The Subway: Narrative Design Document

Game Tone

The tone of this game evolves over time, but at the start the tone is uneasy. The player, as well as Quinn is thrust into a mysterious alternate dimension—the only other inhabitant being a mysterious reptilian cat-like creature named Yan. As Quinn, and the player, become more confident, the tone becomes more self-assured, and Quinn becomes more comfortable in his power. Finally, when confronting their father, the tone shifts again to a more anxious tone. If Quinn rescues their father, the final tone of the game is more celebratory and tender.

Game Theme(s)

Familial Bonds, Building/Restoring Relationships

Unbeknownst to Quinn at the start, the reason they are here is to rescue their father from a prison of his own making. While exploring the subway further, the player can interact with lost letters from Kane, that further detail Quinn and Kane’s relationship. It is revealed that in their past, the two’s relationship became strained due to the death of Quinn’s mother, and Kane’s wife. These documents serve to communicate to Quinn that Kane never stopped loving them, and that he holds deep regret for how he let his grief consume him. The end of the game serves as the climax for this theme, where Quinn and Kane are confronted with a manifestation of Kane’s grief, which has taken over him in a magical form. Their relationship is partially rekindled once Kane’s grief is defeated, but the ending is open-ended—suggesting that rebuilding a relationship takes time, but they are off to a good start.

Quinn and Yan’s relationship starts out as strangers, but Yan makes it clear from the beginning that she is only there to help. She goes out of her way to help Quinn, and in return their friendship grows throughout the game. The player can talk to her at any time when they are in the main hub of the subway, where she will have different pieces of advice to offer. Alternatively, the player may ask her questions to further deepen their relationship. The ending of the game forces Quinn to leave Yan behind, despite having built a strong friendship. While painful, it echoes the lesson that one must grieve their loved ones, but eventually move forward in their own life—lest it consume them, like it did for Kane.

Overcoming Fears

A core part of Quinn’s character is the fact that his past has caused him to fear magic, and most of its uses. The player finds out that Kane is trapped in the Subway because he was experimenting with dark magic, trying to bring back his dead wife (and Quinn’s mother). At first, Quinn is extremely hesitant to use magic, or gain any more magical abilities. This is represented by longer cool-downs of abilities, as well as having less magical abilities in general. As the player progresses, Quinn discovers new and more powerful abilities, and builds up more confidence in facing his fears. This culminates in the final boss fight against Kane, where Quinn must battle against a magical manifestation of Kane’s grief.

Story Summary

Quinn comes from a magical background through their father, but after a falling out they instead decided to pursue a degree in science, leaving magic behind (though the player has not discovered this yet). Quinn returns to their dorm after a long day of classes. It is late, so they decided to lay down for the night. When they wake, they are in a mysterious abandoned subway. A small cat-like creature, Yan, informs Quinn that their father needs their help--the only way to save him is to progress through the subway.

Through progressing the game (the player may fight a different mini boss based on their chosen path), the player learns more about Quinn's fears and their backstory concerning their history with their father. They also gather information about what led their father here--a dark magic experiment gone wrong. The player ventures into new subway trains and gains new powers--which is hard for Quinn at first, who’s greatest fear is magic. Through optional dialogue or collectible letters/documents, the player can learn more about Quinn's backstory with their father, and how distant he was for most of their life.

Once Quinn feels ready to face their father, they may venture into the blackline subway—where Kane has shut himself away. Here, Quinn faces the final onslaught of enemies--stronger than the last, culminating in having to face all their fears one more time. But this time, they are better equipped. Quinn's father, Kane, corrupted by the dark magic experiments he was testing with, awaits Quinn for their last battle. Part of Kane recognizes Quinn and noticeably softens but is overcome with the same dark magic that created this place, and the fight begins. Quinn's journey was long and arduous, but they confronted their fears to bring their father back home. And so, Quinn defeats Kane and expels the dark magic that was plaguing him.

The two make their great escape as the subway begins to crash in on itself, collapsing now that its main source of power has been vanquished. They disappear through a bright white portal and escape successfully with their lives—finally reunited.

Character Descriptions

Quinn Clancy

Quinn Clancy is the protagonist of the game. They are adorned with a basic gray hoodie, black jeans, and worn white shoes. They have black, mid-length hair, and muted green eyes. They present androgynously and have a lanky figure.

Kane Clancy is Quinn’s father, who is the main antagonist of the game. At the start of the game, their relationship is strained, as the two of them have not communicated in quite some time. Quinn is an only child, as their mother died when they were born—which caused Kane to spiral into grief.

Quinn is not typically a fighter, and prefers to be more of a mediator, or even flat out avoid conflict. They have a very reserved personality; save for a small circle of friends they have at university. They do not consider themselves special—they go out of their way to stay ordinary, in an effort to stay as far away from magic as possible.

Kane Clancy

Kane Clancy is the main antagonist. He is dressed in a tweed suit and a trench coat; both having been worn down while trapped in the subway. His black hair has also grown considerably long, just past shoulder length. He has sunken brown eyes and a pale complexion like Quinn but is much taller.

Kane is Quinn’s father, as mentioned, and turned to dark magic to bring back his deceased wife. He experimented more over the years, causing Quinn to harbor fear towards him and magic. This drove Quinn out of the house, leaving Kane completely alone. Here is where he spiraled—In a final effort to revive his wife, he accidentally created this subway “purgatory” and trapped himself inside. His last hope before being consumed by his grief was reaching out for Quinn’s help.

Kane’s magic when he is confronted by Quinn has completely consumed him—his grief taking on a physical form that takes over his body.

Yan

Yan is Quinn’s guide for while they are stuck in the subway. She also serves as a tutorial to let the player know how the game works (combat, magic, items, etc.). Yan is a small feline/reptilian creature, that is very magical in nature. She resembles a small black cat with sharp yellow eyes, adorned with lizard-like features (small horns, longer claws with some scales running up her arms, as well as more of a lizard-like tail rather than a cat tail).

Yan was born from the dark magic that built this subway. She knows this from the beginning, but she has been around long enough to see the damage this place is causing Quinn’s father. More than anything, she wishes to help Quinn find and rescue their father, so the subway may finally rest.

Yan is very charismatic and quick-witted but has a good heart. As previously stated, she only wants to help Quinn on their journey. She can teleport Quinn out of danger (if the player is knocked to zero health) or if Quinn decides to return to the hub area (the player restarts a run).

Location Descriptions

Subway Hub

The subway hub is the core area of the game. This is where the player may save, talk to Yan, and practice any new abilities they have gathered. The area is self is dimly lit with buzzing fluorescent lights, some large cracks running through the tile floor and up the walls—this place clearly looks decrepit, like it has been here for a long time. Thick layers of dust cover the unusable payphones and crumbling benches. There is a map of the different subway lines, all of which the player can explore to further develop their magical abilities. There are branching paths for each specific train, each doorway glowing the color of the line they represent.

Redline Train

The redline train transports the player to a train that seems to have been swallowed by a desert. It is full of sand and fire-based enemies. The windows are smashed, and small stones and rocks dot the floors. The lighting is hazy, like a sunset.

The mini boss is a giant fire snake, like the enemies the player encountered while fighting through this train. The arena is larger than the other rooms and highlights the desert aspects of the redline train (For instance, the Snake boss can burrow under the sand and try to land a sneak attack on Quinn).

Blueline Train

The blueline train is consumed by an arctic blizzard, snow pouring through shattered windows. The lighting is bright white and blue, the light bouncing off snow and ice. The enemies are ice-based, which is reflected in their surroundings.

The mini boss of this train is also ice based but takes the form of a large polar bear with huge teeth and piercing blue eyes. Some of its attacks utilize the snow to blind Quinn, leaving them vulnerable to attack. The arena is similar to the redline train, in the sense that it is another large arena that pulls from the setting of the previous train rooms. There are large icicles that hang from the ceiling, and the room is covered in a layer of snow.

Greenline Train

Like the previous trains, the greenline train follows a certain biome that has overtaken its cars. For the greenline train, it looks as if the train was overtaken by the jungle. Vines hang from the ceiling, and the cars are full of the constant buzz of different bugs and exotic bird chirps. The lighting reflects the vibrant green of the foliage that overtook this train. The enemies reflect typical jungle denizens, with more poison-based and plant-based attacks.

The mini boss of this train is a giant tiger with bright green eyes. It attacks with both poison and plant attacks, and as such can inflict Quinn with a poisoned status, where they will take small amounts of damage over a brief period. Like the snake mini boss, the tiger can hide amongst the foliage to sneak attack Quinn. The arena provides various jungle trees and bushes that allow the tiger to hide.

Blackline Train

Unlike the other trains, the blackline train houses the final boss, Kane. Due to the shadowy nature of his black magic, the train cars leading up to the final boss room are shadow-based enemies. They blend into the dark, cracked interior of the cars. This train looks like the main hub of the subway but deteriorates as Quinn pushes through it. This subway train is very poorly lit, making surprise attacks from different enemies quite common, which forces the player to stay on their toes. The door to the final boss room is a completely pitch-black portal.

Kane is the final boss, and he appears normal upon initially entering the room—save for the half of his body that seems to be covered in a shadowy, tar-like substance. After Quinn confronts him, Kane is overtaken by this substance, which is a manifestation of Kane’s grief. The room is plunged into darkness, the walls of the arena seemingly nonexistent. Instead, there are just endless pits of black nothingness. The arena is suspended in this void, the tile floor cracked and crumbling around Quinn and Kane.

Lore Summaries

Quinn’s birth was unfortunately riddled with complications, which led to their mother dying giving birth to them. Quinn does not know much about their mother as a result and grew up being raised by his father with help from his grandparents (on his mother's side). Quinn’s father, Kane, was constantly exhausted due to being stretched so thin between taking care of Quinn and working to keep them afloat (hence the help from Quinn’s grandparents).

Quinn grew up a bit distant from their father, though they held no resentment towards him. More guilt for making his life harder (though Kane would tell them it was not their fault). Quinn formed a stronger attachment to their grandmother as a result. Kane began practicing magic lightly in Quinn’s earlier years of life but became increasingly obsessed with it. It began to consume his every thought, and it began to scare Quinn and their grandparents. Kane then started trying to find ways to bring his wife back to life, which caused Quinn to leave home. Fearing their father and what he might do, Quinn decided to study on their own. They dabbled in magic but were too afraid to go far with it. Instead, he studied mostly Earth sciences: astronomy, geology, biology, etc. They were fascinated with discovering how the world works and how it sustains its life.

At the time of the game, Quinn goes to bed as they would on any regular night. Instead of waking up in his dorm, he wakes up in a strange subway void of people. By now they had been attending school for a while and had not heard much from their father. A small creature that dwells within the subway station informs them that their father is in danger, and that they must face their fears to save him (the usage of magic being their greatest fear).

Faction Breakdowns

This game is not split into huge factions, besides Quinn and Yan, who want to save Kane, and then Kane and his magical monsters. Yan is Quinn’s only ally in this endeavor, as the part of Kane that wished for Quinn to rescue them was long consumed by Grief. Kane, consumed by Grief, created the monsters that inhabit the subway that serve to separate him from Quinn.

Overview of Narrative Systems

Dialogue

Dialogue serves as one of the main narrative systems in this game. Here, the player may interact with Yan, who will offer helpful information, as well as reveal parts of her personality through her dialogue. Quinn also confronts Kane initially through dialogue, attempting to reason with him before resorting to fighting. The only time the player will be able to pick different dialogue branches is through discussions with Yan. Otherwise, dialogue is generally fixed onto one route.

NPC (Non-Playable Character) behavior

The only NPC the player can interact with is Yan. Yan does not move from the subway hub, so her behavior is strictly through dialogue, and discussing different topics with Quinn.

Morality

Kane, as a villain, is more morally gray—Grief, however, is purely evil. When grief consumes Kane, he does so to push Quinn away and kill Kane for good. Quinn and Yan serve on the morally “good” side, building up Quinn’s power to save their father from a monster of his own creation. There is not much change in this since the story itself is straight-forward.

Use of cut scenes

For this game, there are not particularly cinematic cutscenes—they are more in-game cutscenes, which works together with the dialogue of this game. While dialogue can happen outside of cutscenes, dialogue will always happen within cutscenes. The only difference would be lack of player choice when it comes to what Quinn can say. Cutscenes will not be featured very frequently, save for the beginning and end of the game (when Quinn finally reaches Kane).

Environment

The player can find interactive documents of Kane’s journal entries and letters he wrote to Quinn to try and reach them after they initially left. The player does not have to read these, but they offer background information on how Kane got here and how the subway was created. It also offers insight into Kane’s mental state, and how it deteriorated over time.

Levels

The levels themselves do not really offer any narrative purpose, other than to push Quinn to confront their fears of magic and get stronger. There is a metaphor in Quinn exploring this winding subway to describe Kane’s spiraling mind and the relationship between them.