Depths of Sanity

Praise for Depths of Sanity’s Story

  • "This is such a fantastic game. Probably the most underrated metroidvania I've played on Steam (and I have 100+ metroidvanias in my library). The exploration is really satisfying, the story is great, and everything just flows together really nicely...I tend to be a bit of a button-masher during game dialog, but I thought the story in this game was all very captivating. "

    Kyle Thompson, Developer of “Islets” and “Sheepo”

  • "I want to bounce back to the story for one second because it really does deserve another cannon salute. There's so much story to uncover and I spent a lot of time taking the time to find every tape and document. The devs did a really good job of giving each member of your crew a personality and I honestly cared for their individual fates as I played. It's not easy to convey these feelings nowadays via in game text...but the talented team behind Depths of Sanity made it happen."

    Steam Review

  • "Usually this genre is fairly light on story, so it really surprised me how gripping the narrative is. I found myself playing to find out what happens next in the story as much as for the gameplay itself. I'm a huge fan of slow, creeping, atmospheric horror, and this game absolutely delivered on that."

    Steam Review

  • "One thing that really surprised me about this game was how much I cared about the story. Usually I find the story gets in the way of gameplay in metroidvanias. But here, the setup was interesting enough that I was always excited every time I found a new log...I really enjoyed the writing and how each character was so fleshed out, their personal quirks and fears revealed over the game."

    Cannot Be Tamed (Youtube)

  • "In addition to all of this there is a creepy story that I did not expect to compel as much as it did; a Lovecraftian mystery that leaves just enough behind the veil and offers a couple of endings to boot (one of which was sufficiently chilling.) "

    Steam Review

  • "Where Depths of Sanity truly shines, however, is in the atmosphere of fear and unease that is felt by both the protagonist and the player."

    Steam Review

View Steam Page

Writing an Underwater Metroidvania Nightmare

In June of 2019, I joined Bomb Shelter Games as the narrative designer for their upcoming underwater metroidvania, “Depths of Sanity” (PC, Steam Deck, Switch, Xbox Series X). The game had been in development for several years, and while they had decided the basic premise of the game and a few key moments, it was officially time to turn those ideas into an honest-to-goodness narrative.

This was a pretty interesting challenge, since I would be crafting a story around several unalterable plot beats, environments, and bosses that had already been put into the game. My job was to create the narrative through-line for the whole experience—creating not only the full outline and script, but fleshing out the world with collectibles, notes, and all sorts of touches, eventually even tackling a majority of their marketing materials and becoming a major force behind the game on the road to launch.

MY RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Drafted multiple potential story treatments based on what game elements already existed to present to the team, and once the winning treatment was voted on, took it from a 15-page outline to the final 15-hour adventure

  • Wrote all cutscenes, collectable story notes/logs, side stories, item descriptions, loading screens, tutorials, character backgrounds, and more

  • Created a master narrative document to track and maintain note/audio log placement throughout the game

  • Consistently adapted the storytelling around changing game elements and design features, as well as playtesting feedback

  • Collaborated with artists and lead designer to better integrate the story into the gameplay, particularly when it came to the game’s multiple endings

  • Gave feedback on visual design and animation on key narrative moments, including flashbacks that intrude on the player, working the story into background designs, and troubleshooting issues within Unity

  • Wrote copy for all marketing materials

EXCERPTS

CREW NOTES AND LOGS

View a sample of some of the collectible notes and audio logs from two crew members of the Baroness.

OPENING CUTSCENE

Check out the opening to Depths of Sanity and how it quickly establishes the narrative.

For a deep-dive on how the story of Depths of Sanity was made, including outlining the game’s narrative, crafting side content, developing the characters, working through testing feedback and more, click here.