Hey Lucy

In-between Worlds - A journey through Romanian mythology

When

March 2022

creative direction

product design

graphic design

illustration

game design

The context

Romanian mythology is filled with rich, fascinating stories and characters, yet many of these tales remain untapped in modern media. To bring these myths to life, I created “In-Between Worlds,” an indie card game that starts off as the classic party game “Mafia” except the mechanics are inspired from Romanian mythology and are different for each of the characters. The game includes 12 special character and 8 villagers- some of the special characters are good, some are evil, some perform a social function, like bonding other players and others are tricksters – they add a bit of randomness and chaos to the gameflow, in order to keep it entertaining. 

The challenge

The goal was to design a game that not only entertains but also educates players about Romanian mythology. I aimed to create a sleek, visually appealing game that is engaging but at the same time easy to understand. The tricky part is that there is no definite ‘truth’ regarding myths – no one can tell for sure how these characters looked or behave like. To solve this I rellied on the stories I collected and tried instead to capture their essence by representing visually the emotion they give off.

The process

  • Research

    My main bibliography are the works and recordings of the historian Romulus Vulcanescu. I also conducted interviews with people from Romanian villages where some of these traditions are still kept.

  • Game mechanics and story development

    My next step was to create the narrative of the game and establish the rules of the game and the mechanics for the characters in accordance with their myths. There are four type of characters, so I had to find a way to balance their abilities so that the gameplay is symmetric.

  • Illustration and design

    I created original digital illustrations for each of the characters, then I proceeded to make the cards layout and the packaging design.

  • Testing, iterations and continuous improvement

    I tested the game prototype in various stages of its creation and used the received feedback to tweak and improve it. After finishing the design, I conducted the first public test with a group of young adults, observed them throughout the gamethrough and collected the feedback for future improvement.

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