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Merging into the scroll world of NvShu …

Cultural Experience, Re-Enacted

Structural packaging system for a two-player narrative tabletop game, translating period-specific container typologies into functional opening and reveal mechanisms, for an immersive re-entry into the story's cultural world.

Packaging Design

Whispers of Female Scripts

Segment Showcase

24 Narrative Decryption Cards

12 for each player, divided into three sets for sequential storytelling. Both players synchronously use cards with matching chapter numbers to complete the tabletop adventure story.
Richly illustrated, the answer to your Nüshu puzzle lies concealed within the symbol image of another player. The narrative poetry on the card revolves around the meaning of the Nüshu characters.

Decoding Disc

Each level of deciphered Nüshu characters corresponds to a matching puzzle piece, representing the shape of the character. This allows players to deepen their understanding of Nüshu script while assembling the puzzle pieces.
The runes on top of the puzzle correspond to specific numbers, aiding in finding the correct arrangement in the numeral verse level.

Two Character Cards

"Female Poet: Quest for Freedom"
—— From a secluded woman who adored poetry yet had no books to read, to the originator of Nüshu's inaugural chapter after traversing vibrant mystical realms and enduring trials in the underworld, allowing players to firsthand experience the cultural backdrop and legend of Nüshu's birth."
"Outsider"
—— The characterization of the 'Rootless Woman' echoes the authentic history of women in Nüshu, portraying their transition from being segregated by mainstream society, attempting Mulan-like identity changes to assimilate into a centralized society, yet they realised the tragic history of their innate status as perennial outsiders. However, it is precisely because of this that women established a unique and self-contained cultural utopia, a discourse system of their own."

Made by Midjourney

Process 1

2D Illustration

Hand-Painted Backdrop

Every level of the scroll shares one continuous eastern landscape, hand-painted in Photoshop layer by layer.

It serves as the tabletop map that guides players through the story.

Box Graphics

Flat artwork for the outer box was developed in Photoshop — logo placement, title typography, and cover illustration — later converted into vector files for print.

Process 2

3D Rendering

Cards & Tokens

Process 3

Materials & Fabrication

Rulebook / Tabletop Screen

The rulebook cover replicates traditional Chinese thread-bound book craftsmanship — brocade fabric mounted over rigid board, with a separately printed paper title label affixed in the manner of antique book bindings. Structured as an accordion fold, the booklet doubles as both rulebook and tabletop screen, standing upright between players to block sightlines during gameplay.

Full structural assemblies were rendered to verify scale, layering, and material behavior ahead of production, doubling as presentation-ready visuals to communicate the design intent before committing to print.

Decoding disc's laser-cut layers

Outer Box

Ongoing file exchange with the manufacturer — packaging requirement spreadsheets, layered PSD source files, and print-ready ai files — updated and re-shared across multiple rounds as the design moved from digital file to production-ready spec.

Originally designed with a nested inner box and foam insert, later simplified to a single insert liner to better accommodate the game's full set of components — paired with a coated-paper interior lid and a vertical belly band featuring a circular die-cut window.