Okay, I realize that I only have a little more than a month to finish the game… o.O
So it’s time to be realistic and de-scope.
The MVP according to my lecturer is:
- 3 rooms (yes, I originally, ambitiously planned on 12), so there is a beginning, middle and end.
- there should be an evolution of the puzzles
- integrate sound and music ASAP
So for the rooms, it’s going to be Bedroom, which I’ve already done, Bathroom, Kitchen and Foyer (yes, I added one).
Between each room is a door that can be unlocked based on a happiness-sadness meter, based on kmarushige‘s suggestion on HitRecord.
As for your game, my gut says to have a “happiness/depression” meter as the scoreboard. As the player moves through a typical day, they are presented with choices that will either shift them towards happiness or depression. These choices could be actions, mental choices/interpretations or interactions, including being receptive to help from others.
And the evolution of puzzles and interactions will be from the mundane to the surreal. You start of with normal day to day interactions like waking up, putting a smile on your face, making food, then it shifts to the surreal.
The surreal, like when a shadow of yourself appears from the closet (I call her anti-character, like Anti-Helena from “Mirror Mask”), and she starts following you around and these whispers of “you’re worthless and no one likes you” plays, but you can fight her, you can win, but you can also lose.
Also note to self: I need to buy more IRL Post-Its.
The foyer represents the ultimate (yes, ultimate) door that is standing between you and the outside world.
And thanks to the lovely people at HitRecord, I have a lovely background music for the game.
Also at Develop:Brighton last week, one of the talks was about Tackling Difficult Topics in Games. Some of the things that came about in the talk was why games were the best medium for this kind of game.
Alyx Jones responded:
that games are immersive, it’s not like watching a documentary, you’re living in someone else’s shoes for a few hours, but also often a lot of these games a single player, so a player is probably playing alone, so it’s a good environment to open up about difficult topics, with nobody present to judge their reactions.
The take away message is simply to keep making games that encourage a more open and communicative society. Games are one of the best tools available to promote a society where people can share their problems, feel less isolated and be able to ask for help.
Also I checked out Alyx’s other games, “Elise: Unpainted Memories” has a really lovely art style that I can use as competitive analysis.
Michelle Chen 