Narrative Game Designer | Project Manager
Emanuel Garcia
I'm a Puerto Rican Narrative Game Designer with over four years of experience specializing in narrative systems, content creation, and Agile-focused methodologies. I'm also an engineer and a board member of the Puerto Rico Game Developers Association (PRGDA), where I advocate for shared knowledge and professional growth in the Puerto Rico gaming industry. Learn more about my projects and processes below!
PC & Mobile
Legends of Venari
Legends of Venari is a monster-catching RPG currently in development for Early Access with a team of over 40 members. Players seek, battle, and tame creatures called Venari in response to saving them from the corrupted lands of Tecta.
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Role: Lead Narrative Designer
Company: Legends of Venari
Tenure: May 2022 - Present
Tools Used: Notion, Figma, In-House Engine, and Unity
PC
Shadowrun: Returns
Shadowrun: Returns – Tame The Dragon is a User Generated Content (UGC) from the game series Shadowrun. Developed by Harebrained Schemes, Shadowrun is a tactical role-playing game that takes place in the science fantasy setting of the Shadowrun TTRPG.
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Role: Quest Designer
Team Size: 2
Tenure: January 2022 - May 2022
Tools Used: Unity, Figma, and Twine
Board Game
Terraternity
Terraternity is a thematic cooperative board game designed for 2 to 6 players. Work together to lower COâ‚‚ emissions strategically and create Power Plants across the planet to Save Terra! Fight climate change as 1 of 4 characters and stack cubes to avoid any Natural Disasters that may tumble down to Earth.
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Role: Project Manager & QA Tester
Company: Igan Mich Games
Tenure: March 2021 - November 2021
Tools Used: Google Suite, Figma, and Tabletop Simulator
(NDA) Mobile & Film
Transmedia AR Game
Picaflor Entertainment was founded upon an initiative by Mariana M. Emmanuelli, an award-winning Screenwriter and Director, and Gabriel RamÃrez Juan, a certified public accountant and producer. With a vision founded on commercial sustainability and creative prowess, Picaflor has set out to redesign traditional practices and provide innovative offers.
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Role: Narrative Designer & Product Manager
Company: Picaflor Entertainment
Tenure: December 2022 - February 2024
Tools Used: Figma, Google Suite, and Unreal Engine
PC & Mobile
Legends of Venari
Legends of Venari is Pokémon Go meets Runescape, using Venari to collect resources, battle adversaries, and explore the world of Caerras.
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Role: Lead Narrative Designer
Company: Legends of Venari - 40 Developers
Tenure: May 2022 - Present
Tools Used: Notion, Figma, In-House Engine, and Unity
Overview
I started as a Game Designer for the mini-game which launched in early 2022 for PC/Mobile. My work involved balancing monster (Venari) encounters, player progression, game economy analysis, and narrative design. Within 6 months, I shifted my focus to game writing, narrative design, and project management because of a new project codenamed "The Grid," which developed into an RPG.After a year, I quickly became the project's Lead Narrative Designer, thanks to my involvement with other departments and my aligned philosophies with the core pillars. I created design specifications, technical documents, vision documents, and Lore Bibles, and managed teams for content creation, such as quests, level design, NPCs, textures, UI/UX, and animations.We were challenged to complete the tutorial level in one month. The tasks included level layout, level design, story outline, quest design, asset creation, implementation, testing, and editing. Below I break down the quest and level design process, which I was involved from concept to implementation and testing. This is only a sample of my work. I developed more than six locations, twenty NPCs, dozens of bespoke items, and more than ten gameplay systems related to the narrative and core gameplay.
Above are concept art and 3D models for an NPC called Enoch Ochoa, for which I provided character sheets, briefs, references, and dialogue samples to artists and developers. The Environment Concept Art is by Grimmz. The Character Reference Sheet is by Veneranda Tianero. The 3D model is by Katia.
My Role
Team Alignment: collaborated with designers, engineers, and artists to build systems and assets within 6-week cycles. Created pitch presentations, documentation, and workshops to teach the team about narrative pillars and content creation workflow, and increased deadline efficiency by 100% (doubled!)
Narrative Design: designed and created quest specifications according to the core pillars and project's timeline, which increased implementation time by up to 50% (almost double).
Engine Implementation: established a working pipeline between teams to efficiently add and edit assets and systems in our in-house engine, which reduced meetings and team messages by half.
Tutorial Breakdown
Task Goals: Create a tutorial level that plays for 30 minutes or less and covers the core gameplay loop (battling, taming, gathering, crafting, and seeking).
Constraints: 1) No additional systems bespoke to the tutorial, 2) System changes were limited to gathering, Tutorial Book, and spawning, and 3) Maximum 2 designers on this task.
Team Involved: 1 Game Designer, 1 QA Tester, 1 Programmer, 1 Artist, and 1 Modeler.
Player Actions: Running, Interacting, Gathering, Healing, Crafting, Battling, Searching, and Taming.
Timeline: 1 month
During this time, we were ramping up for a closed Beta test with our dedicated community members and internal team. We hadn't finalized other features such as the CARD system ("Venari Codex") and the Random Encounter system. However, we already had prototypes and UX flows which made us confident in simulating these systems and focus more on testing the core gameplay loop. To bring players deeper into the experience, we created a narrative-driven tutorial area for players to learn and familiarize themselves with all the main gameplay points of the core loop.
Level Layout & Story Outline
We strived for a tight experience while showcasing the project's three pillars: Exploring, Searching, and Overcoming.With this in mind, I designed a high-level layout in Figma with a maximum of 50 hexes. (1 hex = 3 seconds of running). We wanted to convey a sense of exploration to players early on. So, we provided them with an open space right at the beginning, but with a straight-forward objective line. Players can immediately start the tutorial or learn some systems by exploring and interacting. We deliberately added triggers with boolean variables to objects so players can also create their learning experience.The goals we set for the tutorial were to implicitly teach players about...
Level design constraints using hex colors and 3D assets (collision origin came from hex boundaries.)
The differences between functional and non-functional assets (gatherable, storage, NPCs, foliage, etc.)
Venari spawning system through zone separation.
Worldbuilding through NPC, Venari, and level design interaction.
As for the story, we wanted players to feel a specific fantasy that no other monster-catching game has done: Connectedness, Power, and Freedom. Players are a new breed of human evolution called "Teldari." They're connected to the "Kore," the lifeblood of the world that powers all living beings. These "Teldari" are born with hidden abilities that manifest later in life. Some realize their power through dream-like states, while others through stress and anxiety.For the player character, we see our abilities through a dream-like scenario of an empty void, seeing Venari and other characters interacting with each other. Once awakened, the player characters find themselves in a camp, where Prof. Oswald guides them in his journey of restoring balance among Teldari, Seekers, and Venari.
It was important for us to get the team's approval and align everyone on the tutorial's creative and technical direction. I created this flowchart in Figma to highlight the tutorial triggers, quest design, and story beats. Not only did it motivate the team, but it also helped programmers and artists better understand the tone and themes of certain systems (Tutorial Book and Spawning) and assets (NPCs).Below you'll find samples and links from the script that I wrote for the tutorial and a lore article for marketing that served as a Transmedia story test to the community.
Quest Design & Tutorial Triggers
Our focus for quest design to players was to bring them into the same headspace as the player character--learn about their new abilities and the rising threat of the "Kore Outbreak." This harmonizes the narrative and gameplay intent for the tutorial, which is to teach players the basic gameplay mechanics and reason for using their abilities to fight back against the threat.Our next focus was UX flow or the critical path. We didn't want players to retrace their steps to complete the main questline. Therefore, we separated quests by spawning zones (green, yellow, and orange), created the ideal player's path (#1 to #7), and established a few goals.
Players only have to go through these zones once to complete a critical step. Side content is added as optional, allowing players to learn further about the world.
Add at least one tutorial trigger per zone. Triggers are activated either through interacting with a functional asset or completing a specific quest step. Boolean variables are used to determine the flow of tutorialization, giving players the freedom to decide what to do next.
The image above is a screenshot of our tutorial's script within a quest design specification document that includes rewards, level layout, narrative premise, zone briefs, quest requirements, side content, required NPCs, required assets, and flow charts (for branching quests).
Implementation & Feedback
I collaborated with a 2D artist and provided location briefs for each zone of the tutorial for hex coloring and asset feel. Zone 0 should feel welcoming and heartwarming, portraying a sense of peace. Zone 1 and 2 should feel mystical and somewhat dense (with Venari and emotion). Zone 3 should feel destroyed and demanding with a sense of danger.The artist provided their feedback and gave a better sense of cohesiveness between the hex colors and assets. After implementation, we had additional feedback from UX flow, quest design, and telemetry.
The circles highlighted in the image above were minor changes done to the level layout. Some players felt that the space was too open in Zone 0 and needed better direction on where players could go. In Zone 2, there was no way that players could circle back to the camp without retracing their steps. We connected hexes from Zone 2 to Zone 0 to smoothen the player experience (see Arrow #3).
Arrow #1 was additional gatherable assets added for clarity and to avoid null states for other players on the server. We also added additional objects for players to interact with and learn about the world (as shown below).
Arrows #2 and #3 were additional storage objects, and NPCs added to a smoother UX flow. While gathering and battling Venari, players loaded their backpacks too quickly. We didn't want players to travel back and forth from the camp to their destination constantly. Finally, a Venari NPC was added to guide players on where to go next once their quest is done.
Arrow #4 was additional storage objects and interactable objects added to a smoother UX flow and better clarity of the "decayed," or "destroyed," areas (as shown below).
Conclusion
After collecting feedback, iterating, and making minor adjustments to the player's path, we managed to succeed in most of the high-level goals but failed in some of the mid-level goals. Due to time constraints and limitations to our engine we were unable to successfully build the level that we hoped for. One example is the player's journey and additional side content. Zone 3 requires players to retrace their steps to return to the camp, repeating content they've already completed and not continuing the momentum.However, we knew of these limitations and designed our weaknesses around them. The weakest gameplay section was left towards the end, where we attempted to intrigue players further with a narrative twist and "unknown" rewards to deflect the sense of repetition.The tutorial serves as an onboarding process, giving players a taste of what to expect from the game and the narrative. We believe we've accomplished some feelings of "wanting more" after playing the tutorial, which was a bonus implicit goal we had set, but not necessary at this stage of development.
PC
Shadowrun: Returns
Shadowrun has gained a huge cult following since its creation nearly 25 years ago. Now, it returns, modernizing this classic game setting as a single-player, turn-based tactical RPG.
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Role: Quest Designer
Team Size: 2
Tenure: January 2022 - May 2022
Tools Used: Unity, Figma, and Twine
Overview
This project started as a Shadowrun: Returns Game Jam with the help of one other Game Writer. I led the project as a Quest Designer, managing high-level documentation with goals, pillars, and direction. My tasks involved writing branching dialogue, level design, game implementation, and testing. Within 3 months, we wrote over 25,000 words, implemented over 6 characters with branching dialogue, level designed 3 small areas, and implemented quest triggers and variables.After the 3 month development cycle, we started our testing phase where we checked for critical bugs, story and dialogue inconsistencies, and player UX flow. This step was crucial for us, not only for the bugs but for the inconsistencies related to the immersive sim elements.Our goal was to introduce immersive sim elements into the narrative. Instead of providing a "key" that unlocks one "door," we wanted players to experiment with a variety of items and information that unlocks multiple "doors." However, to avoid scope creep, we set up 3 items or pieces of information that could open 3 opportunities each--9 paths.
My Role
Team Alignment: created pitch and high-level documentation, collaborative virtual environments, and iterative schedules which increased productivity for all members.
Level Design: designed level layouts in-engine and created bespoke encounters with zone triggers and Boolean variables.
Quest Design: designed and implemented quest specifications according to the goals and project's timeline using Unity's Editor.
Quest Breakdown
Task Goals: Create a level that plays for 30 minutes or less and achieves immersive sim elements with up to 3 items or pieces of information that players can use to progress.
Constraints: 1) No new props or assets, 2) No more than 8 characters involved, and 3) Maximum 1 implementer on this project.
Team Involved: 1 Quest Designer and 1 Game Writer.
Player Actions: Running, Interacting, Talking, Battling, Searching, and Exchanging.
Timeline: 3 months
"Tame The Dragon" is a sandbox questline where players must enter the Royale HQ and extract a drone. There are multiple ways to complete this quest. Players can enter through the main entrance of the building or a secret hatch from another access point. To gain access to either of these entrances, players must explore, talk to NPCs, gain items or information, and battle their way through hostile enemies.We achieved an immersive sim system by creating multiple variable checks for each character--opening and closing dialogue options that players have the option to interact with or ignore if they choose to. There's also the option to recruit NPCs as either reinforcements or sponsors, providing another layer of complexity while enforcing the narrative to the player.
Level Layout & Branching Dialogue
It was important for us to keep the level compact yet open, allowing for a sense of freedom and exploration without overextending travel time. Therefore, we set our pillars as Scope Management, Narrative Freedom, and Character Growth.Since we intended to iterate rapidly with character dialogue, I created the level layout within the engine, determining distance, travel time, and zone triggers for character barks and encounters. The pink squares shown above are zone triggers, where a specific event occurs when players enter or leave the zone. We spaced these zones evenly to create a flow when players travel throughout the map. Notice that there are hardly any triggers near the entrance of Royale HQ, implicitly telling players, "This is the objective."Here are the mid-level goals we set once we established the level design and story premise.
Players must explore the entire map to find all story paths.
Have at least one character the players can recruit to help with multiple situations.
Provide character barks while exploring to give a sense of liveliness.
Players cannot solve one issue through one conversation. Players must visit at least two characters to proceed.
To simulate and collaborate between character dialogue and story paths, we needed a tool to see everyone's writing progress. We used Figma to create branching dialogue and created a format with colors and shapes to highlight specific outcomes and checks. With this format, we could highlight missing information and interactions between characters like the "Blue Drink" and "Mateo's Badge."This style of writing was also beneficial for searching for specific terms or replacing stylistic words. It accelerated our iterative process, allowing us to reach our highest-quality bar in less time.
The image above is a snapshot of our character dialogue workspace, which showcases the color, shape, and numbering format for different characters.
Implementation & Feedback
Implementation and testing were the most challenging phases for us. Each story path we designed required a set of variables, checks, and triggers to validate the player's decision. For example, if the player recruited Gloria, how would other NPCs react, knowing that a Royale Security officer was present? These decisions influence the implementation process, determining which variables will be affected and whether other systems or variables are also connected.We realized these narrative inconsistencies during testing, during which we iterated and implemented new systems and triggers to check if certain NPCs were present, items were stored, or events occurred. We also asked: Will the player's story change if they deviate from their original path?This was a holistic issue that contradicted our pillar of narrative freedom. However, we can still achieve narrative freedom if the reasons for denying story deviations are justified in gameplay. Continuing our pillars of scope management and narrative freedom, we edited dialogue branches to justify the player's decision.
Board Game
Terraternity
Terraternity is a sustainable thematic game. As a player, you're invited to save Terra in combating climate change in a coop or competitive mode. Play the world countries, build renewable power plants to reduce fossil-based CO2.
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Role: Project Manager & QA Tester
Company: Igan Mich Games - 10 Developers
Tenure: March 2021 - November 2021
Tools Used: Google Suite, Figma, and Tabletop Simulator
Overview
Terraternity was a Kickstarter project from Igan Mich Games. I joined as a Lead Copywriter and Producer at the end of pre-production. My tasks involved writing copy for the Kickstarter page, Igan Mich Games' website, and social media, while creating marketing plans and working schedules for the team. In addition, I provided QA reports and design feedback using Tabletop Simulator and Google Sheets.Within 3 months of launching our working schedules, we received over a dozen testers and potential backers through Tabletop Simulator. I organized a spreadsheet with information the design team needed, such as player expression, decisions, interactions, questions, and impressions. After organizing the feedback, I highlighted key system and mechanic elements requiring revision or polish for a smoother player experience.Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances forced some team members to cancel the project toward the end of the Kickstarter campaign. After two weeks of being live, the campaign was 70% funded. My last task was writing technical documents (rulebooks, promotional material, etc.) in English and Spanish for players to read while playing the game.
My Role
Project Management & Production: created working and testing schedules for the team and community members, and designed a production pipeline for new marketing content, such as trailers and promotions.
QA & Feedback: tested various iterations of Terraternity, organized feedback from other testers in spreadsheets, and collaborated with designers regarding design decisions and mechanics.
Technical Writing: wrote copy for the project's Kickstarter page, website, and social media, and created technical documents in English and Spanish for rulebooks and promotional material.
Project Breakdown
Project Goals: Create a production pipeline for marketing and QA testing, design a QA test session that provides meaningful feedback according to the game's pillars, and recruit 10 to 20 testers for rapid iteration.
Constraints: 1) Strict working schedules for part-time coworkers, 2) Limit testing sessions from 1.5 to 2.5 hours, and 3) October 2021 Launch date set.
Team Involved: 2 Lead Designers, 1 Community Manager, 1 Graphic Designer, 1 Producer, and 1 Campaign Organizer.
Board Game Type: Euro-Resource Management (coal, water, cards, etc.) with Dexterity (stacking cubes).
Timeline: 3 months (pre-production) and 6 months (production).
As a player, develop renewable power plants in various countries to make them carbon neutral. You will first need to "activate" a country, which lets you build renewable power plants within it but adds its CO2 output to the Terraternity globe. You’ll need to make sure this globe stays balanced. Too many CO2 cubes, and you risk a climate disaster. Successfully balance enough countries before time runs out or disaster strikes, and you win.
Tabletop Simulator & Testing
We had two types of test sessions: online and in-person. My focus was on online sessions. Our online sessions were through Tabletop Simulator (as shown in the image above), providing testers with a short PDF document of the rules and mechanics. Our main focus was the core gameplay loop, testing the flow and pace of the game, and polishing the "fun" of Terraternity.During the test session, I would take notes of each player's reaction and comments about a specific mechanic or moment. After the session, we would ask players about their experience and certain questions, depending on the focus of the session (Special Cards, Impact Cards, Action Cards, etc.) Finally, I would organize the information in a spreadsheet, providing checklists and testing reports of what was achieved, what was missed, and the next steps.Before each test session, I would review the text of each card, improving clarity in readability, mechanics, and narrative. In certain instances, I would collaborate with the Lead Designer to iterate on the graphics and visuals of the card.
Technical Writing & Copywriting
During and before the Kickstarter campaign, my focus changed to technical writing for rulebooks and copywriting. I wrote and edited any copy related to game mechanics and narrative in English and Spanish. Here are a few examples (click the arrows to go to the next slide).
(NDA) Mobile & Film
Transmedia AR Game
Through this project's application, we can expand the entertainment options experienced by an audience when watching a movie or show. This project is still under an NDA.
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Role: Narrative Designer & Product Manager
Company: Picaflor Entertainment - 10 Developers
Tenure: December 2022 - February 2024
Tools Used: Figma, Google Suite, and Unreal Engine
Overview
I joined the project as a consultant, guiding game design, project management, and UX design. The role quickly developed into a part-time role as a Narrative Designer, focusing on system design, dialogue, and pre-production workflows. During my consultancy, we concentrated on the conceptual phase, exploring and paper-prototyping various ideas to match the team's vision, scope, and philosophy.During my time as a Narrative Designer, I focused on building systems, creating UX wireframes in Figma, and writing design documentation for developers and engineers of the team. We collaborated with multiple departments to align with certain features and determine the feasibility and scope of each one. Some design decisions had to be tweaked or completely changed because of the constraints that were presented. We used Unreal Engine as the primary tool to prototype and develop the project.
My Role
Narrative System Design: created design documentation for narrative systems and designed a workflow that benefits time and scope, which were key elements of the team's philosophy.
Project Management: designed a working pipeline between teams using Figma, where multiple groups collaborated and iterated on schedules that worked best for the project. In addition, I designed UX wireframes throughout the player's journey.
Game Design Documentation: wrote a technical document that referenced narrative systems, gameplay loops, economy balancing, and implementation strategies.
Focused on Video Games & Tabletop
Design & PM Services
The modern age of games is evolving, becoming more ambitious, diverse, and exceedingly creative. Video games and tabletop games need to take risks to succeed. How do you guarantee success for your idea or project? How do you know if your game will trend? We can't see the future, but we can make educated guesses and informed decisions with a proven method of organized research, production pipelining, and quality output.
We're here to help with that.
Take a look at what we specialize in and the services we provide to make your game, your story stand out.
Narrative Game Design
If your project or idea centers on an overarching story with fleshed-out characters, dialogue, environmental storytelling, narrative systems, and gameplay supporting the story, you're looking for a Game Designer who specializes in storytelling. Here's what we offer.
| Pre-Production | |
|---|---|
| VISION DOCUMENTATION | Structure your ideas with purpose, direction, and pillars for your project and team. |
| DESIGN DOCUMENTATION | Build a world with direction that aligns with the gameplay, story, and themes. We'll only craft what's necessary for the project. |
| GAME LOOPS & PROTOTYPING | Test systems, the narrative, and game loops through board games, Twine (branching events), and rough in-engine layouts. |
| CHARACTER SHEETS | Create characters with depth, analogies, and quirks that fit your project. This includes with or without VO. |
| STORY OUTLINING | Profile and rewrite the story of your project. Design the pacing, progression, and plot points of the player's experience. |
If you're already in production, no problem.
| Production | |
|---|---|
| STORYTELLING REVIEW | Review your current story outline and provide feedback and suggestions to improve player experience or scope management. |
| CREATIVE WRITING | Write character dialogue, UX text, item descriptions, quest entries, quest stories, and lore articles for your current project. |
| TECHNICAL WRITING | Craft specifications, templates, and good document practices for your team and current project. |
| EDITING & PROOFREADING | Edit, revise, and proofread your current creative and technical text, from character dialogue, descriptions, to specifications. |
Project Management
How do you guarantee your team will deliver systems, art, or code on time? Without methodologies, proven scheduling systems, and an established culture, your small- to mid-size team will face challenging obstacles. Here's what we offer.
| Production | |
|---|---|
| SCHEDULING & TASK MANAGEMENT | Use a mix of Scrum and Kanban methodologies to give your team professional and creative spaces to work on the project's schedule. |
| SCOPE MANAGEMENT | Manage your workload, expertise, and team size by identifying priorities, scheduling, and resources. |
| TEAM MANAGEMENT | Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your team that align with the project's direction. |
| CULTURE REVIEW | Create a culture that fits with your project, team, and vision. This involves leadership, management, and communication skills. |
| QUALITY CONTROL | Set quality standards while completing deliverables and being on schedule. |
Why Us?
My name is Emanuel Garcia, and I have over 4 years of professional experience in narrative game design and tabletop RPG design, and over 5 years of experience in project management, risk assessment, and operation engineering. I've worked for large corporations like Medtronic and Amgen and indie and AA studios like Picaflor Entertainment and Legends of Venari.I mix my engineering and narrative design backgrounds to provide unique services and perspectives that help projects excel with their gameplay loop, storytelling, and project management tools.Click the button below for my LinkedIn profile and learn more about my work.
Get a glimpse of my philosophy and methodology through my Substack page. Here I talk about game analysis, indie development processes, and narrative design essentials for modern games.