In this design, I tried to express the inner struggle and emotional changes of the character Ellie through interaction, hoping to allow players to more intuitively experience the social pressure and inner choices she faces. The core of this interactive link design is a hydrangea handed to Ellie (player) by a mung bean cake groom, which shows the tension between freedom and bondage through interaction with the player.

Design intention: convey emotions through interaction
The background story of Moonbow involves an arranged marriage of convenience, and Ellie, as the protagonist, constantly reflects on her desire for freedom and love in this process. In order to let players feel this emotional conflict more directly, I designed this hydrangea interaction: the groom handed the hydrangea to Ellie (player), and the player needs to decide whether to grab it, and then experience the whole process of passivity and oppression.

The purpose of designing this interaction is to let the player experience the pressure from family and society in the virtual environment. This pressure gradually deepens through the process of the groom handing the hydrangea. Grasping the hydrangea symbolizes compromise with tradition and social expectations. Once grabbed, the player will be passively pulled forward. This feeling of lack of autonomy is the key to the design, which directly reflects Ellie’s helplessness and powerlessness under family and social pressure.

Interaction process: traction and choice
When the player grabs the hydrangea, the groom will turn around with a smile, and the player will start to be led forward. The guests in the scene (they symbolize the scrutinizers of society and family) will turn their heads and look at the player. This design is intended to make the player feel nervous about being scrutinized and evaluated. The guests’ eyes have a clear sense of oppression, creating a ritualized and restrained atmosphere.

In this process, the player can choose whether to continue holding the hydrangea. The core of this interaction lies in the choice between “grasping and letting go”. When the player continues to hold the hydrangea, the surrounding guests will applaud, as if they are satisfied with Ellie’s “obedience”. However, once the player lets go of the hydrangea, a harsh sound will sound, which symbolizes the condemnation and criticism of society – the guests’ applause turns into accusations, and their faces instantly become distorted and dark.

Emotional tension behind the design
This mechanism conveys the emotional tension of the character through interaction – every action of the player echoes Ellie’s inner struggle. Continuing to hold the hydrangea means compromise and obedience, conforming to the expectations of family and society, while letting go of the hydrangea symbolizes the pursuit of freedom and resistance to social pressure.

But this is not a simple “right or wrong” choice. Even if the player wants to resist and let go of the hydrangea at the beginning, the harsh sound and accusations around them will make them feel strong pressure from all aspects of “society”. This pressure truly reflects Ellie’s inner struggle and confusion – she longs for freedom, but at the same time she is afraid of hurting others and being against society.

Coordination of scene design and visual expression
In this interactive process, the design of the scene also plays a very important role. The wedding scene uses a strong red tone, which symbolizes the ritual sense of traditional Chinese weddings, but also implies a heavy sense of oppression. When the player grabs the hydrangea, the color of the scene will become slightly warmer, and the expressions of the guests will be relatively soft. This change is intended to convey the temporary sense of security brought by “obedience”.

Once the player lets go of the hydrangea, the color of the scene will quickly darken, and the harsh sound will further strengthen the tense atmosphere brought about by this change. This combination of vision and sound allows players to experience the struggle not only in action, but also in audio-visual. Feel the psychological impact of this struggle.

From game interaction to emotional resonance
The core of this design is not to let players make the “correct” choice, but to let players experience Ellie’s feelings in this situation. Through this interaction, I hope that players can resonate with Ellie and understand her helplessness and pain when facing family and social expectations.

The traction of grabbing the hydrangea, the harsh accusations when letting go of the hydrangea, and the distorted expressions of the guests are all to allow players to gradually understand the oppressive nature behind the “dessert world” that Ellie faces in the process of experiencing the game. This dessert world seems sweet, but in fact it hides many constraints that cannot be escaped, just like Ellie’s inner world when facing a marriage of convenience and social pressure.