Guilty?

Guilty? is a multi-strand narrative experience which places the player in the role of an Adventurer who answers a small Hamlet’s plea for help in solving the mystery of its disappearing residents.

A first-person view of the farmland in the game "Guilty?". Tall crops grow in the field and a light fog obscures mountains in the distance. A barn on the right is lit up by torchlight.
A first-person view of the docks in the game "Guilty?". From the perspective of someone stood in a boat, they can see ladders that ascend a clifface and lead to the mainland, punctuated with lit torches. To the left is the docks themselves, with boxes and barrels and decking to which their boat is affixed.
A first-person view of the river that runs through the forest in the game "Guilty?". It is nighttime, stars are visible overhead and gentle torchlight can be seen through the trees.
A 3D rendered market scene
A first-person view of the farmland in the game "Guilty?". Tall crops grow in the field and a light fog obscures mountains in the distance. A barn on the right is lit up by torchlight.
A first-person view of the docks in the game "Guilty?". From the perspective of someone stood in a boat, they can see ladders that ascend a clifface and lead to the mainland, punctuated with lit torches. To the left is the docks themselves, with boxes and barrels and decking to which their boat is affixed.
A first-person view of the river that runs through the forest in the game "Guilty?". It is nighttime, stars are visible overhead and gentle torchlight can be seen through the trees.
A 3D rendered market scene

A 1st person murder mystery set in a dark fantasy setting, that's very much inspired by products of a similar genre and/or setting; such as video games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, as well as Choose your own Adventure books like The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and Forest of Doom, Dungeons and Dragons was also a major inspiration for the project.

Gameplay involves the player exploring the game area to find information on the disappearances of the townsfolk. Interacting with NPCs who may be able to shed some light on the mystery. The player is able to pick up and interact with clues within the world, (for example note scraps and bones) and choose multiple dialogue options with NPCs, culminating in them having to accuse one NPC of being the culprit.

For this project, I created the design document, wrote the narrative, made all the gameplay blueprints, as well as meshing the level. I also conducted constant tests of quality assurance in order to confirm that gameplay was fun, fucntioning correctly and accessible. I bought the art assets from Synty Studios on the Unreal Marketplace, they're a combination of several different Synty packs.

My main focus was on creating a narrative experience to immerse the Players and hopefully make them feel like their decisions had a meaningful impact on the outcome of the narrative.

View Design Document
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Gallery

A distance shot of the entire level of Guilty; a cliff edge and a textured floor have been added to the green mesh to give the appearance of a 3D island.A distance shot of the entire level of Guilty; a green island with foothills on the far side and a river cutting through the center. The island is surrounded by ocean and a beach is on the near side of the cliff's edge, bordering the ocean. A village sits in the center, and trees sit between it and the mountains on the very far side. Lighting shows shadows on the dark side of the mountains and under the trees. Farmland at the edge of the village bears crops.A distance shot of the entire level of Guilty; a very base level look of the level, green ground and different shades of brown to indicate roads and paths.A distance shot of the entire level of Guilty; a 3D island, now with foothills and mountains on the very far side, furthering the appearance of the level as an island.A distance shot of the entire level of Guilty; a green island with foothills on the far side and a river cutting through the center. The island is surrounded by ocean.A distance shot of the entire level of Guilty; a green island, surrounded by ocean. Houses have been added in the center, beside a river, to create a village.A distance shot of the entire level of Guilty; a green island with foothills on the far side and a river cutting through the center. The island is surrounded by ocean and a beach is on the near side of the cliff's edge, bordering the ocean.A distance shot of the entire level of Guilty; a green island with foothills on the far side and a river cutting through the center. The island is surrounded by ocean and a beach is on the near side of the cliff's edge, bordering the ocean. A village sits in the center, and trees sit between it and the mountains on the very far side.