My work this week was to bring out narratives and systems out of the ideas we already had, and to bring that to the team so we could discuss and find what works for us. So, to do this, I first tackled creating a narrative, since that would likely inspire mechanics and systems that feel natural. Some of the narratives we liked are:
1. Narrative for Containment: Lucky you, the intern, has been forced into the task of the guide for this university’s most underground bio-experiment, the beast. Fulfill your supervisor’s wishes, for if you refuse they kill you quietly, and if you accept, there is a slim chance of survival against what might be the world’s deadliest creature.
Something I like is how relatable this narrative can be. Most people can relate to having the crap end of the stick on their first job. It also contextualizes survival horror, because of course this university’s underground staff don’t give a damn about their intern’s safety, so they’re tossing in the player with the minimum amount of tools to get through.
2. Narrative for Paranormal Investigator
Being undercover as a cult member has finally paid off, you are an investigator of the paranormal and you have been the on this cult’s trail until today: the day of summoning. If you can collect enough evidence of the cult’s actions, you can bring their dark secrets to daylight.
This context was one of the last ones I thought of, and I’m glad I did since being undercover inspired some of the mechanics behind how the cultists act. The cultists will only be aware of and start chasing the player once the player has collected a high amount of evidence.
3. Narrative for Evil Energy
You are routinely checking through the security cameras of the space station you inhabit when you realize something is wrong. Near all crew members are gone or unconscious, and there is a strange being moving between power sources and effecting the environment. Fearing the death from a short circuited space suit, you make haste towards the only possible exit: an escape pod.
Something to make Evil Energy a little more interesting was a Sci-fi setting. I think it opens up opportunity for going above and beyond with level design, and creates a more believable worry with the player encountering the electric being, since the player will have to worry about their suit draining and losing air in certain air-tight areas of the space station.
So besides creating these narratives, I’ve also begun working on the systems, such as the various states of the beast in Containment and the possible puzzles that would appear in the Paranormal Investigator game. My goal with the systems was to lay out important mechanics to cover, and how they interact with other systems in the game. Unfortunately I lost time, and didn’t want to do a poor job on the systems for Evil Energy, so I’m going to return to that concept in the next sprint. Here are some examples of the systems and their behavior within the game:
Example: Monster from Containment
-Monster
-States
-Roam
-Bait
-Stunned
-Enraged
-Close range (~2 feet): The monster will attack and kill player
-Medium range (~3-8 feet): The monster will bark once and watch the player. If player stays in this range, monster will enrage and chase player
-Far range (~9 or more feet): If enraged, monster will calm down and start roaming again.
The monster is an AI entity that roams with the player, and reacts to the player position, noise, and tools. It is the player’s goal to bring this monster to the next security checkpoint to beat that level. The monster will change between very clear states that the player will have to utilize to bring it to the next checkpoint. These states will have distinct audio cues for each state (growling when enraged, chewing loudly while eating, sniffing while roaming, etc.)
Example: Manor from Paranormal Investigator
-Manor
-Each time you collect evidence, something in the manor around you warps and changes in different ways
-Doors become misshapen
-Furniture tumbles over and moves location
-Stairs become slopes
-Etc.
-To get around these objects, it requires puzzle solving
-Doors need to be broken down
-Tumbled furniture can be pushed and pulled
-Rope/ladders are needed to climb stairs
-Etc.
Unfortunately, we were unable to meet with our client at two points this sprint, but it may turn out for the better. We will be able to focus on completing the Paranormal Investigator prototype that was started near the end of the sprint, and bring that both to the client and to QA in order to get diverse feedback, and really start iterating on some laid out, fleshed out, gameplay.
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