Inky Hu

Projects

About

GAME DESIGN / CASE STUDY

The Unwritten Postscript

The Unwritten Postscript

A mystery written between a screen and a table.

A mystery written between a screen and a table.

A two-player mystery across a digital 1930s study and physical artifacts. Neither player can solve the six puzzles alone.

A two-player mystery across a digital 1930s study and physical artifacts. Neither player can solve the six puzzles alone.

FORMAT

Two-player asymmetric puzzle

MEDIA

Digital study · physical artifacts

JOURNEY

Two rooms · six puzzles · web ending

Eileen’s digital study, with a writing desk, lamp and moving boxes

IN GAME / Eileen’s study asks players to read the room through its objects.

IN GAME / Eileen’s study asks players to read the room through its objects.

Decorative line drawing of a quill

01 / THE QUESTION

Two incomplete worlds

Two incomplete worlds

Neither player can see enough to solve a puzzle alone. I divided each answer between a digital room and a set of physical artifacts. A sound needs a printed key; a photograph needs a second view; a poem needs a sheet of paper to be folded. Players turn observations into words, then check them against what only their partner can see or do.

Neither player can see enough to solve a puzzle alone. I divided each answer between a digital room and a set of physical artifacts. A sound needs a printed key; a photograph needs a second view; a poem needs a sheet of paper to be folded. Players turn observations into words, then check them against what only their partner can see or do.

Eileen, a mystery writer from the 1930s, invites two distant friends into her study to find her “final, proudest mystery.” She never appears in the room. Her voice, travel keepsakes, marginal notes and carefully placed objects guide the encounter.

Eileen, a mystery writer from the 1930s, invites two distant friends into her study to find her “final, proudest mystery.” She never appears in the room. Her voice, travel keepsakes, marginal notes and carefully placed objects guide the encounter.

The whole digital study seen from the entrance

02 / CORE MECHANIC

Information is the mechanic

Information is the mechanic

The digital player moves through the study, inspects objects and hears the gramophone. The tabletop player reads printed keys, aligns transparent sheets and folds paper. A solution appears only after both players contribute an observation and confirm what it means.

The digital player moves through the study, inspects objects and hears the gramophone. The tabletop player reads printed keys, aligns transparent sheets and folds paper. A solution appears only after both players contribute an observation and confirm what it means.

Patterned carpet inside Eileen’s digital study

CASE STUDY / THE CARPET

The clue travels both ways.

The clue travels both ways.

A photograph shows where Eileen once rested her feet but hides the motif beneath them. The tabletop player describes that position. Their partner examines the corresponding part of the digital carpet and names its pattern. Only then can the tabletop player match that description to a numbered chart. Neither side holds the complete answer.

A photograph shows where Eileen once rested her feet but hides the motif beneath them. The tabletop player describes that position. Their partner examines the corresponding part of the digital carpet and names its pattern. Only then can the tabletop player match that description to a numbered chart. Neither side holds the complete answer.

PHOTOGRAPH → SPOKEN LOCATION → CARPET MOTIF → PRINTED CHART

PHOTOGRAPH → SPOKEN LOCATION → CARPET MOTIF → PRINTED CHART

03 / GAME FLOW

Six puzzles. Two thresholds.

Six puzzles. Two thresholds.

Four puzzles in the main study lead to a four-digit bookcase lock. Two more puzzles in the hidden room yield 35. The final answer completes a web address, moving the pair from the game into Eileen’s letter and poetry.

Four puzzles in the main study lead to a four-digit bookcase lock. Two more puzzles in the hidden room yield 35. The final answer completes a web address, moving the pair from the game into Eileen’s letter and poetry.

Gramophone puzzle in the main study

I / MAIN STUDY

Listen & compare

Gramophone · Clock · Carpet · Vase

Sound, time, location and alignment establish a common language between the two players.

Globe puzzle in the hidden room

II / HIDDEN ROOM

Read & fold

Globe · Paper Folding

The search moves behind the bookcase, where a poem, a map and a sheet of paper complete the route.

Final address prompt in the game

III / BEYOND THE GAME

Complete the address

35 · Letter · Poetry

The last solution changes the medium itself: each player crosses into a new piece of Eileen’s writing.

✦

The answer is formed in the conversation between two incomplete views.

The answer is formed in the conversation between two incomplete views.

04 / PHYSICAL MEDIA

The material carries the rule.

The material carries the rule.

The tabletop player’s objects are actions, not props placed beside a screen. A record carries a circular Morse key; a ticket fixes a time; a photograph preserves a location. Transparent sheets reveal a sentence only when aligned, a weather map supports a visual count, and a printed sheet changes meaning when folded.

The tabletop player’s objects are actions, not props placed beside a screen. A record carries a circular Morse key; a ticket fixes a time; a photograph preserves a location. Transparent sheets reveal a sentence only when aligned, a weather map supports a visual count, and a printed sheet changes meaning when folded.

Their surfaces, shapes and handling belong to the puzzle logic. They also make Eileen’s study feel like the collection of a particular writer and traveller. The digital room and the printed artifacts must each hold information the other medium cannot replace.

Their surfaces, shapes and handling belong to the puzzle logic. They also make Eileen’s study feel like the collection of a particular writer and traveller. The digital room and the printed artifacts must each hold information the other medium cannot replace.

PHYSICAL ARTIFACT PHOTOGRAPHS / TO BE ADDED

A book and letter inside the digital hidden room
The Unwritten Postscript game title screen

VISUAL & PRODUCTION

Dark wood, brass, aged paper, ceramic and restrained pools of warm light shape the study. Almendra connects the game’s typography to the printed artifacts. AI-assisted 2D images support parts of visual production; the puzzle rules, clue placement and cross-media interactions are authored as game design. Print work requires alignment and legibility at actual size.

Dark wood, brass, aged paper, ceramic and restrained pools of warm light shape the study. Almendra connects the game’s typography to the printed artifacts. AI-assisted 2D images support parts of visual production; the puzzle rules, clue placement and cross-media interactions are authored as game design. Print work requires alignment and legibility at actual size.

05 / DESIGN EVOLUTION

Three changes made the media matter.

Three changes made the media matter.

As the project narrowed to two rooms and six puzzles, I reconsidered what each medium could contribute.

As the project narrowed to two rooms and six puzzles, I reconsidered what each medium could contribute.

01 / THE VASE

A painting-based clue became a vase puzzle, giving the tabletop player a tangible transparent-sheet alignment task.

02 / THE FOLD

A three-dimensional paper form became a foldable printed sheet; scattered marks resolve into a number through the player’s hands.

03 / THE EXIT

A final lockbox became a web address. The last solution now changes where the players are reading.

The bookcase lock leading to the hidden room

06 / POETRY AS INTERACTION

A clue, then a poem.

A clue, then a poem.

Eileen’s poems are written to be read twice. During play, a verse can point the pair toward Europe’s snow or give the order of three folds: river, hill, sun. Later, those same images belong to the collection of her writing on the hidden website.

Eileen’s poems are written to be read twice. During play, a verse can point the pair toward Europe’s snow or give the order of three folds: river, hill, sun. Later, those same images belong to the collection of her writing on the hidden website.

A line first encountered as a clue can be read again as a poem, carrying both the memory of an action and a trace of its author.

A line first encountered as a clue can be read again as a poem, carrying both the memory of an action and a trace of its author.

river · hill · sun

river · hill · sun

A poem used as an in-game clue near the globe

IN GAME / A verse points toward the next observation.

Poem displayed on the ending website

ON THE WEB / The same imagery returns as literature.

07 / THE ENDING

The manuscript has two answers.

The manuscript has two answers.

Eileen’s unpublished poems are the manuscript the players seek. Her “final mystery” is also the experience that brought them there: six puzzles assembled through two people’s observations, words and hands. Completing the address takes the digital player into a real browser while the tabletop player opens a letter of their own. The pair ends by reading across the distance Eileen created for them.

Eileen’s unpublished poems are the manuscript the players seek. Her “final mystery” is also the experience that brought them there: six puzzles assembled through two people’s observations, words and hands. Completing the address takes the digital player into a real browser while the tabletop player opens a letter of their own. The pair ends by reading across the distance Eileen created for them.

The letter revealed on The Unwritten Postscript ending website

Explore the web epilogue ↗

NEXT / VALIDATION PLAN

What I will test next

What I will test next

The next round of two-player testing will examine how first-time players communicate when clues do not match immediately: where they first notice a clue, how they describe it, when they ask for clarification, and whether both remain involved in the deduction. I will pay particular attention to Morse timing, carpet orientation, transparent-sheet alignment, map legibility and the repeatability of the paper folds.

The next round of two-player testing will examine how first-time players communicate when clues do not match immediately: where they first notice a clue, how they describe it, when they ask for clarification, and whether both remain involved in the deduction. I will pay particular attention to Morse timing, carpet orientation, transparent-sheet alignment, map legibility and the repeatability of the paper folds.

MY CONTRIBUTION

Game design · Puzzle architecture · Cross-media interaction

I developed the puzzle rules, clue placement, physical interactions and the relationship between printed and digital information. The images on this page document the digital side; photographs of the tabletop artifacts can be added when ready.

Inky(Yingqi) Hu · Game & Interaction Design