Belisario Fosca W.
Writer · Narrative Design · Voice Recording Direction · Game Design
Belisario Fosca W.
Writer · Narrative Design · Voice Recording Direction · Game Design
A Black & White
Mystery Driving Experience
Narrative Overview
Two best friends, Hermo, a poetic florist, and Jasper, a pragmatic financial advisor, embark on a road trip across Newfoundland to deliver a mysterious package. As they drive, they listen to a true-crime podcast hosted by Zach Dunn, a former rockstar turned investigative journalist.
But what begins as a pleasant drive turns into a haunting exploration of the origins of a cult, with secret messages hidden in newspapers and the mysterious disappearance of 33 people over 33 years, all of them on April 1st.
With each passing moment, the line between the past and the present grows fainter until time, trust, and reality begin to collapse.
Writing Highlights
Writing for two best friends with radically different worldviews was an exercise in contrast. One, Hermo, who is poetic and curious, and Jasper, who is skeptical and practical. Their dialogue needed to feel effortless yet emotional, revealing equal measures of tension and affection.
Developing the in-universe podcast Serial Rockstars was like writing a novel within the game. I had to balance the charisma and storytelling flair of the podcast host with the chilling, data-driven delivery of the forensic guest. Writing Ian and Zach’s interactions allowed me to blend satire, social insights, and horror while maintaining authenticity.
Creating the lore behind the NEWFOUNDSONS cult and HOW TO KILL A FLOWER allowed me to explore how grief, media, and ideology intertwine. Every hidden letter, every encrypted newspaper message was a puzzle meant to reward attentive players. Connecting it all to NEWFOUNDSONS created a rich, persistent universe.
The ending, when Hermo's true role is revealed, relies entirely on careful emotional buildup. It's a slow-burn betrayal. My goal was to make players feel both unsettled and reflective.
"What does peace really mean, and how far would someone go to reclaim it?", "Is peace the same for everyone?", "Time is death. Time is the ticking bomb, Time is peace."
I drew narrative inspiration from True Detective and The Hateful Eight. Tonally, I channeled Quentin Tarantino’s sharp dialogue and Sam Lake’s sense of tension in ordinary settings. This game is about flowers, peace, death and making each of these themes feel heartbreakingly human.
Personal Reflections
1. Here’s what I was trying to do
Create a story-driven experience in which gameplay, dialogue, and audio design converge to emotionally engage the player. My goal was to create a narrative in which driving through Newfoundland with a best friend gradually transforms into a descent into paranoia, grief, and hidden horrors, both personal and collective.
2. Here’s why
I was interested in exploring how trauma lingers beneath beauty, and how memories, media, and time can reshape friendships and our sense of reality.
By blending the intimacy of a road trip with podcast-driven horror, I aimed to create a game in which the player doesn’t just watch the story unfold, but they feel it around them.
3. Here’s what I was interested in achieving
- It’s a seamless fusion of ambient storytelling and deeply immersive dialogue systems.
- A believable friendship evolves in real time as truth and trust unravel.
- The podcast narrative acts as a second layer of horror, mirroring and corrupting the main journey.
- Explore themes of cults, peace, media manipulation, and emotional suppression through mystery.
4. These are choices I made
- I developed an original dialogue system that dynamically integrates player actions and the environment.
- I directed and produced the original soundtrack in collaboration with composerd and artist Atamone.
- I used environmental storytelling, such as roadside signs, ambient sounds, and billboards, to subtly deepen the narrative.
- I wrote and directed voice recordings to emphasize realism and emotional nuance.
- I built the game’s core mystery lore through podcast writing that is interconnected with the NEWFOUNDSONS universe.
- I created in-depth character profiles that anchor each actor’s voice and actions in psychological realism.
Story Structure
SAVE THE CAT
For HOW TO KILL A FLOWER, I used the Save the Cat story structure to shape a tightly paced, emotionally escalating experience. Below is how each major beat aligned with the narrative progression:
1. INTRO CINEMATIC
Opening Image
March 31, 2024: Hermo calls Jasper. Their friendship is natural, funny, and grounded. Their conversation is light but laced with mystery. The idea of a “weird time to leave” and a vintage car suggest something deeper.
Theme Stated
insists that they arrive at night. He mentions a mystery podcast they can listen to.
2. INTRO SCENE
Catalyst
April 1, 2024: They embark on their road trip. They drive a 1975 Porsche 911along the Trans Canada Highway and hear a strange local radio warning. The atmosphere shifts.
Debate
Jasper hears the warning to avoid a stretch of highway at sunset. He’s skeptical. Hermo offers to delay the trip, but Jasper, being the rational person he is, pushes forward.
3. TALK ONE - act 1 | BLUE PEACE LIQUID
4. TALK TWO - act 2 | IS HE LAZARUS?
4. TALK THREE - act 3 | TIME
Bad Guys Close In
The lore grows darker. Newspaper manipulation. Mafia money. Missing search parties. The tension mounts in real time as Hermo and Jasper realize they’ve unknowingly passed through one of the cult’s opium fields.
All Is Lost
Jasper panics. Ian reveals a terrifying encrypted message: human bodies will be used as fertilizer for opium. It’s revealed that 32 people have gone missing, one each April 1st. And today is April 1st.
Dark Night of the Soul
“Why doesn’t anyone do anything?” Jasper asks. Fog covers the highway. Signal is lost. The fear is visceral.
Break into Three
They realize they are driving into Arnold’s Grove, the epicenter of the mystery. Story and reality collide. Jasper begs Hermo to drive faster.
Finale
In response to Jasper’s earlier joke, Hermo says, “You kill a flower with time.”
Then, Hermo kills Jasper. The road trip, the podcast, the lore, they all lead to this one action. The player realizes: Hermo was following instructions all along.
Final Image
Fade to black. Hermo’s voice calmly says, “It’s your TIME for PEACE.”
The same best friend we loved at the start is now the executioner. Time, peace, and betrayal become one.
Characters
Hermo Gioia
A reflective florist drawn to mysteries and meaning.
Jasper Baker
A logic-driven advisor battling internal doubts.
Zach Dunn
A charismatic host with a dark past.
Ian Parks
A digital forensics analyst uncovering dangerous truths.
Setting & Environment
Spring 2024, Newfoundland, Canada. The story unfolds through eerie forests, foggy roads, and forgotten newspaper headlines.
Original Score
Music. When emotions become a state of mind.
The emotional spine of HOW TO KILL A FLOWER lies in its original soundtrack—composed by Atamone and produced under my direction.
The music moves between melancholic punk, and atmospheric dread, amplifying the game’s shifting emotional layers.
Voice Recording Direction
It's in the TONE. It's in the SMILE.
Directed performances for four major characters, ensuring tonal consistency across narrative beats and maintaining an immersive blend of realism and theatricality.
Connected Universe
The game is narratively linked to NEWFOUNDSONS, building a shared mythos across titles. Letters, references, and encoded messages cross between both games, forming a hidden narrative layer for returning players.
“Time is death. Time is the ticking bomb.”
