Discovering Kuyili Through Play
By Meghna Jayanth, Narrative Director
In All Will Rise, the player will not only choose but also discover Kuyili’s backstory, motivations and personality. So we can’t really answer the question “who is Kuyili”? Only you can, by playing her.
But that doesn’t mean she’s a blank slate. Kuyili is a lawyer who fights for the rights of the earth itself, a bold and ambitious leader of social movements.
Kuyili is playful. A rule-breaker. Capable of looking sideways at the world, and turning obstacles into opportunities. A little deviousness is necessary to taking on the rich, powerful and corrupt.
But most of all, Kuyili is curious about the world. We chose her as our protagonist because we want our players to feel energetic and powerful in a world that encourages us to feel exhausted and despairing.
Kuyili – like all our characters – can draw on different sources of power, or energies: Hearts, Minds and Guts.
The player will choose one of three archetypes to start building their Kuyili, a bit like choosing a character class in an RPG.
The Poet-Hedonist
Passionate, empathetic and committed equally to saving the world and having a good time while she does it. Downsides: extreme people-pleaser, possible anxiety disorder, always hungover. Hosts fantastic dinner parties and breaks hearts like it’s her job.
The Feral Shaman
Connected to nature, the animal world and the animal self. A challenger of the social order and received wisdoms; self-possessed, brazen and just a little bit out-of-control. Loses her passport regularly. Argues with cops for fun, and wins.
The Warrior-Monk
Thinks of herself as cool, thoughtful, friendly and disciplined; comes across as an intense aloof weirdo. Extraordinarily dedicated. Likely to turn into a hermit without the direct intervention of friends and family. Showers three times a day. Likes black metal.
But these archetypes are just a jumping-off point.
The player shapes their own Kuyili — she’s a tumultuous accumulation of hundreds of choices, from the miniscule to the earth-shattering. The brilliant narrative designer Jon Ingold – who I worked with and learned so much from on 80 Days – said that character is not made up of a few big moments, but is an accumulation of small choices over time. He says this about narrative tension too — it’s not the one big choice to kiss someone or not kiss someone, it’s all the moments leading up to it. The shared glance, or the look away. The nervous sip of a drink. Whether to let your knees brush under the table. That final lean-forward before your lips meet. so dizzying it’s impossible to remember which one of you did it first.
This wisdom resonated deeply with me, and has shaped how I’ve approached every character I’ve written. That’s especially true for All Will Rise. We are building a narrative courtroom deck-builder, and our unique systems also allow her character to be dynamic and personalised.
The player unlocks cards through exploring Muziris and making choices. Those cards can represent Claims about the world, or Rhetoric cards which can shape personality and style. Cards can unlock choices or save failures, giving the player characterful and expressive ways to navigate tricky situations and conversational card battles. But beware, whether you charm, intimidate or manipulate, it will have consequences on how characters around you react.
It’s been such an interesting challenge to use our mechanics to try and design a character that feels genuinely responsive and unique, and we have so much more to share in the coming months.
