Hello everyone!

In May, I released the second chapter of ALIVE, but I  felt disappointed by it.
So here, I want to talk honestly about the big creative decisions I made while working on this part. I’ve rethought a lot -and maybe my experience will be helpful to someone out there :)

1) THE DECLINE

The first chapter has a lively beginning and clear introduction. The third and final chapter will have an emotional ending and a powerful plot twist.
But what about the middle-the second chapter? That’s where I struggled the most.

The biggest issue I had was that the story in Chapter 2 felt like it sagged. The pacing slowed down, and the plot twist lacked impact (more on that later). It felt like the player was just starting to gain momentum — and then suddenly fell into a swamp of gloom, only to climb out again by the end.

But how do you keep players from quitting the game in that slow, muddy middle?

This problem mostly came from inexperience — it’s my first time working with such a large story. Previously, I made 20-minute games or short comics of around 30 pages, so I’d never had a “middle part” long enough to get boring.

So I asked myself:
What happens in the middle, and why does the pacing fall apart?

In the classic three-act structure, the middle is the “rising action” - but how do you make that engaging for the player?

Here’s what I changed:

• More player choice.
  I wanted players to feel like they were driving the story - that their decisions mattered and shaped the future. In Chapter 1, the plot kind of “dragged” the player into the world. But by Chapter 2, the player already knows how the world works -and it’s time to let them make meaningful choices.

  Now, players can choose which characters (presented in Chapter 1) they want to talk to, who they trust, and who they want to spend more time with.

• A branching storyline: witches or villagers?
  I realized that the major choice ( whether to trust the witches ) originally happened only in Chapter 3. That felt rushed and illogical.
  So I added a new quest in the forge and gave players a clear choice: help the witches, or help the villagers. This choice lays the foundation for future events-and makes players more curious to see where it leads.

  Unexpectedly, this also had a cool side effect: people started replaying Chapter 2 to try out different choices and quest outcomes.
  The chapter that once felt slow and dull is now replayable.
  If that’s not a success - I don’t know what is!

2) PACE

Another issue was that Chapter 2 went by way too fast. I got carried away with the story and forgot about the gameplay.
So I added more interactive, “gamey” moments to balance the pacing and make the player’s presence and actions more meaningful.

For example, I added some “empty” dialogues — they didn’t really move the plot forward, but they helped build the atmosphere and made the world feel more alive. Same with a couple of simple “fetch quest” moments -nothing big, but they gave the player more to do.

3) THE NARRATOR

This was the final realization that came during testing:
While I understood the world and the characters perfectly… the player often didn’t.

So instead of adding a new character, I expanded the role of one I already had.
That’s how the cat-narrator was born — a guide to help players understand the story, support the investigation, and bring the world to life through commentary.

4) DISAPPOINTMENT PLOT TWIST

What frustrated me the most was the plot twist — because while I saw it as a mind-blowing “WHAT?!” moment… for players, it felt more like: “uh... what?”

I tried to understand why. Eventually, I realized I hadn’t built up enough tension or curiosity around the mystery. The setup for the twist was introduced at the start of the chapter, and the payoff came at the end — but somewhere in the middle, players seemed to forget it was even there.

I had sprinkled in a few clues to keep interest alive, but clearly, they weren’t enough.

So, I pulled that mystery out of the background and brought it front and center. Now, the whole central conflict of the chapter ( villagers vs. witches ) revolves around that twist.

That way, I killed two birds with one stone:

• the chapter finally had a strong focus (“this is what it’s about”),

• and the twist at the end actually felt earned and meaningful.

You might say:
“Well, that was obviously the right choice -why didn’t you just do that from the beginning?”
…Well, I did.
But it didn’t work.
So I had to rewrite some dialogues and add a few new lines - and honestly, that completely changed how the chapter feels now.

⭐ Final Thoughts⭐

Looking back, Chapter 2 of ALIVE became a kind of turning point- not just in the story, but in my growth as a developer.
It started out as a messy, unfocused middle chapter, and turned into a lesson in pacing, storytelling, and emotional buildup.

Here’s what I’ve learned — and what I’ll carry into future projects:

• The middle matters.
  It’s not just a bridge between beginning and end- it is the story. It needs momentum, purpose, and meaning.

• Let the player drive.
  Giving players more choices, and consequences made them more engaged and willing to replay.
  Don’t just tell the story at them -let them shape it.

• Build tension. Don’t just drop a twist.
  A good plot twist isn’t just a surprise - it’s a payoff to a carefully built question. Set up the mystery, remind the player of it, and make the answer feel earned.

• Gameplay and story must balance each other.
  When one takes over completely, the other suffers. Keep checking in: “Am I still making a game, or just writing a cutscenes?”

• Sometimes, you already had the right idea — but the wrong execution.
  And that’s okay. Rewrite. Tweak. Small changes can make a huge difference in how the player feels the story.
  
  
  

This post turned out to be longer than I expected — but I really wanted to share my process and the lessons I’ve learned while developing Chapter 2 of ALIVE.
If you’re making your own game or story, maybe some of these thoughts will help you avoid the same mistakes, or at least feel less alone in the chaos of rewrites.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your feedback and thoughts
Try out the  ALIVE demo , and good luck with your own creative journey 💛