An inside look at the narrative design, character psychology, and thematic structures behind an upcoming gothic otome game.
Category:
Game Design
Author:
Fiona Sprang
Read:
6 mins
Location:
Gran Canaria
Date:
Apr 2, 2026
The spark behind Sinner's Love
It all began with a simple trip. I was living in Luxembourg for a short period of time, and since my mother was turning 50 that year, we decided to do something special and travel to Belgium for a day, specifically to the city of Arlon. One of the places we visited was their cathedral.
The moment we got close to it, the gloomy vibe of that cold day, combined with how tall the building was, made me feel like I was about to enter a sacred place. And indeed, it felt exactly like that. When we went inside, it was even colder. The high walls and the intricate design of the interior immediately made me stare in awe.
I decided to sit down in silence and just observe. I looked up at the angelic figures, how their wings were displayed, how they stepped on the devil's serpent. We were the only ones there besides a few locals when suddenly, after minutes of silent admiration, an idea struck me:
'What if I was alone, at midnight, in this small town seeking comfort from some higher being, when something in the dark whispered at me and trapped me in that place in exchange for something?'
That was the exact moment I felt that, after months of writer's block, I was finally inspired enough to create a new game.
Designing characters with depth and contrast
Designing the characters for Sinner's Love felt incredibly organic. I knew I wanted to use biblical figures as the Love Interests, so I decided to go with the most popular ones: angels and demons. To add to the supernatural atmosphere, I chose to include a vampire (because we all love vampires) and a priest to act as the bridge between a humble human girl and the biblical world.
I wanted my Main Character to be a conflicted girl living in a small religious town, susceptible enough to fall into the traps of the corrupted characters and believe every promise made by the pure ones. I needed her to be a character who felt human in her fears and doubts. Most importantly, I wanted her to be the vessel to explore religious guilt and how deeply it roots itself in the mind, especially in towns with a heavy religious influence, shaping one's world and life in a specific way.
The Love Interests in Sinner's Love are meant to be a vessel to explore those beliefs and fears. They can be tempting, pushing the protagonist to fall for them, or enlightening, guiding her path, regardless of their moral compass, it can be interpreted either way. If the 'bad one' gives the protagonist freedom, it could be seen as debauchery; meanwhile, if the 'good one' makes her stay submissive as a hopeless believer, it could be interpreted as if she is being brainwashed by religion.
The architecture of a branching narrative
Writing a branching narrative is no easy feat, but it is essential: an otome would not be an otome if you couldn't choose between different Love Interests. First, I needed to outline different endings for each route. Once that was set, I started thinking about what would constitute a good and a bad ending for each character.
I started drafting the best and worst-case scenarios in a document. After that, I had to explore another alternative: if you choose a certain Love Interest, how would the rest of them react to being rejected?
That led to interesting new paths that added more depth to every character. It doesn't just show how they react to being chosen, for good or bad, but also how they manage rejection. It definitely adds dynamism to the game, making the player look forward to how the other characters react to not being chosen. Will they be jealous, sad, angry, or accepting? Would their reaction change completely if the chosen Love Interest happens to be their enemy?
Bringing the script to life in the engine
This is the stage of game development where I start to ask myself: why do I do this to myself? Joke aside, while programming isn't my main focus, it is incredibly rewarding to see your creation come to life.
Although my technical knowledge is focused on the essentials needed to bring a narrative to life, I know exactly what it takes to start scripting and building a fully functional prologue.
I decided to build the project using Ren'Py, as it is the ideal engine for Visual Novels. I structured the backbone of the game by mapping out every scene, choice, and variable, translating raw text into an interactive reality. It is a work in progress, but you can see a preview of an early scene at the top of the page.
The emotional core and legacy of the story
My main goal with this game is to explore the profound consequences that religious guilt can have on a person's psychology. I want players to question the moral gray areas of every character, and analyze the status quo that has been imposed on women and their freedom for centuries—specifically, where the line blurs between being truly free and being self-destructive.
This project, like everything I write, aims to question morality through different lenses. Putting critical thinking, emotional depth, and psychological subtext at the center of interactive entertainment is what defines my identity as a creator.