Kase & Thyme: The Manor Rouge
During my time at Simple Machine, I wrote and illustrated Kase & Thyme: The Manor Rouge, a branching narrative, interactive visual/graphic novel for iOS.
Join the fiery detective duo and lovers, Kase & Thyme, as they uncover the spooky and bloody events at The Manor Rouge and attempt to find a missing boy with extraordinary powers from the village of Nidum Tumm.
Darkly comedic and inspired by classic, cheesy B-horror films and Survival Horror games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Outlast, and FAITH: The Unholy Trinity.
My Role:
Develop the overall narrative direction and voice of the project.
Conceive and write the core story, characters, and dialogue.
Write a non-linear narrative where player choices alter the story path.
Learn to use in-house visual novel mapping tools (Twine/Ren’Py contemporaries).
Develop the overall visual and art direction.
Illustrate and texture all of the visual novel’s art.
Prepare a public build for release by Halloween.
Watch: Playthrough Highlights
Process:
The original prompt was to create a series of horror adventures for detective characters “Justin Case” and “Justin Time” (a play on “just in case” and “just in time”), each named after their main trait. One is always over-prepared, while the other arrives just in the nick of time.
The first phase involved developing the characters and their chemistry. I explored buddy-cop tropes and ways to modernize them without feeling forced.
Next, I ideated their big case, mapped the endings, and wrote set-pieces that highlighted each character’s gimmick.
Breaking Down Tropes:
Paying homage to classic spooky elements means understanding the core fears behind popular tropes. Spooky mansions or villages evoke seclusion, isolation, and loss of direction. Body horror is an unwanted metamorphosis or forced transformation.
Coolio! We’ve established our precedents: a forced transformation at a secluded area. Now, I can subvert or expand these ideas.
Adding a faction or “chaotic” entity that conflicts with both the protagonists and main antagonists can embroil players in a situation that feels bigger, creating branches in a non-linear story— a rabbit hole of horrors.
Outlining factions and their conflicting needs is one of my go-to strategies for writing intention, foreshadowing, and satisfying payoffs. A great method of doing this, is viewing your characters on a “game board” — draw up your board, the tiles, and important items!
My Game Board:
Protagonists, Kase & Thyme
Wants to find the missing boy Lancel and return him to his mom in the village of Nidum Tumm.
Main antagonists, The Manor’s Cult led by Victor Donovan
Wants some kind of otherworldly transformation.
Metamorphosis gives us imagery of cocoons, chrysalis, insects. You know I had to make ‘em an Insectoid Deity-worshipping cult that transforms themselves into half-Goldblum, half-Fly monsters!
The Manor’s Cult have kidnapped Lancel to use as a host body or cocoon for their God.
'Pheromones Ultro' Research Team
A lab funded by rogue members of The Manor’s Cult, led by a maddened Dr. Bhagwat—this workaholic, obsessed with perfecting 'Ultro,' is also notorious for his lustful, womanizing escapades through Nidum Tumm. His treatment of Lancel as an illegitimate son or a mess to “cover up” might have placed the boy right in the hands of the bug-brain cultists.
‘Pheromones Ultro’ is a mind-altering substance Dr. Bhagwat believes can unlock full human potential and serve as a direct 1:1 line to a higher power. Its scent attracts a rare species of frog, ‘Bufu Amphigus,’ to The Manor.
A mysterious figure, Cashes
Appears interested in stealing some of The Manor Cult’s research for a private buyer, but he might be involved in something far deeper than he’s letting on.
It’s cults vs chemistry (insects vs. frogs, rituals vs. mad science), and within this conflict, we have Kase & Thyme vs. The Manor’s Cult to get back Lancel, and Cashes exacerbating the conflict between all parties.
The “game board” approach illuminates structure, parallel experiences and character desires that can strengthen story themes. For example, both The Manor’s Cult and Dr. Bhagwat seek evolution and want to see God in their own ways.
I see an opportunity for irony: Dr. Bhagwat abandons his son to prioritize his “opus,” developing Pheromones Ultro. The Ultro scent attracts crazed frogs that feast on the insectoid-ified cult members, saving Lancel at many points in the game. Dr. Bhagwat feared his son would taint his professional image, destroying his work. But ultimately, Dr. Bhagwat’s “ambition baby” (his work) became his son’s true protector and the catalyst for his own downfall.
Grounding The Characters:
The soul of this project is the relationship between Kase & Thyme—their bond as friends and lovers. It’s important to ground the horror in real, emotional character work and give players time to explore their personalities, including love languages and inside jokes.
I added moments where players can choose for Kase & Thyme to chat before moving forward. We see the duo growing apart: one wants to leave the detective life, while the other starts taking it more seriously, dropping their cocky, smart-ass demeanor.
Additionally, I included a bonus funny path where both detectives “nope” and go on a cute vacation instead.
Checkpoints
The branching narrative is extensive, and The Manor Rouge is crawling with voracious foes, from buggy cult members to a buggy bodyguard battle-bot named 'BLOCKY.'
Checkpoints had to be strategically placed to prevent players from slogging through text they’d already read after falling victim to the game’s ghouls. This was a good exercise in pacing.
Playable builds with each new draft were submitted for notes and feedback. I implemented changes efficiently, with a new build expected by the end of each day.
Creating & Refining The Game’s Art
