Alcoholism Adventure
Alcohol Adventure (AA) is a narrative-driven adventure game. Through branching dialogue, players must grapple with the social repercussions of their drinking. The player character encounters friends and family members, each of whom has a different perspective on his drinking behavior. Some loved ones condone the player’s drinking by debauching alongside the player; others express disappointment or concern regarding the player character’s behavior.
Between story beats, players encounter a series of gating mechanisms that compel them to drink. Consider the bottlecap system depicted in the above video. Players earn bottlecaps with each drink consumed. These bottlecaps can be deposited, which allows the player to interact with a switch. The switch controls a fence. The player cannot continue down the path of the fence without earning & depositing the requisite bottlecaps to power the switch.
Besides the social consequences of their drinking, players will also experience a litany of sensory changes—namely, camera shake and post-processing effects. The vision and ease of movement are affected by these changes. For instance, the player struggles to walk straight due to the shaking camera. Vision is obscured by vignetting & motion blur. These effects scale based on the player’s blood alcohol content. The player is further challenged by navigating through narrow, angled platforms & between moving vehicles.
Some games are memorable for their fun, innovative mechanics. Other games strive to tell a meaningful story in an immersive way. Through a unique playable experience that comments on a life-threatening condition afflicting millions worldwide, Alcoholism Adventure aims to serve both functions.
Team size: 1
Tools: Unreal Engine, Jira, Midjourney, Canva
Narrative System
Drinking & Interaction Systems
