ROSALIND HOBBS

Rosalind Hobbs

The University of Tulsa

Game Design Concepts

February 28, 2021

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Inked by Nuverse (Hong Kong) Limited

 

            Released “ready to play” only a week ago on the IOS Mobile App Store, Inked by Nuverse (Hong Kong) Limited is an unraveling tale of love, hope, and a nameless hero expressed through beautiful fine-art graphics, puzzle-like challenges, and a serene narration and soundtrack that come together to create a hypnotizing gaming experience. 

 

            Inked plays through the story of the “Nameless Hero,” a rogue samurai, as he travels through his paper world along-side his love, Aiko, a non-player character that leads the hero. Behind the screen, the story of the Nameless Hero and Aiko is narrated in a story-like fashion. The narrator alludes to the Artist which adds mysterious and almost divine complexity to the universe of the hero and Aiko which is juxtaposed against the minimalist visual elements. This all comes together to create a spectacular and engaging story that explores adventure, heroism, loss, and determination to see the end.

 

            As you work through the story of Inked you face small challenges as you proceed in the larger-picture storyline. Each challenge is in an effort to keep the nameless hero moving and progressing which is completed through moving blocks, navigating paths, and activating tools. This is designed with impressive fluidity and flow as each challenge along the path creates an “always moving forward” experience. Using touch to navigate the Nameless Hero, the player has freedom to explore the world and complete challenges as necessary to progress. 

 

These dramatic elements carry the weight of the engaging gaming experience. Playing through Inked feels less like a game and more like an interactive story…as if it is a privilege to be absorbed in the world of the Nameless Hero and Aiko on their journey. The story is well developed and told, the characters are interesting yet maintain just enough mystery, the romance is heart-warming, the challenges provide just enough difficulty to make you slow down but not so much that you’re unmotivated to continue…and generally, the premise of Inked is a work of art in itself. It could easily stand alone as a short story or other non-interactive work of art and still be just as beautiful.

 

            The art style mimics fine-art sketching, thus naming it a “world on paper,” but does so in a way that it doesn’t feel cheap like some paper worlds can…it is clear there is genuine artistic inspiration behind the game. The color palette is soft and mirrors the delicate nature of the story and music with pops of red and yellow that aids the player’s eyes along the path. The design features Japanese architecture that contributes a beautiful cultural element to the story.

 

Initially as I began playing Inked, I found myself very aware of the similarities between this game and Monument Valley. While there are many shared elements and game mechanics, Inked does an above-and-beyond job when it comes to the story development, something which I found Monument Valley could only attempt to do yet fell short. However, because of the incredible graphics of Monument Valley, I believe the visual design of Inked can be pushed just a bit further to create more diversification in each chapter with varying palettes and environments making each chapter of the game very unique and an art piece in itself. I like the fine-art direction and this approach makes Inked very unique, I would love to see this style worked upon even more so.

 

Inked is an undeniably beautiful game with a story that is even more so. Through the dramatic elements of this IOS game, the player feels apart of the story of the Nameless Hero and Aiko. This is absolutely a game I look forward to continue playing to see where it will take me, the rogue samurai, and his love. Download Inked on the IOS Mobile App Store here.