The Storm and the Aftermath

We knew there were storm clouds lingering on the horizon. Signs that trouble might strike somewhere in the narrative of our game. Instead, they struck us directly. After weeks of planning the story, reviewing our timelines, and mapping out every detail, we came to a horrifying realisation - the kind every developer fears. The scope of our game was far larger than the time we had to make it.

Every developer wants to create the most ambitious, incredible experience possible. But time is a cruel limiter, and in game development, it’s one of the toughest realities to face.

When Gabe, our narrative designer, and I sat down to review our flowcharts, boards, and scripts, we discovered we had essentially slid back to square one. It was heartbreaking. We had all these exciting ideas : branching narratives, multiple paths, characters whose stories could completely shift the player’s perspective on the murder each time they played. It sounded amazing on paper and even felt doable at first, but building it properly would have taken far more time than we anticipated. And it veered away from our original goal: creating smaller, focused games before returning to IT Burrows.

But we didn’t let the setback break us.

I rolled up my sleeves and dove back into the work. I pulled together the story elements we loved most, rearranged pieces, and created new ones where needed. I approached it like a massive puzzle one that demanded care, clarity, and a realistic understanding of our constraints. The team needed me more than ever, and the choices I made now would affect all the time and resources we had already invested.

Our Unity developer, Wentao Zhou, had already begun implementing features from the earlier iteration. Our artist, Lucas Crain, had started developing assets based on that vision. I couldn’t let their work go to waste. With that in mind, I focused on rewriting the story in a way that honored what we had built while bringing it within reach.

Within a week, I managed to reshape the narrative into something tighter, more achievable, and still compelling something that fits the timeline our producer and project manager, Johnny, had laid out for us.

The storm hit hard, but we’re still standing and the aftermath is shaping into something we’re proud of.

Artwork by Lucas Crain