Narrative Design in “Bound By Bonds”

"Bound by bonds" was a very important awarness game project we created with our student team after the start of the full scale invasion in ukraine. since it personally concerned me and my colleagues, we created this game. you can find more detailes about the game itself here. on this page I want to focus on narrative design and research i did. 

Dana and Dennys are twins, born in 2004, 1 of March in Mariupol. Their family consists of them and their parents and grandmother. Their family is considered middle class, they had no financial struggles. Parents loved them and they have a lot of bright memories from childhood.

Dana is a teenage girl from Mariupol. After finishing school, she got to her first year of university, where she studied architecture. She can be characterized as pragmatic, calm and precise. Opposed to Denys, she is known for her analytical thinking, sharp tongue and ability resolve any of her twin-brother's misadventures. After being separated from her family by army, she manages to escape and is trying to find her twin. She is calm and reserved, but she is not a soft person. She has her character and has her independence. She is sometimes annoyed by behaviour of Dennys, since he is too straightforward. She is mentally more adult than Dennys, so there were times when she had to help Dennys out of complicated situaitions. She likes quietness and can be considered cold and unfriendly when you see her first time. But if she likes you, she can keep the conversation. But since she is introverted, she usually followed Dennys at social events. Before war she wanted to become an architect.

Denys is a teenage boy from Mariupol. He was looking for a job after school and figure out what he wants from his life. He is a social butterfly, that gets the biggest satisfaction from talking to different people. Sometimes he let some words slip, but always tries to make up for that. In general, he is a kind and positive soul. He cares about his twin-sister Dana and is ready to do almost anything for her. After being shot by the army and saved by his neighbours, he is trying to find his twin. Dennys is hot headed and he was like that since childhood. He is easy-going and friendly guy, so usually he was the one to introduce Dana to new companies. He is passionate about things he like and can be perceived as radical in his sayings. He likes communications, but can overreact when hears unpleasant stuff about his family or friends. He is extroverted and can get into different troubles easily. But he still loves his sister and never forgets about her even if he is driven by his friends. Before war he didn’t really know what does he want to do in life, so he was working part-time and was social activist.

Dana Concept Art

Denys Render

Cinematic 1

Oh, the Sea Monster Mural! Reminds me of that funny story from our childhood. Dennys and I were 10 years old. We were chilling at the river with our friends. Suddenly, Artem quickly jumped up and started pointing somewhere at the water. The snake was approaching us quite rapidly. Curiosity took over the fear, so Dennys grabbed a stick. He caught a snake with it and started lifting it into the air.

“Ahahah! Look at this creature!”

I begged him to stop, but Dennys is Dennys, so he didn’t listen to me. He was swinging the stick with the snake and showing us his trophy.

Everything was cool until the snake decided to jump back into the water and bit my brother’s leg out of fear. I never heard such a scream in my entire life.

“WHAT THE HELL! GET OFF ME!”

Everyone freaked out, especially Dennys. He started shaking his leg, trying to throw off the snake. But it clung to him very tightly.

Then we pulled him onto the dock where we were sitting. I tried to remove it.

“I feel... sick... and venom is spreading in my veins. Tell mom and dad that I love them… And I am sorry... it was me who broke your doll.”

When I managed to unclench the snake’s jaw, I immediately threw it back into the river.

This idiot was whining and sighing in between shedding tears.

“I see light… leave me here…”

We did not have time to talk so we ran to the first-aid department with screams about death and poison. The nurse tried to calm us down, but we were too stressed.

The doctor took a look at the bite and started laughing.

“You guys should learn more about snakes. Your friend got bit by a grass snake; he is going to live.”

Dennys was SO embarrassed that he looked like a tomato. He whispered maliciously: “Swear that you will never tell anyone about that.” I laughed at him and replied, “Only if you will fix the doll you broke.”

Cinematic 2

My dear hospital… So many memories were created here. The most important one to me is the one with Denys. I miss him so much. It was somewhere around the New Year, Denys and I were planning to spend New Year’s Eve with our parents at the skating rink. But, five hours before midnight, I slipped as we were leaving the house. I broke my leg; it hurt like hell.

“Goddamnit, Dana! Are you okay?”

“I can't move my leg. I really can’t.”

Dad grabbed me, and we went to the hospital. There, tired and upset with their duty, doctors inspected my leg and told us that I needed to stay in the hospital for two days. It wasn’t pretty. I was so upset that I could not skate with my family and that I was a burden to them. I was fine with it and told Denys and my parents that I would be fine alone. They could celebrate without me because we had planned it for so long. But Denys had different plans:

"Don’t even think of it! We are not going to leave you!"

Our parents agreed. We would celebrate together. I wanted to cry; he was always there for me, and I wanted to thank him again. My dad went to the store to buy food, my mom talked to doctors about the details, and Denys stayed with me. He smiled at me and said:

“Well, it is an even more unique New Year Celebration! Cheer up!”

My dad came back with food plates, champagne, and clementines. He brought food for the doctors as well and even got a small pine tree to put at my table next to the bed. The time we spent together was amazing. We watched the President’s speech on a phone, made our wishes, and at 12 o’clock, we celebrated the New Year, despite the rough start.

“Let’s hope this is the worst thing that will happen to you this year,” Denys proclaimed.

I remember seeing the Theatre Square where we had planned to skate originally. Happy people, a lot of fireworks, and snowflakes were falling behind the window while we were together. I would give anything to bring back those times. Anything. I can’t think of those times without tears. We were a loving family. I want to see everyone again. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes. I never managed to tell them how much I loved them.

Cinematic 3

One of the most memorable landmarks in Mariupol is probably the West and East Towers with Spires. They are the perfect example of fifties architecture. Dana always wanted to become an architect. She liked to spend time next to the Towers and sketch the buildings because they’re so complex. We used to hang out nearby, and I saw the buildings numerous times. Sometimes, I would wait for her with coffee after her art classes, and we still had to walk next to those buildings. We would sit next to them in the park and discuss how our day went. One day, I realized something about the Towers.

“Dana, do you know why one Tower is maintained and the other isn’t? I realized that I never paid attention to that.”

“Of course. Well, the West one was rented by a private company, and they took care of it, painted it white, and now it looks really neat. But, the East one was under the responsibility of Governmental Services that were created back in the USSR. I agree, it looks… sad. Such an amazing piece of fifties architecture, but in such a disappointing condition…”

We were discussing how sad it is that the building is not in good shape, but then, something in my head clicked. The parallel between the buildings and Ukraine surprised me. Dana noticed that I was quiet and asked me:

”Ay, Den, what’s up? Why did you stop talking?”

“Dana. Do you see any resemblance between the Towers and Ukraine?” Dana stopped sketching and turned to me with visible confusion on her face, but then she seemed to get what I am talking about.

We were thinking the same.

The Towers could be compared to Ukraine. Two parts of a whole, beautiful. Ukrainian lands, which were developing in every field, started to degrade in the post-Soviet swamp after the invasion of the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions in 2014. All historical places, people, and cultures were abandoned. And so, the same thing happened to the Towers. The West Tower was flourishing and was a feast for the eyes, while the East one started to look like an abandoned ruin.

“Oh… damn, that’s crazy. It is so obvious now. Soviet influences started to turn the cultural centres of our country into smelly shit with its “vision”. Our language and patriotism became a laughing stock. They tried to convince us that Ukrainian is a “funny village language,” those shitheads.”

The topic of invasion always made Dana sad. This was probably the only thing that could turn the quiet and steady Dana mad. And I felt the same. In 2014, we watched the news with fear of what could be next after the invasion and “reforms” in Crimea and Donetsk, Slovyansk, and the other cities. My dad could not stop smoking, my mom was panicking. I hope that we Ukrainians will be able to see a rise after the war. To see the unity of our nation, without being plagued by these outdated and colonialist manners. We will paint and repair the East tower, as well as East Ukraine.

Cinematic 4

The church... It's a miracle it is still intact. The church, for me, was a symbol of my growing up. It started being built in 2007, around the time when I made my first memories. Every year, you could see the progress of the construction. It was a massive church, the second-largest in Ukraine. Initially, the construction was financed by AzovMash, but in 2015, the factory began to experience financial problems, and funding began to come from the citizens. I still remember how my parents and I went to make small but regular donations. And we took a photo in front of the building under construction after every donation. I felt a sense of unity with the building. In each photo, the church was taking more and more shape.

And I, in the foreground, looked more and more grown-up. When it would have been finished, the church would finally be used for its intended purpose. People would pray there, priests would conduct liturgy, and children would be baptized. As for me, I would have finished university, gotten a job, and helped our parents and Dana. The church and I had a purpose. But now... it is occupied. It is destroyed and completely disgraced. Everything I loved, everything I lived for was completely demolished. I am not sure what my role is in this. This genocide is completely wiping out my culture, my country. I want to find my new purpose before I become “the church” — exploited and oppressed. Still... I wish one day I will be able to see the Theatre Square again — happy and flourishing. And most importantly, Ukrainian. I want to go there; it is just around the corner anyway.