Forlorn Outcast

In dark fantasy Souls-like RPG Forlorn Outcast, fight to uncover the truth behind magic and the demonic invasion threatening to destroy the land of Seurri.

Client

Griever Games
2020 – 2022

ROLE

Narrative Designer

Technology

Unreal, Slack, Git, GDocs, SourceTree, Photoshop

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Forlorn Outcast is a fantasy Souls-like Action RPG developed by Griever Games with a team of twenty people. It runs on the Unreal Engine. Forlorn Outcast follows the adventure of Zafira, a talented swordswoman and magician, as she attempts to stop the demonic invasion of her homeland and uncover the truth about magic. She finds herself confronted with a barrage of environmental hazards, traps, and devious enemies. These enemies grow stronger the more frequently Zafira casts magic, and they work in coordination through the use of Synergies to provide challenges for even the most experienced players. At its core, Zafira’s story is one of sacrifice, represented in narrative and in gameplay.

Responsibilities

For this game, I managed the narrative, overhauling the previous writer’s work into one consistent vision. I planned all narrative assets, and wrote the world lore, character documents, level design pitches, and three of five cutscenes. Close iterative work with contractors ensured art and sound matched the intended project direction.

Narrative

Developed narrative bible, level design master, and all character documents

Unified three previous writer’s work into consistent narrative

Concepted timeline of major events spanning 1,000 years

Leadership

Collaborated closely with team directors to hold narrative vision, delegate tasks, communicate to artists and level designers

Assisted in managing asset lists and identifying new assets necessary for levels

Wrote concept art task documents

Forlorn Outcast Screenshots

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast. The sun's rays illuminate a pile of haybales in the middle of a grassy field. A path runs from the middle left to bottom right of the scene, leading from the fields into a thick forest.

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast. The image focuses on a large cabin, with candles lighting dining tables lining the middle of the cabin. Half-eaten food is visible on some of the plates. The otherwise peaceful scene is marred by pools of blood and severed limbs.

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast, showing a simple campsite. A wooden tripod suspends a bucket of stew over the fire. Two wooden benches with empty bowls flank the food. Beyond that, the tall grass and trees of the woods take over.

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast. A winding dirt path leads deep into the woods. It is flanked on either side by lanterns suspended from posts. The sky is red and hazy, giving the scene a slightly unsettling feel.

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast. It focuses on a wooden cart, full of wooden boxes of freshly harvested carrots. Trails in the mud show the cart has been recently moved. Wooden houses are visible in the background, indicating the cart is inside a small town.

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast. The image focuses on a clearing in the woods. Thick grass surrounds the trees, and a wooden torch and candle on a barrel light the way.

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast. The image focuses on two candles lighting the far end of a dimly lit wooden cabin. Decorations are sparse, giving the scene a foreboding feel.

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast. A thick forest is on the left. The rest of the image is focused on the thick grass of the fields, illuminated by the sun's rays. Wooden fences protecting a farmer's fields are just visible on the right.

A screenshot from Forlorn Outcast. A stone pillar stands in the center, with three bands of thick gold trim. At the top of the pillar is a magical, floating crystal. A collapsed wooden scaffold surrounds the pillar, on the left, a burning longhouse is visible, and behind it another. Tall grass and a stone wall mark the boundaries of the village.

Writing Samples

Team

I had the pleasure of working with the following people to bring Forlorn Outcast to life:

Project Lead

Zack Strife

Team Leads

Michael Morris-O’Connor (Narrative)
Jamie Wilcock (Art)
Julian van Bree (Level Design)

Technical

Zack Strife
Jared
Antoine Spodobalski
Finchen
Nick

Art

Allante Hall
Louis Bisignano
Mateusz Grzesiak
Leo Varas
Yun
Gareth Brewer
Allison Baker
De Andre

Audio

Richard Titheradge

Contact Me

If you need more details on my work, or if you wish to discuss narrative design opportunities, then please contact me.

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