THE CHALLENGE

How can the same mechanic that changes the world also change the story?

STICKERED/STUCK is a third-person puzzle-platformer where Picta changes the properties of objects and characters using stickers.

Because the mechanic directly affects NPCs, their narrative behaviour also needed to react to the player’s actions.

MY APPROACH

I treated each sticker interaction as a narrative state.

Depending on what the player does, NPC behaviour, dialogue and barks change. This allows the same gameplay action to produce both a mechanical and a narrative response.

I built the story architecture and thematic core, wrote branching dialogue and designed the variability so the story could support different player behaviours.

OUTCOME

The result is a reactive narrative system in which gameplay actions create visible consequences in dialogue and character behaviour.

I also designed the world, characters and documentation, prepared briefs for artists and the level designer, and contributed to localization, the trailer and tutorial.

THE CHALLENGE

How do you create meaningful agency in a story where there is no «good» ending?

thoughts and prayers is an interactive text-based visual novel about a school shooting in 2000s America.

The player’s decisions needed to matter without allowing choice to erase the tragedy at the centre of the story.

MY APPROACH

I designed the emotional experience around a real-time timeline, fragmented dialogue, player identification with the protagonist and a casualty count at the end.

I built a branching story with no «correct» ending: every decision changes the route and affects the characters' fates, but none can undo the tragedy.

OUTCOME

I independently developed the project from concept to release: script, branching structure, player experience, Twine logic and English localization.

I wrote and adapted the project in both Russian and English while preserving the rhythm, tone and emotional effect of the narrative.

THE CHALLENGE

How can worldbuilding become playable instead of remaining background lore?

AUGMENTAL is a tabletop role-playing game about people who rebuild themselves using metal, leather, wires and sheer force of will.

The setting needed to influence the way players explore locations, understand its conflicts and make decisions.

MY APPROACH

I connected the philosophy of the setting, its central conflicts and its game mechanics into one system.

I designed one of the world’s major cities, its factions and social structure, mapped the world and city, and treated locations as sources of gameplay situations.

I also created a nonlinear one-shot with multiple routes, moral choices and long-term consequences.

OUTCOME

Players discover the world through exploration and decision-making rather than exposition alone.

The story develops through their actions, while the ending and reward of the one-shot change according to their moral choices.