This is a simulated work created for a module called "Digital Storytelling" I had in my second year in the Singapore Institute of Technology. We were tasked to create a prototype of a mobile game with the appropriate worldbuilding and storyworld rules. 
 
THE STORY:

The Spades, a family of infamous art thieves, are gearing up to avenge their parents’ deaths in their biggest score thus far. But love has other ideas. Will they submit to its will, even at the expense of each other?

 

Chanelle

James lights a fire in me like no other.  The connection we have pulses alive each time we are near each other. We are a perfect symphony, the final crescendo in a masterpiece. After 7 days of mind-blowing sex, I had to let him go. But now we meet again. Only this time, it’s on opposite ends of the battlefield.

 

Hazel

I’ve been in love with Milo for most of my life. From the moment we met, he became a love song I memorised. I see through his facade to all the broken shards inside, and I love every piece. But he has never looked at me that way, never seen me the way I saw him. He

is everything I’ve always wanted; he is also my adopted brother.

 

Sebastian

Hazel is the bane of my existence, and the object of all my desires. But while I am hopelessly in love with her, she is in love with him.  This is no simple love triangle. Not when she and I are a constellation. It’s time I fight and show her that we are a love song

written in the stars, even if I break my brother beyond repair.

 

Milo

I don’t know who I am anymore. I can’t close my eyes without seeing her, the one I killed. But ever since I met Klaus, a part of me has awakened, a part that I thought had long died. It’s wrong, god, it’s wrong. I hate that he haunts me. I hate that he is the soundtrack of my dreams. Most of all, I hate that I can’t hate him.

 

Angel

My duty is to my family. I live and breathe for them. Stuck in this cell, my thoughts are all I have. Until him. Prince is the entire goddamn universe, consuming my orbit. But to love him would be to betray my family. His father killed my parents– there is no future for us. But why, when I look into his eyes, all I see is us?

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See the character relationship chart here. 

 

THE KING'S THIEVES:

The King’s Thieves is an interactive mobile game that gives players

the power to determine how the story goes. Players will be

periodically given several choices (ranging from speech to actions of

the various characters).

 

Each major choice players make leads to a different outcome. With

each choice made, the story changes accordingly, leading to multiple endings and storylines. Players will not be able to redo their choices, unless they want to start the episode from the beginning again. If they are not careful, their characters might die.

 

With 15 episodes ranging from 10 to 20 mins each, the story revolves around the Spades siblings– Chanelle, Milo, Sebastian, Hazel, and Angel. Each character’s story is thoroughly examined in the episodes. The episodes start from past to present, eventually culminating in a disastrous art heist in the present.

 

The game will be available for download on The App Store and

Google Play.

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Play the game here.

See the game screens here. 

See the game posters here. 

See the project highlights here. 

 

TARGET AUDIENCE & GENRE:
The target audience for this project and its iterations is girls aged 18 to 30 years-old. After a lot of research, my group and I decided to make a romance-comedy story. The King's Thieves imbues action and angst into its story as well to create an engaging story arc. It also contains sexual content so the game will only be available to players 18 and above.
 

STORYWORLD RULES:

Setting:

Sabina, a fictional city located near New York City in the

The United States. It is known for its majestic art museums, which is why art heists are common in the area. 

 

Time Period: Modern day, 2022.

 

Culture & Language:

All characters speak fluent English, they have American accents.

 

History:

The merciless mafia boss, King, killed The Spades' parents. To avenge their parents, the Spades have been planning a heist to rob King of his most prized possession, a priceless painting titled The Card Players. 

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#iamspade:

The #iamspade campaign is a social media campaign run exclusively on Instagram and Facebook. It challanges players of The King’s Thieves to recreate their favourite scenes in the game. To enter the challenge, players will have to post photos of their recreations with a snapshot of the original scene onto Instagram or Facebook and tag #iamspade. Of course, spicy or NSFW scenes will get more brownie points!

 

The best recreation will be selected after 8 weeks and the

winner will get $50,000.

 

See the ads and simulated participant example for this contest here.

 

GAME ADS:

Advertisements for the game will be posted on various social media platforms. Namely, Instagram, Facebook, Discord, and YouTube. This helps to increase awareness and increase downloads. It also gives players a place to connect with the brand and each other. 

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Furthermore, a game trailer was done to showcase how the game will be played. The game trailer includes snippets of the main story arc and some gameplay footage. 

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Lastly, the brand will invest in interactive ads that will be available to be viewed on other sites and games. The interactive ads allow players to "play" the game for a while, eventually ending with a link to download the full game. This will increase exposure and downloads as well.

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See the social media ads here.

See the game trailer here.

See the interactive ad here. 

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OTHER ITERATIONS:

The story of The King's Thieves can be adapted into a movie and novel. While the main gist of the story will remain the same across the different platforms, the adaptations may vary in story, focus, or intensity. This provides room for prequels or spin-offs to be made. 

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See a mockup of the movie poster here.

See a mockup of the novel here.

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OTHER DELIVERABLES:

As we were presenting the project in a booth format, I decided to design some poker cards and stickers to supplement the other printed deliverables. This helped to really emphasise The King's Thieves' branding and made the booth look more complete. 

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See the poker cards and stickers here. 

 

PROJECT PRESENTATION:

We had to simulate an actual business proposal to a client (aka our lecturer). Thus, to ensure that our proposal and game stood out from the rest, I created business cards and brochures for the "client" to take away. The brochures included a summary of our game and the social media strategies that come with it. 

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The presentation was also done with a presentation deck. The deck included the gameplay, details, various social media strategies, and budgeting for our game. 

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See the presentation deck here.

See the brochure here. 

See the business cards here. 

See the final presentation booth here. 

 Year: 2022