Bond

Inspiration

We are inspired by the theme of attraction, a force that leads to love. Our story explores the love between two people, and the moment when one must face their lover while making a life-changing decision - one that even touches on death. We are also inspired by feminism: we want to tell women that they have the power to choose, either to let go of a relationship, or to carry it as a part of their soul. That, to us, is the essence of attraction.

What it does

Bond is a narrative-driven puzzle game about attraction, love, and choice. Players take on the role of a witch who has lost her lover and must face difficult decisions: to let go or attempt to bring him back. The story unfolds through puzzles that reflect emotional struggles, solving riddles with books, paths in the forest, and gemstones, each symbolizing aspects of memory, grief, and empowerment.

How we built it

We built Bond by combining interactive puzzle mechanics with an atmospheric branching narrative, built with gdevelop. Each puzzle was designed to serve the story, for example, arranging book titles to spell a name, shaping the forest so only one path remains, or unlocking a door by matching color sequences. The narrative was written first, then we designed puzzles that organically fit into the plot.

Challenges we ran into

Firstly, making sure puzzles felt natural to the story, not just “added on.” Secondly, balancing puzzle difficulty - meaningful but not frustrating. Thirdly, weaving feminist themes into a fantasy narrative without breaking immersion. Lastly, designing endings that both satisfy the player and respect the emotional depth of the story.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

-Creating puzzles that symbolize emotional decisions (letting go, holding on, remembering, moving forward). -Building an experience where narrative and gameplay are inseparable. -Exploring feminist storytelling in a genre (fantasy/medieval) that often overlooks female agency. -Crafting multiple endings that reflect different ways of facing love and grief.

What we learned

We learned how to manage our time effectively, especially since this was our very first experience designing a game. Min Yan learned how to write a story that can reach people’s hearts and convey deep emotions. On the other hand, she learned how to find suitable background music and gather creative assets to build the right atmosphere. Yu En learned how to complete both the front-end and back-end of the game, gaining valuable programming experience.

What's next for Bond

We plan to improve the game’s art by collaborating with an illustrator to create a unified visual style, and to expand the experience by adding more levels.

Built With

• gdevelop