Design Process: Light in the Darkness

Reflecting on My Process

Designing Light in the Darkness turned out to be one of the most personal projects I’ve ever created. From the start, I wanted the story to connect faith, choices, and learning. The idea that even small daily decisions can move us closer to or further from God shaped everything I built in Twine.

What worked best was keeping the focus on virtue and vice before writing the story. Once I had the moral theme nailed down, the rest of the design made sense. Building the game around that “serve vs. study” choice kept the story short but meaningful. I learned how limiting the scope actually helps the story feel stronger and more complete.

If I could start over, I’d sketch my story map earlier and build directly from that. I planned most of it in my head first and later realized how helpful it would’ve been to have the branches visualized from day one. Even so, seeing everything come together in Twine the title screen, links, colors, and ending was really satisfying.

Learning and Working in Twine

I had never used Twine before, but it quickly became one of my favorite tools. Once I understood passages and links, it felt like writing a digital “choose your own adventure.” I used the SugarCube format so I could style the pages and make the background look like aged parchment with gold and blue accents that fit the Catholic theme.

The biggest thing I learned is that narrative games aren’t about right or wrong answers they’re about why the player chooses something. Watching how the story reacts to player decisions reminded me of what Gee (2007) says about games teaching reflection through identity and consequence.

For accessibility, I tried to make everything easy to read with large fonts, high contrast, and simple layouts. If I continue expanding it, I’d love to add optional voiceovers for the Scripture parts and maybe background music for reflection scenes.

Documenting the Process

Over the four weeks of this level, I went from an idea to a working game.

Here’s how it unfolded:

Week 1: Brainstormed the concept and wrote out the moral theme.

Week 2: Created my story map and first draft of the scenes.

Week 3: Built and tested the Twine prototype.

Week 4: Revised and uploaded to itch.io.

You can download and play the prototype here:

https://rmichael.itch.io/light-in-the-darkness

Other parts of the process are linked below:

Blog Post: Narrative Game Design (Includes Story Map)

Empowered Learning in Games

Accessibility Thoughts

Accessibility became part of the reflection for me. I realized it’s not just about design it’s about inclusion. The game uses readable text, soft backgrounds and keyboard friendly navigation. If I take it further, I’ll add audio narration and different font size options. I also want to make sure the language stays welcoming, even for players who aren’t Catholic, since the themes of light and goodness are universal.

Final Reflection

This project helped me see how game design can also be a form of ministry. Each story decision became a little parable about living with purpose. Working in Twine made me think differently about learning through reflection, and I saw how gameplay can invite prayer, empathy, and growth. I finished this level believing more than ever that games can teach not by lecturing, but by helping people experience their own “light in the darkness.”