Unfortunate Teller
2026
Procreate, Figma, Claude, Gemini
A narrative pixel-art game where you play a traveling fortune teller, reading people as much as the cards. It lives on screen as a digital prototype and in your hands as a printed tarot deck with a handmade box.
Ongoing project · work in progress
My role
I led the concept, story and art direction, illustrated most of the assets, and I'm designing the physical deck and box. As part of a class on using AI wisely, I used Claude to build the prototype and Gemini to help refine detailed backgrounds.
Design principle
There's no single "nice" answer. The best delivery fits how this person needs to hear things.
My process
Sketch & inspiration
An inspiration board built around "cozy but uneasy": deep purples, candlelight and pixel art.
Layout in Figma
Rough layouts for the tent screen and the travel map.
Illustrated in Procreate
Characters, tarot cards and scenes drawn and animated in Procreate.
Refined with Gemini
For detailed backgrounds like the map, I sketched, refined with Gemini, illustrated over the result, then ran it back through for a consistent 8-bit look.
Prototyped with Claude
Claude turned my designs and story into a working prototype. I directed every creative decision.
Printed & boxed by hand
The game also lives off-screen. I'm printing the tarot cards as a real deck and building the box that holds them.
Art direction
Cozy but uneasy: deep purples and warm candlelight. Every character has a short looping animation so the tent feels alive.
The cast — illustrated and animated by me
Theo
Marina
Bram
Odette
Gertrude
Tarot cards — 3 of the 9 I designed, now headed to print
The Empty Chair
The Harvest Hand
The Locked Door
What I learned
AI built the systems fast, but only with clear direction. The concept, art and story are what make it a game. It's still a work in progress, and I keep adding to it.