As this sprint comes to a close, it seems clear that our pace is finally starting to pick up. After a lot of time fiddling with twitch, we decided that it would be a good idea to go back on pushing for that, and similar with the co-op concept. Thus those two ideas we’ve been holding for so long we have scrapped, because their scope was deemed a little far past what we wanted. In it’s stead we have three new ideas that much less risk involved and hold more promise.
Outside of concepting with the team during meetings and what not, I’ve been looking at a survival horror game I’m familiar with: System Shock 2. Out of it, I’ve done a mini deconstruction of the mechanics and how they create tension in players to further prepare for future ideas.
System Shock 2 Deconstruction
System Shock 2 is a survival horror and action RPG mix that has the player as a soldier in 2114 where there lies an parasiticinfection in the Von Braun, a large ship that has the capability of faster than light travel. As the player explores, they learn the truth of where this infection came from, what happened on the now abandoned ship, and how the A.I. supercomputer SHODAN fits in.
Basic Gameplay
The player finds them-self moving in a first person perspective in an atmospheric environment. When nothing is happening, the most the player will be hearing is quiet ambient music and footsteps clang as they move around the ship. The only common interruption of this experience is the infected ship members that will engage in combat when you are close enough to hear their groans. And these groans are creepy, these creatures have weird distorted cries that they make both when they engage you and when they die. You’re never safe in menus either, a lot of menus within the game do not pause the game, meaning you can never feel totally safe reaping the rewards in the environment unless all nearby enemies are defeated.
Where does the horror play in?
The horror plays into the quiet gameplay while walking the quiet corridors and while running into the creepy, morphed humanoids that the player encounters. The player character doesn’t talk for a majority of the game, that is left for the audio logs which give exposition as to what the crew members of the ship were doing before they either escaped or presumably died. This leaves actual interaction between the player and other NPCs pretty minimal, thus enhancing the loneliness of the previously mentioned atmosphere. Analysis and Take-Aways
The mood definitely fits to be a creepy one, with darkness and disturbing enemies, but there are flaws in it. One of my biggest problems with it is the action music that plays during enemy encounters. It’s fast paced, with a quick drum beat and strong synthesizers, and it personally takes me completely out of any horror I feel from the enemies. Creepy, yes, but not the kind of scare that I am looking for when building horror from the future. Since this one element of enemy interaction can take so much away from the horror in the game, it only seems more obvious to me that sound design is ever more important to nail going forward. Good music and sound direction, as seen when the player is quietly moving through the hallways of the ship, will be an absolute necessity in the earliest of stages when prototyping.
Comentarios