From Storybook to Screen: The “Hidden Quest” Interactive Unity Project

When we first introduced Hidden Quest – a simple picture book–style story about a hidden gallery and a music-loving boy named Femi – it was the beginning of a journey. A journey to show children’s book authors and illustrators how their stories could go beyond the page and become playable, interactive experiences using Unity.

Today, I’m excited to share the next big step in that journey: The full Hidden Quest interactive app is now complete!

A Fully Playable Story Experience

Built entirely in Unity, the Hidden Quest app brings the story to life with:

  • 🎙️ Voiceovers to guide young readers through the narrative
  • 📖 Read-along text highlights for accessibility and literacy support
  • 🔄 Page-by-page navigation like a digital storybook
  • 🪄 Animated objects and visual effects
  • 🎵 Original sounds and background audio for immersive storytelling
  • 🎨 Illustrations brought to life with 2D animations

This is more than an animated video – it’s a simple yet fully interactive storybook game app, designed to inspire and engage.

🎥 Watch the Showcase: Static Pages vs. Interactive Scenes

To give you a clear view of what’s possible, I’ve just published a new YouTube video that walks through each page of Hidden Quest – first as a static storybook scene, then as its animated, interactive version inside Unity.

📺 Click here to watch the video

This side-by-side comparison is especially useful for authors and illustrators who want to see how your existing story or artwork can evolve into something playable – without changing its heart.

🛠️ This Is Just the Beginning: Tutorials Coming Soon

This showcase marks the launch of a new series of tutorials where I’ll teach you how to build story-based game apps step by step – starting with animation.

In the upcoming episodes, among others, I’ll show you how to:

  • Animate characters and objects in Unity
  • Add voice narration and sync it with text
  • Create page-turning buttons and custom transitions

No game dev experience needed – just a story to tell and a willingness to learn.

👋 For Authors, Illustrators, and Storytellers

If you’ve ever wondered how your book could live on beyond print…how your readers could not just read but experience your story…this is your invitation.

Let Hidden Quest be your inspiration – and your blueprint.

🎁 Download my free resource below:
👉 The 8-Step Blueprint to Turn Your Children’s Book Into an Engaging Story-Based Game App

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Hidden Quest Storybook for Unity 2D Animation

Bringing Stories to Life: Creating “Hidden Quest” for Our Unity Animation Tutorial

Before we animate, we need a story.
In this next step of our Story-Based Game App Series, we’re focusing on the heart of every great children’s book: the narrative. To guide our upcoming Unity animation tutorial, I’ve created a short, four-scene story called “Hidden Quest” – a simple tale designed to feel just like a page from a picture book.
This story isn’t just for reading – it’s our creative foundation. We’ll be using it to demonstrate how illustrations can become animated, interactive scenes in Unity.
By starting with a story, we’re keeping the process grounded in what authors and illustrators already know – narrative, character, and visual flow – before layering on the animation tools.

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