Concept
Transmission is a narrative-driven sci-fi short story game where you play a Communications Officer stationed in orbit around an alien planet. It explores themes as isolation, connection, and responsibility.
Player experience
In Transmission, you play a Communications Officer stationed in orbit above a remote colony. Your main task is to relay messages between key characters within the colony.
You enter your name and take on a defined role. The game doesn’t give you choices in dialogue or explicit action. Instead, it gives you a fictional computer interface which you must navigate in order to experience the story.
Though the narrative is largely deterministic, the system gives you a sense of autonomy and exploration. Who do you call next? What truths can you piece together from fragments of information?
Characters
What makes a good character? Well, what makes good art?
Good art makes us feel something. That’s its true purpose. In games, as in all art, we use a range of elements and triggers to build emotion: aesthetics, story, audio, mechanics, rewards, etc.. Characters is also one of those elements.
Characters tap into something primal. Through evolution, we’ve learned to read people instinctively. We’re wired to respond emotionally to a person’s expression, tone, body language, with trust, fear, empathy, suspicion, affection.
Badly designed characters, however, do not reach us in that way. Or worse, they trigger a feeling that interferes with the rest of the game.
The characters of Transmission
Commander William Lee
Alright, it's time to dive in. We've got a colony to run, after all. Let's get to work!
Backstory
The long-serving leader of the colony. William Lee helped build it from the ground up. He’s experienced, pragmatic, and unwavering in his loyalty to the mission: to lead, to maintain order, and to keep the colony safe. He doesn’t concern himself with why the colony exists, only that it continues to do so.
Purpose
Lee is the player’s first point of contact and in many ways he represents the colony itself. Initially, he’s a voice of order and authority, calm and capable. As conditions worsen, he becomes harder to reach and less composed. The system he represents is collapsing.
Dr. Kayla Endale
It seems I have no choice. I'll have to try to find him myself.
Backstory:
The colony’s lead medical officer. Kayla Endale is deeply committed to protecting her patients. She’s outspoken, unafraid to challenge authority, and willing to take bold action when lives are on the line.
She's an excellent doctor who is passionate about her work and will stop at nothing to save her patients.
Purpose:
Kayla drives the urgency of the game. As the situation worsens, she becomes the conscience of the narrative. She acts. Her directness and emotional honesty adds weight to the story. In many ways, she represents the colony’s mother.
Dr. Alejandro Mendoza
If you'll excuse me, I've got important work to do.
Backstory:
A brilliant xenobiologist with decades of experience. Dr. Mendoza was brought to the colony to study a newly discovered alien organism. He’s cynical and long past the age of idealism. His loyalty is to knowledge, not people.
His intellect remains razor-sharp, but it’s bent by fear, fatigue and regrets. He often dismisses others, certain that he’s the smartest person in the room, and most of the time he’s right.
Purpose:
Mendoza’s motives are hidden and his actions questionable. But he’s also deeply human and relatable. We all carry pieces of him. Through him, the player experiences complexity and ambiguity.
Mr. Jonathan Cross
You have my word.
Backstory:
A high-level executive at Mnemosyne Enterprises, the corporation funding the colony. Mr. Cross is polished, articulate, and always in control. He operates from a safe distance on Earth.
He may have cut corners on safety protocols to increase profits, which could have contributed to the outbreak. He has a secret deal with Dr. Mendoza which complicates the investigation.
Purpose:
Cross is the story’s Shadow. He represents power, corporate indifference and the insatiable hunger for profit. He rarely lies but always speaks in half-truths, often accompanied by company values.
He is unavailable through most of the crisis, appearing only when there’s something to gain. Through him, the player experiences lack of control and the confrontation of evil.
Narrative structure
Good art makes us feel something. Great art creates an experience. For something to truly resonate, it needs to feel whole. It needs to satisfy. Structure is how we achieve that.
Structure is also how we can generate emotional momentum. It allows us to increase the emotional impact.
The Four Acts of Transmission
Transmission unfolds across four acts. Each one reshapes the player’s emotional role—shifting the rhythm, deepening the tension, and quietly guiding the experience toward collapse.
Act I – Arrival
The player is introduced to the colony, its systems, and its key personnel. Communication is stable, roles are clear, and the tone is professional and optimistic. The player settles into their job.
Act II – Investigation
The outbreak spreads. Information fragments. The player becomes more than a technician—they become a listener, a witness, and a quiet observer of escalating uncertainty. Trust begins to erode between characters, and the pressure builds—not through action, but through atmosphere.
Act III – Escalation
Systems break down. Messages become shorter, sharper, more emotional. Some voices disappear. Others become desperate. The player’s sense of stability dissolves alongside the colony. There is no control—only connection, carried out through failing systems and voices that are harder and harder to reach.
Act IV – Aftermath
Silence sets in. The player is left with the weight of what’s happened, not through direct consequence, but through absence. The system begins to shut down. The interface fades. And the only thing left is what the player heard, what they relayed, and what they chose to hold onto.
Prototype
A playable prototype of Transmission is available here.