DIGITAL NOVEL
Vyraj
In this post-apocalyptic sci-fi branching-plot novel, the reader interacts with contaminated time to unravel the story.
WHAT WE DID
graphic, motion & interaction design, art direction, creative writing
STATUS
Fundraising (Wanna help? Please contact us.)
AWARDS
Excellent Student Design, 2018
Exit Design Award, 2018
Dean of Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art Award, 2018
VYRAJ – A DIGITAL NOVEL
1 · Story
Meet Yrja—a girl living in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is decimated; time is corrupted, technology is forbidden, and knowledge and stories are lost. Forced to leave her village Yrja goes to the underworld—Vyraj—to discover the past and reverse the destiny of her folks.
Yrja experiences time differently—she sees the past, the presence and the future at the same time. And so, the plot is branching, allowing the user to see all of the different scenarios.
VYRAJ – A DIGITAL NOVEL
VYRAJ – A DIGITAL NOVEL
2 · Design
The essential part of the design is typography. The orientation of text often changes, forcing the reader to rotate the device. The layout reflects the events in the story: long verses represent the movement; blocks of text are used for static scenes. When the plot is branching, so does the text with each sentence going in a different direction.
Digital collages try to illustrate how Yrja sees the world through the corrupted time. Linear illustrations inspired by electrical diagrams and parallax animations accompany the collages.
The reader can change the tense of verbs to interact with the story—discover hidden part, change it or move it forward. The user’s goal is to set the verbs into the correct form to finish the game. For the interactive words, Vyraj font is used. It is an original typeface which combines upper and lowercase letters.
The parts regarding the contaminated time use unusual layouts such as reading from the bottom up.
“Contaminated” text passages are also presented using RSVP—a speed reading technology based on showing text as a sequential stream of words.
Storya—the sacred myth of Yrja’s tribe is depicted by animated vector illustrations. The reader has to find all of The Eight Great Chants to continue to the next part of the story.
VYRAJ – A DIGITAL NOVEL
3 · Collaboration
We collaborated with artists and designers. Kristýna Coufalová designed Yrjas outfits and played the character. Kinga Świętek took photos. Rafał Włodarek composed and played the music on his self-designed Electronic Music Generator.
