Make a story worth playing

Create a small playable screen experience where a participant’s decision changes something they care about. Validate interaction before building a large game.

Customer & audience

Select one group of players and one context: browser entertainment, an exhibition or a live event. Interview the participant and, where different, the commissioning buyer.

Bounded deliverable

A complete 10–20 minute experience, three consequential decisions, a playable web build, accessibility and consent notes, and an operating cost model.

Evidence & acceptance

Observe at least 15 first-time players without coaching. Record completion, confusion, remembered consequences and willingness to return or pay. A successful test can also justify removing an interaction.

Resources

Narrative designer, filmmaker, developer and playtest organiser. Keep model calls and hosting within a pre-agreed budget; use scripted fallbacks where live generation is unreliable.

Working method

Prototype the decisions on paper, then build the shortest complete loop. Evaluate agency, pacing and emotional consequence; use AI generation only where it improves that experience.

First 90 days

1. Days 1–14: player need and paper prototype.
2. Days 15–35: playable loop and first observation sessions.
3. Days 36–65: complete the experience and test access and reliability.
4. Days 66–90: run a public or invited release test and decide the business route.

Academy research briefs define work to investigate. Teams secure client access, permissions and production budgets before delivery.