Andy Heather
@andyheather.bsky.social
Narrative Director for a AAA game studio. BAFTA member. Writing a novel. Opinions mine. He/him. 日本語OK. Mastodon: http://mastodon.gamedev.place/@andyh
This reads almost like one of those dark satirical ads from near-future sci-fi movies like Robocop.
July 6, 2025 at 10:14 PM
This reads almost like one of those dark satirical ads from near-future sci-fi movies like Robocop.
How to use environmental storytelling to convey that a heat wave took place in the recent past, but is now over.
These mannequins melted during a heatwave in London in 1929. This photo was published in The Sphere, a British newspaper that ran from 1900 to the 1960s.
These mannequins melted during a heatwave in London in 1929. This photo was published in The Sphere, a British newspaper that ran from 1900 to the 1960s.
July 6, 2025 at 10:10 PM
How to use environmental storytelling to convey that a heat wave took place in the recent past, but is now over.
These mannequins melted during a heatwave in London in 1929. This photo was published in The Sphere, a British newspaper that ran from 1900 to the 1960s.
These mannequins melted during a heatwave in London in 1929. This photo was published in The Sphere, a British newspaper that ran from 1900 to the 1960s.
Once again: real graffiti is often far more on the nose than most writers would ever dare to be when conveying the state of a fictional world.
July 6, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Once again: real graffiti is often far more on the nose than most writers would ever dare to be when conveying the state of a fictional world.
"Okay, you can borrow the car but listen to the satnav. Don't go looking for one of your 'shortcuts'."
July 6, 2025 at 10:01 PM
"Okay, you can borrow the car but listen to the satnav. Don't go looking for one of your 'shortcuts'."
Don't tell me how to live my life, sign.
July 6, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Don't tell me how to live my life, sign.
Let's play a game called 'think of a scenario in which this isn't a red flag'.
July 6, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Let's play a game called 'think of a scenario in which this isn't a red flag'.
A: What did you do for your birthday?
B: ...
B: ...
July 6, 2025 at 9:39 PM
A: What did you do for your birthday?
B: ...
B: ...
A: "I don't like thunderboxes. I don't trust them."
B: "Oh, come on. What's the worst that could happen?"
B: "Oh, come on. What's the worst that could happen?"
July 6, 2025 at 9:36 PM
A: "I don't like thunderboxes. I don't trust them."
B: "Oh, come on. What's the worst that could happen?"
B: "Oh, come on. What's the worst that could happen?"
There's an inherent comedy in signs that say things like "Falling rocks" because there's little you can do about the warning other than pray for luck.
July 6, 2025 at 9:32 PM
There's an inherent comedy in signs that say things like "Falling rocks" because there's little you can do about the warning other than pray for luck.
I like to imagine no one in this image is saying anything.
July 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I like to imagine no one in this image is saying anything.
Character A: Won't a sign do? It's probably not gonna happen again.
Character B: No. We're taking no chances. I want it in bright red neon letters.
Character B: No. We're taking no chances. I want it in bright red neon letters.
July 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Character A: Won't a sign do? It's probably not gonna happen again.
Character B: No. We're taking no chances. I want it in bright red neon letters.
Character B: No. We're taking no chances. I want it in bright red neon letters.
In environmental storytelling, your use of a signs can be literal or metaphorical depending on the nature of your story.
July 6, 2025 at 9:15 PM
In environmental storytelling, your use of a signs can be literal or metaphorical depending on the nature of your story.
How many times does something have to happen before a sign is justified?
July 6, 2025 at 9:09 PM
How many times does something have to happen before a sign is justified?
Beginning: Oh god, this cement isn't dry.
Middle: If I maintain my speed, I think I can power through this.
End: Enough. I tire of this madness. I'm leaving for Madagascar where I shall forage from the land and sleep in the trees.
Middle: If I maintain my speed, I think I can power through this.
End: Enough. I tire of this madness. I'm leaving for Madagascar where I shall forage from the land and sleep in the trees.
July 6, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Beginning: Oh god, this cement isn't dry.
Middle: If I maintain my speed, I think I can power through this.
End: Enough. I tire of this madness. I'm leaving for Madagascar where I shall forage from the land and sleep in the trees.
Middle: If I maintain my speed, I think I can power through this.
End: Enough. I tire of this madness. I'm leaving for Madagascar where I shall forage from the land and sleep in the trees.
I love these ones that expand in the mind, blooming into a wealth of mini-narratives each of which contorts itself to try and justify the image. Did the squirrel get inside? How many times? Was it one squirrel or multiple? What did they find to steal? Or was it the books they were after?
July 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
I love these ones that expand in the mind, blooming into a wealth of mini-narratives each of which contorts itself to try and justify the image. Did the squirrel get inside? How many times? Was it one squirrel or multiple? What did they find to steal? Or was it the books they were after?
Good advice for life, of course, but also a way to establish the tone of a workplace without needing to have any NPCs present.
July 6, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Good advice for life, of course, but also a way to establish the tone of a workplace without needing to have any NPCs present.
Often these vignettes suggest a narrative because of an ironic gap between the message and the medium of the message. For example, state totems of power left to decay tend to have that 'Ozymandias' feeling. They remind us that on a long enough timeline, tyrannical hubris always loses to entropy.
January 29, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Often these vignettes suggest a narrative because of an ironic gap between the message and the medium of the message. For example, state totems of power left to decay tend to have that 'Ozymandias' feeling. They remind us that on a long enough timeline, tyrannical hubris always loses to entropy.
This one appears simple, then trips you up. This is Idlib, Syria after it was destroyed by Russian warplanes. But the smartphone-weilding youth seem more concerned with America's race issue. Is the internet shaping people's concerns? Or are trending topics more likely to catch the world's attention?
January 29, 2025 at 11:04 AM
This one appears simple, then trips you up. This is Idlib, Syria after it was destroyed by Russian warplanes. But the smartphone-weilding youth seem more concerned with America's race issue. Is the internet shaping people's concerns? Or are trending topics more likely to catch the world's attention?
A great read if you're interested in how cities, buildings, and infrastructure would fail without maintenance is the book "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. It gives a great idea of timeframes, which really helps when you want to communicate how long ago something happened.
January 29, 2025 at 10:45 AM
A great read if you're interested in how cities, buildings, and infrastructure would fail without maintenance is the book "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. It gives a great idea of timeframes, which really helps when you want to communicate how long ago something happened.
"I don't know. Graffiti's been done and isn't that a little... on the nose?"
January 29, 2025 at 10:40 AM
"I don't know. Graffiti's been done and isn't that a little... on the nose?"
Think of all the exposition an NPC doesn't have to say when this is your establishing shot.
January 29, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Think of all the exposition an NPC doesn't have to say when this is your establishing shot.
"Well, that is a very imaginative story, John, but I'm afraid I don't see a single shred of evidence to support your, frankly insulting, claims that my brother and I have ever damaged your property."
January 20, 2025 at 5:50 PM
"Well, that is a very imaginative story, John, but I'm afraid I don't see a single shred of evidence to support your, frankly insulting, claims that my brother and I have ever damaged your property."
There's a lot of narrative information conveyed to the player when they find gallows humor scrawled on walls rather than calls to action. It implies the local population has given up using public forums to try to galvanize and mobilize.
January 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
There's a lot of narrative information conveyed to the player when they find gallows humor scrawled on walls rather than calls to action. It implies the local population has given up using public forums to try to galvanize and mobilize.
"I expect you're all wondering why I've called you here."
January 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
"I expect you're all wondering why I've called you here."