2024
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Narrative Designer
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Game Design, Storytelling, Communication, Design
Bringing Research to Life:
Disseminating Insights Through Gameplay
TLDR:
PPKN (Puncak Perjalanan Karier Nurul) turned a complex research report on teacher career paths into an interactive, empathy-driven game. As the narrative designer, I worked with researchers to translate intricate regulations into a relatable story where players make real-world career decisions. Released internally at Govtech Edu, this game became a breakthrough in research dissemination with 60% of the company engaging with it.
My Role & Involvement
In this project, I took on the role of narrative designer, contributing to story-building, conceptualization, character development, and marketing efforts. This experimental project provided an opportunity to expand my content-creation skills into the realm of game design, pushing my expertise into new & uncharted territory.
This game project was an innovative way to present a dense research report on teacher career paths in Indonesia. Its goal was to help GovTech Edu team members empathize with the challenges teachers face. While the report was insightful, it lacked the immersive experience needed to fully convey the participants' lives. Gamifying the insights made the content more engaging and accessible.
Introducing Nurul, a young, high-spirited teacher with dreams of becoming a government-hired teacher (Guru PNS). Coming from a low-income family, the stability that comes with being a civil servant fuels Nurul's determination to work hard and make her dream a reality. In this game, you’ll play as Nurul, guiding her through the administrative challenges and decisions that shape her journey as she rises through the ranks of her career.
This project is incredibly precious to me because it was more of an extracurricular pursuit – something we weren't obliged to do but were given the freedom to explore. As a casual gamer myself, the opportunity to dive into how a game is made was what initially drew me to this project. It sparked a new passion in me for game design, igniting a desire to explore this field further and push the boundaries of my creative work.
Centering Empathy in the Game's Core Concept
The decision-based game reflects a teacher’s journey to becoming a civil servant (PNS), with players guiding the main character through choices that shape her path. To build empathy, we emphasized the ups and downs she faces, highlighting real-life struggles and external obstacles that regulations alone cannot address. By mapping out these potential blockers and supports, we created an authentic experience that mirrors the challenges teachers encounter in Indonesia.
Reflecting the Complexity of Teacher Experiences Beyond Regulations
Working with the policy team, we crafted a narrative that integrates teacher regulations while highlighting the external factors that impact their careers. Instead of rigidly presenting regulations, we used branching storylines to let players experience how policies interact with real-world challenges. Though designed for internal release, the game provides an authentic look at how regulations play out in the field, capturing the nuanced reality teachers face.
Building Relatable Characters Through Detailed Backstories
A particularly engaging aspect of this project was crafting distinct backstories to shape each character’s personality, which guided the tone and style of their dialogue. Using personification, I tailored each character's lines to reflect their unique traits. For example, Ibu Kepala Sekolah’s ambitious nature and life motto, "Always be Number One," is echoed in her constant nudges for Nurul to take on extra tasks. This approach added depth and relatability to the characters, strengthening players’ emotional connection to the story.
As part of our pre-release campaign, we shared the character profile with a broader audience (well, the entire GovTech Edu team). We released the sheets gradually to build excitement and anticipation among potential players, creating a buzz before the game’s launch.
Dialogue That Resonates with Reality
All game content (from dialogue to trivia and multiple endings) was stored in a Google Sheet. As the narrative designer, I collaborated with researchers Sania Saraswati and Fiodesy Gemilang to integrate their findings into the narrative. This ensured the story reflected real-world challenges teachers face while keeping it engaging and human-centered.
Testing the Story Flow to Improve Narrative Impact
Before integrating dialogue into the game mechanics, we tested the story flow using Google Slides. Initial feedback revealed that the tone felt too bleak, which risked demotivating players. While we wanted to reflect real challenges, we also needed the gameplay to be engaging.
To balance this, I added cut-scenes between checkpoints to showcase joyful moments in Nurul’s life as a teacher (see iteration section below). This adjustment not only lightened the narrative but also illustrated why many teachers remain committed despite hardships, enhancing engagement without losing emotional impact.
Countless Iterations to Achieve the Finesse
After testing the dialogue and the early development of the game, we made small tweaks here and there to ensure both the story and game mechanics met our standards. Here are a few examples of those adjustments.
Balancing Tragedy with Sweet Moments
To keep the story engaging, I added light-hearted cut-scenes between checkpoints, each one depicting moments from Nurul's daily teaching life. I wrote around 40 playful jokes for these scenes, using humor to lighten the mood and break up the intensity of the story.
By randomizing the cut-scenes, I ensured players encounter a different joke each time, adding an element of surprise. This approach not only made the experience more enjoyable but also helped bring Nurul’s character to life in a relatable way.
Adding Control Guide
Testing revealed that some players, accustomed to console gaming, struggled with desktop navigation. In response, we added a dedicated control guide screen with button instructions to make the game mechanics smoother and more accessible. Since adding this feature, no further questions about controls have come up!
Deeper Background Story
Feedback showed that players wanted a stronger connection with the character. Initially, only a brief introduction was provided, so I expanded the opening dialogue to include family dynamics, adding layers to the empathy we aimed to build. Now, players not only understand the character's struggles but also the deeper motivation driving her forward – encouraging them to stay engaged and push through the journey alongside her.
Doubling Down on Helpful Resources with a Guide Book
While the game integrated core insights, I recognized the need to offer players additional context, as the project was originally based on a research report. To support this, I took the lead in writing a guidebook that would give players a deeper understanding of the Indonesian teacher career path – blending empathy from the game with factual details from the report. With input from researchers to ensure accuracy on regulatory aspects, the guidebook also provides a behind-the-scenes look at the game’s creation, including our process and challenges.
One Helpful Book
The guidebook was crafted to deepen players' immersion by covering aspects beyond the game itself. It includes character insights, gameplay mechanics, the regulatory context, a glossary, and a behind-the-scenes look at the game’s development. My goal was for players to empathize with Nurul’s journey and appreciate the dedication it took to bring this game to life.
The Regulation Behind the Game
After immersing players in Nurul's journey, we wanted to provide a space where they could learn more about the regulations that form the backbone of the game. This section of the guide book is my personal favorite because it simplifies the complex regulations into colorful, easy-to-digest visuals. Hopefully, players will find this part helpful in understanding the intricate world of the teaching profession in Indonesia.
Impact & Reception
Upon its release, the game received many positive reviews and appreciation from the internal GovTech team. While the exact empirical impact may require further study, it's safe to say that our initial goal of building empathy was successfully achieved through the game’s release. Below are synthesized reviews from players, capturing their experiences and insights.
Immersive Experience Through Visuals and Dialogue
The detailed visuals and relatable dialogue were frequently praised, with players noting how these elements made them feel connected to the character’s story and emotional journey.
Motivating Players Through Shared Struggles and Triumphs
Players felt motivated to push through the game because of the balanced depiction of hardships and rewarding moments. The inclusion of joyful cut-scenes between checkpoints kept the narrative engaging and relatable.
Enhancing Empathy for Teachers' Journeys
Many players expressed a newfound empathy for the struggles and dedication of teachers. By experiencing Nurul’s journey, they better understood the challenges educators face, from career paths to emotional resilience.
Bridging Knowledge Gaps in Teacher Careers
Players who were initially unfamiliar with the teacher career path found the game to be an enlightening experience. The game simplified complex career concepts, allowing users to grasp the reality of a teacher’s journey within minutes.
Realistic Depiction of Regulatory Hurdles
The game effectively conveyed the procedural and regulatory aspects of a teacher’s career, including jargon like "Prajab" and "Dapodik." This realistic approach gave players a deeper appreciation for the formal challenges teachers face.
Breaking Down Negative Perceptions of Gaming
Some players noted that, contrary to the stereotype of gaming as a waste of time, this game served as an informative tool. It showed that gaming can be a powerful medium for storytelling and empathy-building.
Reflecting Real-Life Complexity and External Influences
Feedback highlighted that players appreciated seeing how external factors, like family and societal expectations, impact a teacher's career. This nuanced storytelling added depth to the character’s motivation and challenges.
Inspiring Continued Support for Education
Players felt inspired to contribute to or support the education sector, with some expressing renewed respect for teachers and their perseverance. The game left a lasting impression about the importance of the teaching profession.
Personal Learning Points
Expanding Beyond Traditional UX Writing
This project pushed me beyond conventional UX writing boundaries into the realm of game narrative design. I discovered that crafting character-driven stories requires a fundamentally different mindset than creating user flows—focusing on emotional resonance and world-building while maintaining educational integrity.
Narrative Empathy in Game Design
This project deepened my understanding of emotional storytelling in games. I discovered that authentic representation doesn't always mean showing the full weight of reality – instead, it's about finding meaningful moments that resonate while maintaining player engagement. This experience expanded my content design toolkit beyond functional clarity into the realm of emotional calibration, teaching me to craft stories that acknowledge challenges while preserving the player's motivation to continue.
Mastering Regulatory Storytelling
Transforming complex regulations into engaging narratives reshaped my understanding of content design's potential. I learned to weave technical requirements into compelling storylines, developing a specialized skill in making policy-driven content both accurate and emotionally resonant.
Systems Thinking in Narrative Design
Creating branching storylines based on regulatory requirements enhanced my systems thinking capabilities. I developed a deeper appreciation for how content architecture can simultaneously serve gameplay mechanics and educational objectives, expanding my role beyond traditional content design.
Role
Narrative Designer
Company
GovTech Edu Indonesia
Year
2024
Release Environment
Internal GovTech Edu