ENVIRONMENTAL NARRATIVE

Life is Strange could be said to have simplistic levels, but that ignores their purpose. The life of a troubled high school girl is not given to massive landscapes, cover from enemy fire, or jump pads. Chloe’s story breathes inside the mundane spaces of her relatively normal world. Without the simplicity, the events of Before the Storm couldn’t maintain their dramatic weight. While not spatially complex, the devil is in the details of the environmental narrative.

Unlike the macroscopic lens of an open-world title, players perceive Life is Strange at an intimate level. Without the impetus of a more action-adventure mechanic in play, content is experienced casually and with more attention. Smaller, simple to produce elements can be added to make the space feel “lived in” even when the player character is alone. An example I designed is the fan-named “Pencil Mystery”.