Semester Project, 2025
Software: Twine, Adobe Photoshop, Procreate
Assignment: Project Lead, Historical Research and Concept, Story and Dialogue, UI Design
For my semester project Pierrette, I took on the role of project lead and was responsible for developing the Concept, UI, Story and Dialogue. A major part of the project was researching the historical and cultural context behind the concept, with a particular focus on the Baroque/Rococo Period in the year of 1751 during the Carnival in Venice.
The historical research became an important foundation for the project, influencing the visual style, design decisions, and overall experience.
Pierrette is a text adventure in which the characters play a central role in the experience. Since the story is mainly driven through dialogue and interactions, the characters are an important part of how the player discovers the world and its story.
(Moretta Character Art made by Ki Schattauer and Katharina Arbeithuber)
As the project lead, I was also responsible for coordinating the overall direction of the project and making sure the different parts worked together consistently. For the UI, I focused on creating an interface that reflected the mood and aesthetic of the project while remaining clear and intuitive for the user.
The UI of Pierrette is based on a vertical navigation system that follows the movement of the player’s gaze. Using the arrows, the player can look up and down to access different layers of interaction. Looking up allows the player to interact and talk with characters. Looking further up reveals the sky, which also functions as the pause menu. Looking down, opens the map, allowing the player to navigate and orient themselves within the game world.
The characters in Pierrette are strongly inspired by the traditional masks and character types of Commedia dell’Arte.
Their personalities, behavior, and ways of interacting are based on the characteristics associated with the masks they wear. Each mask represents a distinct archetype, which gives the characters recognizable traits and influences how they speak, act, and respond to the player.
(Colombina Character Art made by Ki Schattauer)
Additional Credits
Ki Schattauer (Audio & Music, Character Art, Story, Dialogue)
Katharina Arbeithuber (Character Art, Story)
Antonia Klar (Backgrounds)
Fabian Kopetzky (Post Production, Programming)
Michaela Holzmann (Post Production, Programming)
