See it running
The short version
- Solo Unity narrative mystery: a Cold War radio operator classifying transmissions as REPORT or DISCARD.
- Every choice trades three hidden scores — Loyalty, Moral, Competence — across 4 endings.
- The field manual is propaganda; the only moral path is reading the previous operator's hidden notes.
- Architected around isolated singleton managers; clean controller chain via one ScriptableObject.
- Honest gaps: MVP unverified end-to-end, no store page, some fragile auto-finding.
- Built in Unity as a learning project; no executable yet — dev post on X.
What it does
- 5 shifts × 3 transmissions (15 total) with branching consequences
- 3 hidden scores: Loyalty, Moral, Competence (all start at 50)
- 4 outcomes: The Loyal Operator, The Saboteur, The Broken, The Failed Operator
- A propaganda field manual that hides the previous operator's warnings
- Newspaper clippings that mirror your choices and hint at the November 3rd mystery
The thought
SIGNALS asks: you intercept a transmission that doesn't match any authorized frequency. Do you REPORT it, or DISCARD it? It is a Cold War radio-operator mystery built around moral ambiguity, with no clear heroes and every choice trading loyalty, conscience, and competence.
Mechanics
The core loop is a single shift: tune the radio → listen to a transmission → read the typewriter transcription → stamp it REPORT or DISCARD → take the consequence → next shift. There are four message types (Routine, Dissident, Disinformation, Loyalty Test), each with one correct call. The twist: the field manual is propaganda built to push you toward reporting. The only moral path is reading the previous operator's hidden notes.
Systems
Three hidden scores, Loyalty, Morals, Competence (0–100), track every decision and decide one of four endings. A consequence queue gives in-shift feedback, and end-of-shift newspaper clippings mirror your choices while advancing the November 3rd mystery. The MVP also ships fade transitions, an options menu (volume / sensitivity sliders), and a manual with unlockable NOTES tabs.
Under the hood
I structured SIGNALS around a spine of singleton managers so each concern stays isolated: ShiftManager drives shift/scene/message flow, ShiftOutcomeTracker records decisions and the hidden scores, ShiftNarrativeBuilder generates headlines and bulletins, and AudioManager persists BGM via DontDestroyOnLoad. Gameplay reads as a clean chain, RadioDialController → TranscriptionController → StampController, all pulling from one RadioMessage ScriptableObject (frequency, type, transcription, correct action, score deltas, consequences). An InteractionManager toggles Free-Look / Interaction modes, and interactables (radio, paper, manual) open their UI. Progress saves to PlayerPrefs and auto-saves after every shift.
Controls
What I would do differently
The MVP is feature-complete but untested end-to-end and not yet built to an executable, so the next step is a full playthrough pass and a store page. The bigger win: building SIGNALS in Unity taught me event-driven scoring, ScriptableObject data modeling, and narrative system design that I now carry into my Godot work.