Story-driven adventure set in Aragon · 2026
Forgotten Adventure
A story-driven pixel-art adventure adapted from Aragon, the fantasy world Matthew has been writing. You wake under a starry sky with no idea who you are or how you got there — only the strange certainty that you are searching for something far greater than gold — and set off into the night on your first and final adventure. This is a prequel: more levels and stories are on the way, and sequels after that.
Design pillars
The story is the mechanic
There's no clever system at the centre of this game, on purpose. The hook is the story: you begin with nothing — no name, no past — and every step forward is a step towards finding out who you were.
Adapted, not transcribed
You play a character from Matthew's story Aragon — not its protagonist, but someone whose part in it suits a game better than anyone else's. The plot is an adjusted, scaled-down version of his arc rather than the book's, so the game stands on its own.
A world drawn to be lived in
Every character, creature and prop is pixel art drawn in Aseprite — the hero's sword swings, a knight, a witch, a three-headed tree creature in three colourways, and a castle gate lit by a single lantern.
Process
How it actually went
From the story to the game
This game is adapted from my fictional story, Aragon. You play as a character who appears in it — not the main character, but one whose appearance is significant, and who, in terms of design and story, suits the plot and mechanics of a video game better than anyone else.
A scaled-down version, on purpose
What happens in the game isn't how the story actually goes for him. The game offers an adjusted, smaller version of the story and the character — something built to be played rather than read.
If you want the real story
A public version of my world-building document is on this site. It doesn't have the newest material — that lives in my private version — but it has the foundations I've settled on.
Only the beginning
What's here is a prequel. I'll keep adding levels and stories to it, and there will be sequels.
Gallery
Click any image to see it full size.
Outcome
- Built solo in Unity, with every sprite drawn in Aseprite
- Set in Aragon, the world of the fantasy series he is writing
- Prequel, playable on PC in the browser — more levels, stories and sequels to come