Puzzle Legends
Overview
Puzzle Legends was a match-3 gacha RPG made by the Chinese studio Microfun and targeting US audiences. The game had a heavier narrative focus than your average gacha, with a robust and diverse plot that emphasized bonds between people and the strength of collective action.
The game’s protagonist was Alina, the unlikely wielder of a legendary artifact called the Tryptex. Alina is tasked with traveling the world to gather allies against the wicked Silver Legion. The game’s narrative influences include the likes of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the modern She-Ra show, and like those influences, it has an upbeat opening with hidden, impactful depths.
Actual gameplay involved using the Tryptex yourself, matching gems on a grid so heroes of an element shared with the gems matched could attack foes. I had little to no hand in the gameplay design, but the team did stellar work.
What I Did
was technically hired to write side-quest scripts and flavor text, but my background in game design and illustration would also come in handy during my six months with Microfun’s “Word Horde”, as the writing team was affectionately dubbed.
Most of the Word Horde was remote, but we were given no less of a voice in the project for it. We were encouraged to make any pitches we thought would better the story, which were then discussed by the team as a whole, not just between the leads.
This communal ‘writer’s room’ format extended far beyond typos and flavor text. We were free to make pitches about the world, its characters, its cultures, and even the overarching plot of the story. Even our primary responsibilities, the Bond Story side-quest scripts, began as pitches of this nature. Once a pitch was greenlit, that person was vested with substantial creative control over their assigned character, and the whole story was stronger for it.
The actual writing process was heavily iterative, and everyone was given equal opportunity to edit one another’s work. Layers of feedback and suggestions polished the Bond Stories to a dazzling shine, and never once was ego a deciding factor.
My work at Microfun wasn’t limited to writing. Thanks to my strong art briefs and high work ethic, I was trusted with providing mockups and briefs for vital UI elements, in particular the Library section.
The process used was nearly identical to that of the typical art briefs. I hashed out what the mockup called for with the deputy lead Effie, spun up a UX description from that, stitched together a mockup, and sent it all off to the artists.
When feedback came, I worked it into the mockup and brief with glee. I love iterative processes — in fact, the industry emphasis on iteration and agile methodology was a big reason I chose a career in games!
My work at Microfun wasn’t limited to writing. Thanks to my strong art briefs and high work ethic, I was trusted with providing mockups and briefs for vital UI elements, in particular the Library section.
The process used was nearly identical to that of the typical art briefs. I hashed out what the mockup called for with the deputy lead Effie, spun up a UX description from that, stitched together a mockup, and sent it all off to the artists.
When feedback came, I worked it into the mockup and brief with glee. I love iterative processes — in fact, the industry emphasis on iteration and agile methodology was a big reason I chose a career in games!
Postmortem
The Word Horde was a dream to work with. In the end, our writing convinced the CEO to hold out on cancellation for months, but implementation delays piled up and the game was laid to a premature rest. Such is the industry. Still, the Word Horde stays in touch, and we all hope dearly for a chance to work together again.