Homework 03 and 02 from our google doc game file

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15R7TM115OlVoBIwJskBeQB6Mv6IGe7H3ILqIfaUldWk/edit



Homework 03 (posted on google doc game document on 09/16/2015)

Story:

    As seen above the player is trapped in his/her own mind and is working to clear up the fuzziness of his/her memories by going through the levels until they uncover the full audio loop.

Technology:

    Modern but abstract since we are inside the player’s mind. Levels will be based on real places from the player’s memories but different things will be exaggerated almost like in Alice in Wonderland.

Art:

    Dark colors and harsh shading. Things get lighter as the player progresses through the story but they never become cheerful. It’s a dismal place inside this mind and the decor reflects this.  The sound can come from the sound we hear everyday, like a the sound of a cloud of people, the sound of traffic, but they are twisted and like the sound from far away.

Mechanics:

    Time manipulation. Player can rewind or fast forward time as well as freeze moving objects. This can be achieved by stop or accelerate the movement/condition changing of other objects except the player. The gun model in fps can be used to stop the movement of single object, and the player also have other skill to stop the movement of  everything, but the thing which has been stopped by the player before will turn back to move. The player can also accelerate the movement of time by letting other objects move faster. The player should also be able to pick up items which are necessary for the continuation of story line.  

     Time manipulation can support the story very well because in our memory we can jump between past and future, some important moment will give us a feeling like the time has stopped at that moment.





Homework 02 (posted on google doc game document on 09/6/2015)

1) What type of game will we be creating?

           We are going to make a first person puzzle game. Something in the tradition of Portal, The Talos Principle, Qube, Antichamber, Quantum Conundrum, etc. We haven't quite worked out what specific game play mechanics we will be using, but we want to create the sense of  trying to bring order to a broken world. We are trying to think of mechanics that will help give the player that sort of feeling.

2) What is the quintessential experience we'd like the users to feel?

           We want a sense of doubtful hope. Uncertainty. The player should start out feeling that they are in a strange land that they do not understand. They should feel the inherent disorder of the place. As they solve the puzzles we want them to feel that they are bringing order, that they are a force for change, but at the same time we want to instill doubt. We want the player to wonder if their actions are truly meaningful or if their impact on the world is fleeting. The story and the world will aim to create a sense that the problems the player faces are cyclical in nature.

3) What is the theme of our game?

           The theme is being trapped inside of an endless cycle and trying the exact same solution endlessly with the repeated result of total failure. It is a desperate attempt to fix something that is irreparable; a desperate and ill advised attempt that only ends up re-enforcing the problem, making everything worse and continuing the cycle. It is the feeling of Sisyphus pushing his boulder. In his ascent he feels strong. He rejoices that he can move the stone and as it rolls upward he believes that he is fixing his problem. With each step he grows more and more excited, eager to reach the peak - but then when he arrives the boulder falls down to the bottom again and all his work is undone. In this game the player will feel Sisyphus's joy at moving the boulder, and at the end the player will watch it roll back down, knowing that their efforts are futile.

4) Initial storyline:

           The game starts with the player character opening his eyes. The music begins at the end of a great crescendo and then falls into a soft lull as he gets up from a bed in a pod that is connected to a central computer console. Lots of static can be heard, and a voice speaks from above. The voice is troubled. It is broken. It repeats fragments of a monologue for as long as the player stays in the hub room. It says that you must follow it for it knows the way to freedom. It will save you. Order must be restored. This world must be fixed.

           The starting room - the hub room - begins dark and empty. Bleak. It is glitchy. This is not a physical place. There is a doorway which leaks in white light. It stands out and should draw in the player.

           Upon entering through the doorway, the player will be in a big room. We have not yet decided on the aesthetic of this room. It is very big and is the first puzzle. As the player works to solve the puzzle, they hear new pieces of narration. These pieces of narration are hopeful. They speak of the joy that exists in the world. How great this all used to be. How worthy it is of repair.

           When the player completes the first puzzle, a thing (probably a glowing light or something) will go with the player back into the hub room. It will go into the central computer and the hub room will become brighter. It will be partially restored. It will be less broken. There will be some trees or something. The looping monologue will be less broken and the player will hear more and learn more. Things seem good.

           The player then goes into the second puzzle. It is a bit darker than the first one. The narration present is still cheerful but feels somewhat forced. There is an underlying sense of remorse. When the puzzle is completed another thing goes into the computer and the hub world is further restored, but it isn't an entirely positive change. Some things are worn and broken. There is a torn painting or something. Overall it looks good and happy, but with an underlying sense of dread and despair. The narration is further repaired and is now referring to itself in third person. He sounds scared.

           Things get very dark in the final puzzle. The narrator sounds defeated. The glitch effect that was used in the hub at the beginning is used in places in this puzzle. The narrator talks about the Myth of Sisypus, and adds that he hopes that eventually the boulder will stay seated at the peak. In addition to the thingy retrieved at the end which goes into the computer, the player will find a key that has the glitch effect applied to it.

           When the puzzle is complete the hub is no longer glitchy at all. The narrator is silent. The hub is a very dank and depressing place. There's a graveyard. Somber music plays on a music box.

          

           A bright red light comes from a keyhole in the computer console. When the player inserts the key, the screen comes to life and displays something like this:

           "Restoration complete.

           ...

           Key detected.

           Proceed? (y / n)"

           The player character then hits the y key on the console.

           "Please record message to be played in next attempt at purification"

           A microphone comes up from a compartment in the console.

           The player character begins to speak into the microphone. The camera pans out to show the player speaking while the world around him reverts back into its original state. Things fade away. The player character speaks the monologue that had been looping earlier, but now it is the entire monologue with no disruptions. He warns that he heard a voice from above claiming that it would show him the way to freedom. It is clear that the bits of the monologue the player heard earlier were taken out of context, and were actually this message - the narration was trying to warn against itself.

           When the monologue is complete, the player character walks to the bed. The music intensifies and reaches the same crescendo from the beginning. The sound of a mechanical error is heard. The player closes his eyes.

           The game then restarts.