Lead Designer Blogpost 4

Hey everyone, Cody Philbrook here to talk about our amazing build 2 and all the design work that has gone into it. If you are interested in the work that the team is doing check out our producer Justin Amian’s blog here. So in our last build we implemented our procedural generated system allowing the maze to trace the path before populating the path with the necessary rooms. We also got our prop spawner to appropriately texture swap to allow for variability in the props in those rooms. This most recent build I wanted to focus more on core mechanics and the actual scares in our game. 

Introducing the peeper, aptly named, his job is to peer into the room, drawing the players attention before disappearing when the players flashlight comes into contact with him. We're still working on getting the random chance that he will spawn in the room’s doorway just right but so far based on the playtest results most of our players are encountering him at a 15% chance. That said we were able to scare quite a few of our players. The peeper is adding a layer to the suspense that we are trying to build. This slow build up of tension is the key element to our game and the experience that we are trying to give to the player. Below you will find the feedback on the peeper. 

Not worried Deathly Terrified

In this build we started to implement a feature that would cause the lights in the room to blink out. This is going to work in tandem with the player's ability to toggle the flashlight on and off. The goal of this is so that the player has a reason to use the flashlight when the lights are out; to keep the darkness from hurting them. I plan on teaching the player that lights mean safety and the dangers of the darkness lie all around them. In order to build upon this mechanic in the next build we will be implementing our battery system so that the player has to keep their batteries stockpiled. When their supply of batteries is low the flashlight will begin to flash on its own signifying that time is running out. Players will find batteries around the different rooms and corridors. In the next build we will be testing whether or not this mechanic succeeds in adding to the tension of the game as well as giving the player something to do while exploring the rooms. 

In this last build I wanted to expand the size of the maze back to its original size 7x7 from its 5x5  and test to see if this would affect how long it takes the player to complete the maze. From the playtest data and my own experience, it is very easy to get lost in the rooms and corridors as there are not yet enough room types to break up the maze and thus everything is looking too similar. Based on the feedback that I have been given, we need to create a form of landmarks or system so that players know that they have been in a room before. I have seen players using the portrait that changes to check and see if they have been in a room before and while this was an interesting method it is not the interaction that I am looking for. In the upcoming build I will be having my team focus on implementing the new rooms that we do have so that we can test to see if the rooms are more asymmetrical and different from each other so that the players are less likely to get lost. 

The work that my team and I have done in such a short amount of time is staggering. As we are nearing the end of our production cycle we must narrow our focus on creating a successful game loop. To that end I created a list of prioritization for my team. The first thing on that list as mentioned previously is the battery and its surrounding systems. Secondly I would like the parlor created so that we can begin to implement some of the story elements into the game as well teach the player the different mechanics that they should expect to see in the scene. I have also directed my team to implement “Key rooms” that will help serve as guides to the player as well as provide a bit of narration via notes. Lastly the game needs to build the tension the player experiences. To that end I have a few ideas that we will try to get closer to the final build such as boarded up doors that have scratching or banging noises, a telephone that rings somewhere in the maze for the player to find and lastly we will be adding two more scares into the game, The whisper, and the chaser. 

The Whisper will harass the player making noises that will shift from the left or right ear, trying to get the player's attention. When the player looks at the monster it will attack the player, damaging them and disappearing. The Chaser is a bit more complicated and will roam around the different rooms. Upon seeing the player it will chase the player for 2-4 rooms before returning to its determined path.  

In conclusion my team and I have been hard at work getting in all the necessary systems for us to build a successful game. We still have a long way to go but I think that if we hit the points mentioned above and add in the animations that we currently have we will have a very successful game.