The Flexible Story Enabled by Game's Spaces

During the lecture at the "gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2026," JoJo Zhou, the story director of Massive Monster, introduced how the indie game "Cult of the Lamb" has built a rich world. In the DLC "Woolhaven" he worked on, the story revolves around the winter god Yngya, who previously only had a name. This character was initially overlooked, but was greatly expanded upon by utilizing the available spaces.

Mechanisms to Encourage Player Imagination

Zhou values providing room for players to imagine. He expresses the desire to offer stories that captivated them as children. To achieve this, rather than simply giving information, they left room for players to absorb it themselves. Specifically, rules such as "Power comes from the crown" and "The crown needs followers" are established, allowing players to complement the world using their imagination.

The Technique of Conveying Without Telling

Zhou's approach of "deciding the world first" emphasizes not over-explaining the details. While he poses many questions to players, he deliberately does not provide explicit answers. This method allows players to bring their interpretations, giving the in-game story a unique expansion. This approach enables fans to deeply immerse themselves in the game, allowing for further exploration and creation.

Internal Impact on the Development Team

When crafting the story, Zhou considers the gaming experience in three layers: skimmers (players who enjoy superficially), swimmers (players interested in the story), and divers (players who explore in detail). He particularly focuses on swimmers and divers, utilizing the many mysteries and unresolved questions embedded in the game to encourage players to engage in discussions and analysis within the community.

Zhou and the development team aim to provide an experience where players create something themselves within the story. Therefore, while they thoroughly set the story's settings and backstory, not everything is directly conveyed to players. This allows players to weave their narratives while playing the game.