Marielle Brady, Creative Director

Sloan Grant(s) Received: 2023, USC, Game Development Award

Project Type: Videogame

Genre: Cozy, RPG, Card

Length: 90 minutes

Field of Science: Psychology

Stage: Sales and Distribution

Synopsis: 

A mysterious narrator begins by recounting the tale of Amalia: a librarian’s assistant who lives in the small fantasy village of Respite. While she has lived in this town since birth under the care of the head librarian, Ms. Prim, her once vibrant life has been reduced to a monotonous, gray existence. One night, Amalia accidentally knocks over a candle in the library and sets a book on fire, which she realizes is one of her favorite childhood fairytales.

The shock begins to awaken memories within her, and she decides to hide the incident from Ms. Prim. But on her way home, Amalia senses strange entities following her in the darkness, whispering about her past mistakes and failures. Overwhelmed, she makes a desperate plea for help.

A spirit of light appears in a blinding flash. They introduce themself as Ljos and give Amalia the power to create cards of light to face the creature in front of her, which they call a “Shadow.” Ljos explains that the Shadows are the physical manifestation of Amalia’s negative inner thoughts. They have emerged from her listlessness, but there is hope: she can face them with cards of light, which are the power of her positive experiences and coping strategies. Ljos encourages Amalia to practice understanding the Shadows to find out the truth. Despite her hesitations, Amalia agrees to undertake this task, and Ljos promises to stay by her side.

From then on, Amalia explores Respite with fresh eyes. The small errands she runs for the other townspeople become a source of strength, allowing her to create new cards. Soon, she feels ready to confront the next Shadow, a monstrous goat that haunts her garden. Facing it, Amalia awakens memories of her best friend, Eleanor.

Amalia and Eleanor were nearly inseparable as children, and they both adored fantastical stories of heroes and adventurers. But while Amalia was content to read these stories, Eleanor dreamed of becoming an adventurer herself, and one year ago, she left Respite – and Amalia – behind. Ljos suggests that the Shadows and Eleanor may be related.

The next Shadow Amalia faces is a swarm of insects inhabiting the town marketplace. Confronting it, Amalia recalls another memory of her and Eleanor. Amalia wonders why Eleanor left her behind and whether she wasn’t good enough to make Eleanor stay. Ljos asserts that it was Eleanor’s choice to leave, not Amalia’s fault, but Amalia isn’t fully convinced.

Finally, Amalia faces the Shadow lurking on the hilltop overlooking Respite. As it takes form, she realizes that it is a Shadow of Eleanor. Amalia is overtaken by the memory of her last conversation with Eleanor before she left: hurt and angry, Amalia had fled the hilltop, unable to accept Eleanor’s impending departure.

As the memory fades, Amalia vents her frustrations with her own powerlessness as Shadow Eleanor steals her cards of light. Ljos attempts to console her, but it’s no use – Amalia flees from the hilltop once again, leaving her light spirit companion behind.

Amalia shuts herself at home, in a daze, until a book falls off of her shelf – the same fairytale she accidentally damaged the night the Shadows appeared. She brings it back to the library and confesses about the accident, and her subsequent struggles, to Ms. Prim. To her surprise, Ms. Prim reveals that she has faced Shadows herself and assures Amalia she is not alone.

Bolstered by Ms. Prim’s words, Amalia seeks out Ljos once again. They forgive Amalia, and she finally understands: her goal was never to defeat her Shadows, but to learn to live with them. With a spare piece of paper, she creates one last card – one that accepts the Shadows as a part of her.

Together, Amalia and Ljos return to the hilltop to face Shadow Eleanor. As she uses her final card, the Shadow transforms from Eleanor into a Shadow of Amalia: scared, alone, and grieving. Amalia comforts her Shadow, encouraging her to move on rather than blaming herself. The two of them sit on the hilltop watching the sun set, finally at peace.

The narrator returns to finish the tale, stating that although the Shadows returned, Amalia now had the strength to manage them, and while Amalia and Ljos eventually parted ways, she never forgot her light. The mysterious narrator is revealed to be Amalia herself, who has just finished writing down her experiences to share with others and show that they, too, aren’t alone.