What Ales You?
tl;dr
I was primarily the narrative designer and writer on this project. This means that I:
Designed a whimsical fantasy world for the player to interact with.
Designed memorable characters with distinct avenues for personal development based on the advice that the player gives.
Wrote branching conversations that were both robust and easily balanced with the mental demands of making drinks.
Because we were a three person team, I also designed, modeled, and animated the characters.
If you were flung into a the strange and magical world of Tolkein-esque fantasy, how would you contribute to society? Would you be a tailor, or a farmer, or perhaps an herbalist? For one Chicago native, the answer is opening a tavern and serving such exotic concoctions as screwdrivers, cosmopolitans, and the ever mysterious Moscow mule.
Playing as this reality-hopping bartender, you serve drinks to the citizens of a sleepy farming town that has been whipped into a fervor by the death of the local mage. In just 7 days, the tower and all arcane implements within will be auctioned off in the estate sale of the century, and everyone has an opinion and a piece that they want.
What Ales You? is one part visual novel, one part bartending sim. You must juggle talking to patrons and mixing their drinks, not taking too long to respond or provide them with their vodka cranberry, whisky sour, or dark and stormy.
The focus of this game is the cast of strange, memorable characters. I worked primarily as a writer, though I did do some 3D modelling work to support the single artist. Yarn (a Unity plugin created for the acclaimed Night in the Woods) was used to create the dialog trees. Some conversations have been recreated in Twine and can be played through below.
To begin, we have Tori, a helpful if slighlty horrifying demon queen who is interested in the town's newest resident. Don't let her mask of bleached bone, clawed hands, or aura of black smoke fool you: at the end of the day, she likes a fruity drink just as much as the rest of us. Tori was used to introduce the player to the mechanics of the game and was written specifically for a demo setting.
Play the tutorial of the game here.
Next we have Golem, the creation of the dearly departed mage. They are large, covered in arcane runes, and completely unfamiliar with the world around them. They want few things in life, namely their favorite bookcase from their creator's estate, but aren't sure how to ask for them or how to exist in a world where constructed beings are all but unheard of.
Play through Golem's first visit to the tavern here.
Finally, there is Mena, the dwarven daughter of a farmer who dreams of being an inventor. Her small amount talent is overshadowed by low self confidence and a lack of support from the people that she loves. She's sure that if she gets a toolset from the estate sale, she'll be able to create something spectacular. She just needs to work up the courage to abandon her duties on the farm for the day to attend.
Play through Mena's second visit to the tavern here.
What Ales You? is currently incomplete due to educational obligations from team members.
