Song of the Universe
Since Song of the Universe is still in the earliest phases of development, the following is mainly documentation of various forms. There is some concept artwork, snippets of character relationship diagrams and storyboarding, and a brief one-paragraph treatment. Except for art, which is credited to its creators, all work on this project was done by Sam Sobel.
Song of the Universe is conceptualized as the first of three games following the same characters. The narrative design below is primarily for this game but includes references to characters and concepts that recur throughout the entire series. The high-level narrative design is in progress for all three games in order to ensure continuity of story and themes; only Song of the Universe has any detailed structuring to date. Mechanically, the game is conceptualized as a tactical RPG with a focus on terrain manipulation.
Portrait by L. Herndon
All pixel art by H. Fernandez
Song of the Universe Treatment
The story begins with our heroine, Morgan, as a child, being taught the history of her world. She is chided for asking inappropriate questions, but we see in her eyes an unsated curiosity. After a brief montage of her growing up and attending school, we see her enroll in training for the Rangers – the explorers, diplomats, and warriors who are allowed to leave the walled city of Linn Mael – in order to find answers to her many questions. She successfully completes the trials necessary to join and is assigned to lead a squad of Rangers. Morgan leads her squad through a series of missions that bring her into contact with the various powers in the Outlands. Her early tasks reveal the continued existence of the Cult of Aheraine, an “evil” deity sealed away a thousand years ago around the same time the city was founded. The cult seeks to resurrect her and renew her war on the gods they feel have been unjust to them. Aheraine promises them easy and destructive magic in exchange for their service. Throughout the act, Morgan meets leaders of the various factions in the Outlands and can forge alliances or make enemies based on her decisions. The through-line in all these encounters is Morgan’s search for the cult and for answers about her civilization’s past and present, both of which become increasingly complex as her journey progresses. The climactic moment is a battle with the cult where they manage to bring one of Aheraine’s children back into the physical world. Morgan’s squad defeats the cult and the incarnated deity; in the course of the battle, however, it becomes clear that the deity is no longer aligned with Aheraine. As a reward for defeating this ‘enemy of the city’ they are allowed to venture beyond the wall surrounding the Outlands to the World Beyond.
Storyboards and Diagrams
