Back in June 2020, I did a writing task for a studio publishing mobile/Facebook games. The task was: "Create a high level story concept for a side event at another location but with the same main character Nina. Don't use more than two A4 pages. Create goals for players to achieve: long-term, over multiple days, on each day.", then "Create 10 missions and its corresponding dialogs for your side event."

Synopsis

Haru and Haya Ono are siblings living in a nearby town, and they are friends of Nina. A few days ago, their traditional japanese inn “Katei Ono” [“Katei”: family] burned down and they need Nina’s and the player’s help to renovate it. They only have a week because tourists are coming soon! Over the course of the week, they will get help from other neighbors: Jim and Anita. First, Jim will need help with finding his cat who is hiding somewhere in the garden. In return he will give the player fresh paint for the inn in return. Anita will initially need help gathering herbs from the garden. In return she will give plants to decorate the garden.

Cast

Haru: 24 years old japanese man. He is hopeful, optimistic, and a dreamer. He was born in Japan but barely remembers it. He loves the inn his parents built.

Haya: 27 years old japanese woman. She is Haru’s older sister and remembers a bit more from Japan. She doesn’t like the inn as much since she still has her memories from Japan and just thinks that, at first, it’s a useless money pit.

Jim: 65 years old man. He owned his own builder company, but is now retired. He has a big black cat named Fluff who likes to hunt fish a bit too much.

Anita: 34 years old woman. She owns a flower shop and likes rare and odd flowers. Her business is flourishing and she often has to take care of events like weddings.

Goals

Long-term: Over the course of 7 days (in-game time), to renovate the inn and obtain a reward from the siblings at the end, exclusive objects to decorate the main house/garden only available through the event.

Short-term: Fixing up the inn little by little, or helping the others to get small rewards. At the end of each day, the player should get a reward just like in the main game, but related to the event.

Day to day

Day 0: Still at the main house, it’s the set up of the event. The player receives a letter from Haru and Haya explaining the situation. Nina proposes that they should go help them.

Day 1: At the inn, everything has burned down. The walls barely stand on their own, the roof collapsed and the garden was destroyed by the fire, the ashes, the falling debris, but also by the fire trucks and all the water they used. The only thing that looks to be fine is the koï pond at the entrance, even if the bridge crossing it is destroyed. Haru explains that this inn was left to them by their parents. It’s their whole life and they have a big event coming up in a week and they absolutely need to have everything fixed by then. Haya isn’t all on board, and she mostly sees this as a good opportunity to get rid of this old inn and do something else with their life. The player will first have to take care of the debris, in the garden and in the house.

Day 2: Jim, the neighbor, shows up at the inn looking for his cat, Fluff. He explains that he saw him jump over the fence earlier this morning and he is worried that he could get hurt here, as everything is still in a pretty bad shape. Nina accepts to help. The player now has to look for the cat in different places of the garden and in the house. After a thorough search, Fluff is found in the bushes near the koï pond. Jim thanks them immensely and offers fresh paint he has left from his business, to help them repaint the inn.

Day 3: It’s time to fix the building! The player has to rebuild the walls, the windows and the doors. At the end of the day, Haru is over the moon. Haya is still not convinced by the idea.

Day 4: It’s time to fix the roof! The player has to build the framework, then put on the tiles. At the end of the day, Haru points out that it’s a bit different from how it used to be, but he likes it. Haya slowly starts to warm out to the idea, because she likes the more modern look it now has.

Day 5: Anita, another neighbor, shows up at the inn. She explains that she will need a precise type of flower to decorate a wedding in a few weeks and she asks permission to look into the garden for seeds. She remembered seeing those rare flowers here and hopes to find what she needs to grow some. Nina accepts, and proposes to help. The player has to look into the garden, in the dirt and in the garden shed to find the precious seeds. Once given to Anita, she offers flowers in return to make the garden all pretty again.

Day 6: It’s time to fix the garden! The player has to work the ground and replant, fix the zen garden, fix the alley leading to the main door. At the end of the day, Haru tries to convince his sister once and for all this is going to be amazing. Haya agrees that it’s much better, but she still thinks it’s a big financial risk to keep it.

Day 7: Embellishment day! At the beginning of the day, Jim comes with the paint he promised. The player can also add a bench, outside lights, statues, or other decoration objects all around the garden and the house. At the end of the day, Anita comes back with the flowers she promised and the player has to plant them. At last, a new bridge can be built, which makes a full circle with the beginning of the event where the first task was to clean up the debris from the old bridge. Haru is delighted by how the inn looks, and Haya finally agrees that with such a beautiful inn, they can do it. Nina takes the player back to the main house and shows all the new things they can now use, thanks to their friends.

Missions and dialogs.