Devlog #8: Crafting Endings That Make You Start Over

This week, we spoke with Oscar G.P., the Narrative Director of 100 Lives, about what it takes to create meaningful conclusions in a game that’s designed to be played again and again.

Oscar’s focus has been on building the narrative structure that supports each life from beginning to end, prototyping scenes that wrap up your story in ways that feel earned, surprising, and emotionally satisfying. His work also touches nearly every part of the production process, ensuring the writing, pacing, and presentation of each moment aligns with the game’s core vision.

What did you work on last week, and what’s next?

Last week, I mainly worked on content production. In particular, I focused on creating run-end content. Our game, which shares aspects with roguelites, requires content to end each run, so the player is compelled to start over. So, I prototyped a few possible end scenes with different variations. Based on testers' reactions, we’ll determine the breadth and scope of this type of content and how to improve it.

What’s a new feature, mechanic, or piece of content you're excited about?

The goal for this milestone is to have a complete, playable life. I’m excited to see how that feels.

What’s been the most interesting design or technical challenge recently?

We’ve been adding camera movement and character poses to our cut-scene engine. I’m looking forward to seeing how that enhances the experience.

Is there anything players might miss if they don’t look closely?

Yes! But that’s by design. If I spoiled it, I would also be spoiling the fun.

How is your work helping bring the “100 Lives” concept to life?

I’m the narrative director in this project. In the production phase, most of my efforts are in the production of narrative content in a content-heavy game. On top of that, I’m to supervise the quality of the narrative, from the writing to the integration of elements from other departments. I work side-by-side with different teams, mostly with game design and art, and especially with the quest designer.

Oscar’s work is what gives 100 Lives its emotional weight and its momentum. By creating memorable conclusions and working closely with design and art to integrate narrative across the entire game, he’s helping ensure that every run, no matter how short or strange, leaves a lasting impression.

We’ll be back with more devlogs soon. In the meantime, you can wishlist 100 Lives on Steam, and keep an eye out for those quiet narrative details, you might not spot them right away, but they’re worth finding.