Echo of Snow

This game draws from my childhood obsession with owls. While owls remain my favourite animal, my connection to them stems more from my childhood passion rather than an ongoing desire to research them for the rest of my life. This also in a way reflects the theme of the story —— memory and identity. Through the story, I aim to convey the thematic concept that while a person’s roots and the way they shape their identity may fade throughout time, they can never truly disappear, as they are an inherent part of who we are, running deep in our veins. I find the craft element of “Point of View” to have a particularly significant impact on my game writing experience. By adopting a second-person point of view, I may encourage the reader-player to think alongside the protagonist, or even stir memories of similar situations from their own lives.

When referencing Greg Costikyan’s definition of a game, I tend to focus on the aspects of “Interaction” and “Goal Orientation” (2002). Since players may interpret the concept of the “past” differently, I incorporate choices that can either lead to different endings or influence how players perceive the same ending. Additionally, because the theme of the story may be difficult to grasp through passive reading, I aim to provide players with a clear goal to achieve, enhancing their sense of agency and their understanding of where the story is heading.

The structure I choose to work with is based on the first model introduced by Nat Mansard in “Branch Infinity”, which involves the use of “key nodes” (2019). I believe a linear progression of the story has the advantage of allowing a stronger focus on narration rather than exploration. By converging the passages and having the reader reach a point of “true ending”, the reader can reflect on the entire story afterward and feel how their choices impact the relationships between characters. 

For playtesting, I met with several friends via Zoom and watched them play the game, gathering information such as which sections they spent the most time on, which parts they tended to skim, the logic behind their decision-making, and their potential emotional reactions to the plot. I applied the strategy Nat introduced by clarifying the intended effect of specific passages and asking targeted “yes/no” questions. Upon doing so, I received feedback that suggested revising uninformative passages, adding an ending grounded more in realism than idealism, and providing hints or prompts for key decision-making moments. Compared to the previous version, I have made several changes to the story, including revising the content of certain passages, adding new illustrations, introducing a new ending midway through the story, and incorporating more interactive plot points that can subtly alter the final ending scene.

Download Instruction

To run the game, please unzip the downloaded file and open the HTML file located in the folder.