Valentin Serri
banner
khipow.bsky.social
Valentin Serri
@khipow.bsky.social
narrative designer @sloclap | exploring desirable futures in games 💬 worked on Red Sails ⛵ former dontnod and asmodee digital (opinions are my own)
4 games i’ve worked on
March 30, 2025 at 7:46 PM
it went very well!!! ☄️ (at the end of my talk someone asked me how i managed to work with right-wing coworkers and it was the funniest and also thorniest question i had to answer lol)
March 4, 2025 at 12:53 PM
ce vendredi à l’occasion des Enjmin Game Conferences, je donnerai une conférence sur le thème comme élément fondateur du world building et participerai à une table ronde sur la création de petits jeux 🎙️📚 🌐
February 25, 2025 at 5:54 PM
everytime a junior highschool student is doing a one week internship at sloclap i get to present them my job and after that i ask them to analyze the dialogue mechanic (and its evolution) in Florence, this is the most accessible and eloquent « what’s narrative design » example to me 🧩🗣️
February 12, 2025 at 5:54 PM
preparation for my talk is going well
February 4, 2025 at 7:14 PM
and of course, a bit cliché but expressionist movies were a great source of inspiration for shapes and contrast
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
simplicity and elegance of theatre set design
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
🎨 Pierre Soulages, light work in dark setting
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
🎞️📚 Sin City, for the shadow work and lighting acting as a narrative device
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
🎨 Giorgio De Chirico, for the shadow work and the ethereal beauty of the settings
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
photos of the Tate Modern for the big rays of light piercing through the building
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
✨ next are some of my inspirations to create the city of INVISIBLE MOUTH:

📸 Ernst Haas, his street photography work on american cities and contrast
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
i guess it somehow was about reclaiming my love for the craft and not only selling it as my workforce

it was also a good excuse to mark the occasion of my first @amazefest.bsky.social and display my game in a space full of radical and experimental artistic expression! 🫶
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
time to wrap it up, a bit of digital music composing, a bit hard to find my voice in there so i went full atmospheric long synth waves, no loop, just a +10min long music 💆

still wanted to polish a few things, fix bugs, and integrate UI for the title page, but time ran too fast
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
the atmosphere and the game feel were getting good, it was time to set myself on writing! main guideline was: enjoy yourself 💆 then i added one small restriction: 4 lines maximum!

🤜 punchy lines that would highlight the characters motivations to resist and protect their city
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
i wanted the city to feel reclaimed by its inhabitants despite its ostensibly hostile look to reinforce the community-focus aspect: i implemented some basic structures in addition to the skyscrapers (park, playground, soccer field…) and would develop this aspect in writing 🛝
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
the choice of the art direction was driven by the setting: a big impersonal city with sky-piercing towers that crush you 🏙️

this was the first task i set myself: fiddling with cursors in unreal engine to define my art direction on the go 🤓

sharp contrast and foggy atmosphere!
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
i’m not an environment artist either, but i wanted to focus on the atmosphere 🌫️

i needed to find something evocative and the less time consuming possible to build my setting: gigantic black rectangles? sure, let’s build something with that
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
i’m not a programmer, so the gameplay needed to be quite simple in terms of maths, but still in adequation with my theme direction and as i knew i wanted my game to be slow-paced with a focus on exploration: walking and talking with people to make them join you was a good fit 🚶
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
the entity eating the city would represent financial forces preying upon the city, and thus the inhabitants and their daily lives

it is visually represented by a simple, yet efficient big mouth, eyes, and hat 👁️👄👁️ and a deep dark fog surrounding the city (playable area limit)
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
but first of all, what is INVISIBLE MOUTH:
🚶 walking simulator
🤝 talk to inhabitants of the city to recruit them

🏙️ the city is being eaten by an omnipotent entity

⛓️‍💥 main theme is the power of resisting and organizing ourselves against forces beyond our control
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
tiny post-mortem of INVISIBLE MOUTH, the tiny game i’ve crafted for @amazefest.bsky.social game jam in 2024 ⛓️‍💥🏙️
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Fantasia (1940) appreciation post
January 31, 2025 at 2:42 PM