VALIANT HEARTS: COMING HOME
Valiant Hearts: Coming Home is a narrative puzzle-adventure and the sequel to Valiant Hearts: The Great War, released on PC, console and mobile. As Narrative & Game Designer, I worked across historical research, character writing, story structure and gameplay design, including leading the healing mechanic. The game received three Pégases awards, including Excellence in Narrative.
Designing narrative and gameplay as parts of the same experience.
My role sat between narrative and game design.
On the narrative side, I researched World War I, wrote and developed characters, structured story beats and worked closely with the client, the Game Writer and Paul Tumelaire to preserve the identity of Valiant Hearts.
On the game design side, I led the healing feature, contributed to combat-related mechanics and UX/UI, and regularly reviewed the full player experience.
Historical & Narrative Design
Conducted historical research and created narrative documentation for the team, turning historical material into foundations for characters, scenes and gameplay contexts.
Characters & Emotional Pacing
Wrote characters and in-game narrative content and built story beats designed to track and shape the player’s emotional journey through the game.
Gameplay & Player Experience
Led the design of the healing feature, co-designed background firing and destructible covers, contributed to UX/UI and produced detailed whole-game feedback with mockups and iteration GIFs.
Designing Story Beats Around Player Emotion
Narrative structure was not treated only as a sequence of events. I used story beats to reason about what players should understand and feel throughout the experience.
The Healing Feature
I led the design of one of the game’s central interactive expressions of its themes: treating wounded soldiers rather than simply moving through the war around them.
Historical Research as Design Material
Research was turned into documentation that the wider team could use, helping narrative, gameplay and presentation remain grounded in the historical context.
- Role
- Narrative Designer & Game Designer
- Studio
- Old Skull Games
- Collaboration
- Ubisoft
- Genre
- Narrative Puzzle-Adventure
- Platforms
- PC, Console, Mobile
- Design Areas
- Narrative Design - Historical Research - Character Writing - Story Beats - Gameplay Design - UX/UI - Player Experience
- Awards
- 3 Pégases, including Excellence in Narrative
- Year
- 2022