sydney lai


I Fruit You



A dialogue-less, interactive story game following a Cantonese mother and her daughter.

In I Fruit You, Olivia relives her mom’s memories of immigrating to the US through interactive storytelling and puzzle mini-games. 

Play the game here.

ROLE:

Game Designer + Art Direction + Narrative Designer + Background Artist + Lead Programmer TEAM:

1 PM  |  1 Artist  |  3 Programmers
Completed as part of the Gameheads Summer Accelerator Program
 TIMEFRAME:

Summer 2024 | 10 Weeks TOOLS:

Unity + Procreate




GAME PREVIEW

A Sneek Peak







A personal story


An intimate narrative about a relationship shaped by generational, cultural, and personal tensions. 







Puzzles


Explore the bond between mother and daughter through interactive mini-games that bring their experiences to life.











IDEATION

What do we make?



A designer’s nightmare


I’ve come to realize that a project with no restrictions is a designer’s nightmare. With free reign over what game we create, we were overwhelmed by the possibilities. Our first pitch focused on sustainability, but it was rejected because the topic was considered a cliché in the Gameheads program.

For our next pitch, we decided to ground ourselves in an existing game as the primary reference for our game idea. We chose to reference the game Florence and the restrictions that came with building upon its framework. 

Since the majority of our team are of Cantonese heritage, we chose to tell the story of a Cantonese parent and child.












CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH

Reimagine Family Narratives




Our research involved a breakdown of Florence and investigating games or other media that tell similar stories about immigrant parent-child dynamics. We found that these stories were often from the child’s perspective. We wanted to highlight the parent’s perspective, opting to interview our parents to inform our game. Referencing real lived experiences helped instill authenticity into our game.










ITERATIONS & EXPLORATIONS

Development




We curated a nostalgic moodboard to best engage the player during the game’s emotional beats.
















The characters


Using the moodboard as reference, I collaborated with our character artist in defining the art direction, focusing on colors and styles that captured the personal tone of the game. 
Bella’s character designs, favorite designs are starred.








 

Wearing many hats


I crafted the narrative, developed a storyboard, identified mechanics that complement the story, and situated the game interface amongst the art. Working on the game from multiple angles helped me understand the overarching vision and provided flexibility to make adjustments as needed.












Once the game’s foundation was fleshed out, Bella and I worked on creating the art assets. At this stage, we considered how to convey emotional scenes through composition and color.












A Shift in Responsibilities


Production challenges arose when two programmers faced family emergencies. To adapt, we reassigned responsibilities, and I stepped into the role of lead programmer. With the help of Gameheads staff, I got caught up and started where the programmers had left off. 

Though unexpected, I appreciated the chance to work on the programming side of game development and got better acquainted with Unity!










PLAYTESTING

Let’s test it!







After building the alpha, we playtested it among Gameheads staff and students. To address the feedback, we adjusted the puzzles to be easier, scene transitions to be smoother, and UI elements to be more intuitive.








THE GAME

I Fruit You






VIDEO









Have some fruit,
Sydney









Let’s create something delightful together.


        /in/sydney-y-lai

       sydneylai77 (at) gmail (dot) com