Liebeskind – An Interactive Story

The summer term ended with a real blast, as game designer and academic Eric Zimmerman attended our final presentations and gave feedback to our concepts and prototypes from the “Frankenstein-Adaptation Project”.

Nathalie Pozzi, Eric Zimmermann and Gundolf S. Freyermuth playtesting my
prototype level of LIEBESKIND.

My project LIEBESKIND picks up on the pre-adolescent attitude of Frankenstein’s Monster who makes his creator and the society responsible for his lack of happiness. While in the original core story the Monster threatens and destroys everyone who refuses to make him happy, my protagonist evolves from her isolation by discovering that she can gain happiness only by embracing her talents and becoming a creator herself.

The interactive story for touch devices is told from 14-year old Franziska Stein´s perspective and is set up as a coming of age story where the inner conflict, want and need of the protagonist are the defining elements.

Through a series of interactive scenes, the player travels through the mind of the 14 year old girl and experiences her struggle with the pursuit of happiness growing from a child to an autonomous young woman.

Here is the opening title sequence – way to long for the game itself but good enough to get you in the mood:”

The Story

Franziska might be your average teenager. She doesn’t feel comfortable with anything, she finds herself grosse, ugly, unwanted and repeatedly refers to herself as monster. She doesn’t talk much at school – in fact she doesn’t talk much all.

Instead she consequently draws dark and weird sketches into her textbooks. This lately alarmed her teacher so that he called Franziska’s parents in, to talk about the psychological state and the declining grades of their daughter.

This incident worsens the situation at home, as Franziska’s parents now pay extra attention her. Franziska feels under pressure, alienated and misunderstood while her older sister is not only the sunshine of the family but also very popular at school.

Franziska’s keeps on expressing her desperation in her drawings throughout class. Here she reflects on the absurdity of parenthood, of creating a child after your own image, the illusion of beauty and eventually discovers a new perspective for her future life.

Credits:

Game Design & Story: Katharina Tillmanns
Artwork: Fabricio Rosa Marques
Developer:  Markus Hettlich
Music: Madalena Graça