Background

No-Face: Absolution is a multi-leveled game developed using Unity and C#. It spans three distinct levels with interactive cutscene-esque dividers that serve to introduce each level, all held together by a morality system. This was developed by myself and a team of three others.

The game heavily features characters, settings, and themes from Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away. This was our first time working within the bounds of an existing story, and it was tough creating a product that existed within the source’s characters and themes while also expanding said characters and themes. Ultimately, we produced a product that accurately expands the character of No-Face and delivers an experience that acts as a rich, fun supplement to those who want more of him.

DISCLAIMER: This is a student project and is in no way affiliated with Studio Ghibli.

Concepts

No-Face: Absolution came from our team’s love of Spirited Away and its character No-Face, who embodies the change a person can go through when surrounded by those who are compassionate to themselves and others. During the film, we see No-Face change from a rageful monster in the bathhouse into someone who is a lot more calm and caring when he arrives at the swamp. This change seemingly happens as No-Face and Sen (the main character in the film) make their way to the swamp in the Spirit Train, but the film never explicitly shows or describes this change — it is all inferred. This subtlety benefits the film in how it explores its themes while also leaving it up to the viewer's interpretation. That viewer interpretation was the catalyst to developing this game, as each member of our team had a unique viewpoint as to the true nature of No-Face’s change. This led to the idea of creating a game that took very distinct levels and tied them together with divider sections and a varied ending to show No-Face’s overall growth. We achieved this by framing his growth as an empathetic observation of a passenger on the train, as the film shows how he seems to be very susceptible to a personality change depending on who he is around. Each level has No-Face “delve” into the memories of another passenger and learn how to be more empathetic.

Elliott, Nick, and I developed our own unique level, while Jessica focused on the divider sections. These three levels differed in genre, objective, characters, setting, art style, and pretty much everything else. The only thing that tied our levels together was the theme of bettering yourself, implemented through a morality system. Each level has two methods of completion: peaceful and rageful, and it is up to the player to decide what method they want to pursue. The game does not explicitly tell the player this mechanic; rather, the game will display a different ending after the last level depending on how moral the player’s actions were. This system is dynamic; if the player is rageful in the first level and feels bad, they can make it up in the following levels for example.

My level sees No-Face delving into the mind of Yubaba, the vile owner of the bathhouse, as she decides which customers deserve the nicer baths. She only has a limited expense budget, and the nicer baths cost more to operate. The player can make two choices for each of the customers: be greedy and keep the money or put the money towards those who need it. No options give any direct benefits; it is all dependent on the player’s own sense of morals. This was all created using Unity’s UI in the creation of button events that dynamically alter specific UI asset values.

Learning Curve

In the past, my games’ story and theme(s) had always been a backdrop to help give context to certain assets, but this whole game’s experience and development hinged on the development of a strong story and theme. This was a struggle, as no one in our team had any previous writing experience for games, nor did we feel capable enough to delve into and expand upon such a complex film as Spirited Away. We took the challenge incrementally, first having multiple meetings where we discussed ideas and how certain problems would be tackled. This tremendously assisted in finalizing the game’s details at a later date, as we had a variety of ideas that we got to experiment with. This gave me a better appreciation of patience in writing and designing. After many discussions, we developed a storyboard, also a first for us all. I had always just thrown myself into a project and learned “on the job,” but I don’t think I will ever do that again. Storyboarding this game made developing and connecting each level so much easier as we all knew how our own work would fit into the game as a whole. This game taught me the value of forethought when it comes to development, both in terms of the gameplay and the other aspects of a game.

Takeaways

I am always grateful for the opportunity to tackle a project in Unity. This was the first game that I was able to develop without any help (in terms of how to do something), which allowed me to perfect what I already knew, heavily growing my knowledge, skills, and experience when it comes to game design and development.