My narrative design for Sour Security
Sour Security is a darkly comedic puzzle sandbox game where players step into the shoes of a neurotic security guard. Tasked with "keeping order" in an office, the guard sees every coworker as a threat. Players use everyday office items in creative ways to manipulate the environment, sabotage coworkers, and maintain the guard’s version of justice. The game combines dark humor, environmental storytelling, and chaotic puzzle-solving to create a unique experience.
Initial Vision​
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To design a compact, claustrophobic office space that matched the guard's neurotic personality and heightened his sense of paranoia.
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As the scope expanded, to prioritize player agency and creativity, leading to a larger, sandbox-style environment.
​Hiding spots: Strategic spaces where incapacitated coworkers could be concealed, giving players tactical options for cleanup.
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Environmental hazards: Areas that encourage players to manipulate the environment to incapacitate or distract targets.
Enlarging the office allowed for more ways to problem-solving and creative chaos.
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Expanded vision​
Blockout vs gold
Each room was designed with purpose—whether it was a breakroom full of potential distractions, a storage room for concealment, or cubicle mazes that could be manipulated to create chaos.
outdoor onboarding area
A backyard area serves as a controlled tutorial environment. This small, enclosed outdoor space introduces core mechanics in an isolated setting, ensuring players are well-prepared before entering the expansive office.
environmental storytelling
Since we didn’t have artists on the team, I worked with two asset packs to build both the office and outdoor spaces. I worked not just with the layout but also with the set dressing.
The office environment is full of personality, reflecting the game’s dark humor and twisted narrative. It’s designed to feel like a place where everyone puts on a cheerful front, pretending to love their work, while quietly feeling trapped.
This contrast comes through in the details: the polished corporate exterior with hints of dysfunction, broken equipment, awkward layouts. ​I wanted to reflect the guard's genuine bitterness in the environment itself. ​
To give the office a believable sense of its placement in the world, I built a full cityscape around it visible from the building’s windows and the backyard.
retrospective
Initially, the office was planned as a smaller space, but as new mechanics were introduced, I had to rebuild several areas to match the evolving complexity of the game. The design was constantly iterated to fit these mechanics. Since we were working with pre-existing asset packs, I had to adapt the assets to fit the design and deal with their slightly off metrics. Towards the final stages, adding a cityscape around the office added extra work, but it helped to make the environment more immersive. I learned that gameplay can evolve during development, and the level needs to be flexible to for changes in mechanics.