High Level Concept of the Game

Web Prototypes

First experimental prototype (October 13) :

https://28d1a49c115751001addd38aec0625a9506d2f0e.googledrive.com/host/0ByEn6GigfmSYMHVkNkZIX3NNazQ/First%20+%20Train%20scene.html

Killer Walls Level (October 21):

https://a053a6c17ebca1a5dcb0e0491220e99a99581221.googledrive.com/host/0B2GhuUXIMNtYYnU2OGdRQ0ZHVjQ/WebExports.html 

Gameplay 3 Scenes (October 21):

https://019bb59af2ae35d3d027c42f8e1eed0416cbe6a3.googledrive.com/host/0ByEn6GigfmSYTmcwcURPXzNxbmM/Gameplay%203%20scenes.html

Level Train Tunnel (October 27):

https://6dc8e2d4c092131efd8b2f7c471d88ef3f52e2cb.googledrive.com/host/0B9T_QqHEkJHmS3lpV2pnOU1RdkU/Build.html

First play test (October 31):

https://6ed2fe141977f9d8e2bc9ae277643c9c10f947b7.googledrive.com/host/0ByEn6GigfmSYSDdIVEROV0pTOGs/First%20prototype%20+%20fix.html

Mood Board

Update #1 (14 October) - Stills from Dark City film, The Magic: Gathering and Devil May Cry game

Update #2 (16 October) - Stills from Batman: Arkham Asylum, Shadows of the Damned and Eyvind Earlew (Disney’s background artist)

I think this level in Batman: Arkham Asylum is very appropriate for our 3rd dream. It’s hard to grasp the gameplay from this image, that’s why I share the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVHMufEOtJc&index=21&list=PLj0cfe800kI5r9OWfFq1Ity3pxyBXuQWs

As you see, the environment is shattered like in the images of Devil May Cry and Batman is trying to jump over the platforms without being seen to Scarecrow. We can do the same, but of course within our context. Watch the video I shared above with our gameplay mechanics in mind, you play in first-person angle, in slow-motion and imagine that the movements of Scarecrow depends on the movement of player, similar to our train level. When player moves forward, the light of the enemy moves more fastly toward him.

Here is another dream sequence from Shadows of the Damned. The Devil captures the girlfriend of the main character (Garcia) and he is completely impotent against this situation. What is even more depressing for him is that Garcia is incapable of satisfying his girlfriend and look at his health bar. It is represented as a phallic symbol (penis) and every moment, the health bar of Garcia decreases against this desperate fact. Also, compare the size of Garcia and his girlfriend, Paula.

I also share Eyvind Earlew’s concept art because I was attracted by the way he plays with shapes and colors. This is partly the style of Kentucy Route Zero (which is critically the most well-acclaimed PC game in MetaCritic right now) and it interests me because we can progress more fastly with this kind of visuals. And unlike realistic depictions of physical world, it is something that has not been experimented with games too much until now and it might be more appropriate for our context.

Prototype Ideas

Basic Ideas

• Going upper level by dying and go down by pressing buttons
• Die by throwing yourself from window, hang yourself, it depends on player how to kill himself to change between dream1, dream2 and dream3
• This video is a secondary loop of “Assassin's Creed 2: Revelations” when the character was trapped in the Animus machine and tries to collect up his memory pieces inside the machine to get free and come out from the dream (coma). The atmosphere of this part of the game is weird and unknown like a deep dream, full of unknown things and very exciting when you play, and a little bit puzzled, because you have to find the exit door. I assumed this video might be inspiring for us.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPkLuLXOepY

Animation Transition

• Screen effect - flash with sound
• Notification message
• Animate timer; scale in - out
• Tunnel effect for camera
• Animate the camera - drunk effect, dizziness
• Rewind effect - player and train

Transition triggers

• Transition by doors
• Buttons
• Pick up
• Quest/story

Scenarios

• Trains (When you move in any direction (except backwards - using down arrow button) train moves 1 unit forward, otherwise (when player presses down arrow button) it moves 2 units backward. There is even a motivation for that: In order to move forward, sometimes you need to move backwards AND even if the player doesn’t press any button, train will continue to move very slowly toward the player like in Superhot)
• Each level has one piece of clue, we compose them to achieve the final solution
• Puzzle is in the first level
• Wake up on a table surgery; there are hand in your chest, you need to put your heart back, block what other hands are trying to do.
• Gun shot scenes
• Car crash on the edge of cliff
• bc scene - a twist in plot; you find the code for bomb but it still explodes - however you can escape
• On the third level player encounters blurred faces, demons, surreal experiences
• Devil suggests you to kill yourself and crash with train

User Interface

• Skull can signify that if you die, the game is over
• Menu: Player sees the ceiling and menu buttons appear on the screen - start dreaming
• when the game starts camera rotates in room and see what is around
  
  

#1st Physical Prototype

You control a guy in First-person camera and a train is coming toward you. You look around with mouse but immediately, you find out that your surroundings are covered with metal fences. However if you look closely, you see that there is a small spot you can move in, so you can avoid train.

Here is how mechanics work: Like Chrono Cat, if you move forward, train (train A) comes toward you (player) - if you move backward then train moves away from you. Or something like that. I attach a simple drawing to better illustrate this idea. There can be another train in the side railway, but it’s not necessary.

Prototype of a 3 level structure with little games

http://hearthstored.com/proto/

Psychoanalysis and Dream Mechanics

You know guys, there is a guy called Sigmund Freud who discovered something called ‘subconscious’. Well, very briefly subconscious allows us to rationally explain how dreams work. So in this part of the document, I will try to describe relevant theories of Freud that can be useful for us to learn while designing the game. Even though we are not creating a dream game based on science, it might still be relevant to be at least aware of psychoanalytic concepts. And it is worth noting that creators of Inception or the designers of Silent Hill games are very-well aware of these concepts.

Freud has developed a very-well known triad: Super ego, ego and id. Id, is basically our primitive instincts. Our whole violent, natural and sexual desires belong to our id. On the opposite side, we have super-ego. This works as an authority. Super-ego is the layer that prevents what id wants to do. Ever wanted to blast or smash the tables and chairs during a boring class? Have you ever imagined to burn, ruin and destroy school because you hated it? Well, the main reason why we don’t realise these things is because super-ego hinders id. So; all the laws, government, religion, social norms, parents…anything that works as authority since our childhood is our super-ego and for Freud, super ego allows human civilization to develop and progress. For him, super ego is not something negative. Consequently, super ego and id are a part of our subconscious. Yet, ‘Ego’ is our consciousness. When we are a baby, we only act through our primitive instincts (id), however we learn how to adapt to social environment while we are growing up. Hence, we learn to balance between super ego and id and all our rational thoughts take place in ‘Ego’ layer. You should definitely not mix ego with egoism. Egoism is selfishness, ego is the conscious layer where our rational decisions exist. Thus, we call super ego and id as subconscious because we are simply not aware of them. (The name of the company ‘id Software’ - creators of Doom, Quake - takes their name from this concept too!)

Let me give another example where subconscious plays a crucial role: Ever saw a beautiful painting or photo? When you see something you like, you say it is ‘beautiful’. But, if you want to tell why it is beautiful, can you specify why you really like it? In most cases, usual people can not answer this question. It’s because our concept of ‘beauty’ occurs in our subconscious and it is deeply related to super ego. Let’s just consider Mona Lisa. Is she a beautiful person? In our current society and within our contemporary cultural context, she is not considered a ‘beautiful’ person. However, back in Renaissance era - she was like the ‘top’ model. She had the ideal values for being beautiful. But you see how the concept of ‘beauty’ can change throughout time periods and how our perception can be altered by social environments and cultural values. In Donald Norman’s book, we have also seen how aesthetic can become a visceral element in design and how it is important for our ‘primitive’ tastes.

There are two other terms I would like to elucidate before I dive in dream concept: Eros and Thanatos. As you might probably know, Eros and Thanatos are actually gods in Ancient Greek mythology. Eros is the god of love, while Thanatos is the god of death. In Freudian terminology, both Eros and Thanatos are related to a term called ‘libido’. Libido is the desire for sexual activity determined by biological, psychological and social factors. Besides sexual desire, libido also determines how much you are concerned with life. If you have a high libido, then your Eros is also high - so you are keen on living and making your day. If your libido is low, then you are not afraid of dying. Here comes the ultimate example: Think about Joker in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’. There is this famous scene between Batman and Joker. Batman drives toward Joker as if he would hit him. And Joker yells “HIT ME! HIT ME!” This is because Joker has Thanatos, he is not afraid of dying - and all of his acts… He doesn’t have super ego, he behaves the way his “id” wants. On the other hand, consider Batman - he can’t hit Joker because his super ego surpasses him. Because he has this one rule “not kill anyone” - and he has his own laws.

****Spoiler Ahead******

All the Silent Hill games are also heavily inspired by these psychoanalytic concepts. For instance, in Silent Hill 2, our main character receives some letters from his supposedly dead wife. And he is trying to find her. Meanwhile, we are seeing some strange creatures around the city that are not visible to other people in the town. Well, at the end of the game we learn that our main character has actually killed his own wife because she was suffering from an illness and he couldn’t help himself to see her in such a condition. But afterwards, his defence mechanism in his subconscious repressed what he has done and made him forget that he killed his wife. So, without knowing he has written letters to himself in the place of his dead wife. That repression changed the reality James (main character) knows/perceives. And the reason why he sees creatures that are only visible to him is because of his subconscious again. His mind plays with his psychology, creating challenges for him to find a reason to continue living, struggles to overcome…Otherwise, there is no place for him to live in this world where he killed his own wife.

******Spoiler over*******

We know that designers of Silent Hill are aware of these concepts and use them deliberately because like Akira Yamaoka, the game designer and sound composer of the serie has even used Freudian terminology for the titles he composed: i.e. Angel’s Thanatos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbW8KBZguDM

Dream mechanics

Dreams are usually shattered, we never remember them as a whole when we wake up. There are pieces spread around and at first sight, all of these pieces seem irrelevant to each other. Yet, they are very similar to puzzles. Each piece actually complements each other and they compose one whole sequence. And everybody see dreams in their sleep - there is no exception. Dreams regulate the balance of an healthy person and allows us to keep our sanity. All the unfulfilled desires are satisfied in our dreams. However, if you say you don’t remember your dream, it’s because there can be censorship. If you see really wild things and if your consciousness is not mentally ready to see and remember what you see in your dreams, then your brain basically puts a barrier/censorship and hinders all your dream. That might be the reason why you can say ‘I don’t see dreams’. This is usually the case for people who are highly bounded to their religion.

And like in Inception, we usually don’t remember the beginning of our dreams and the way we perceive time is really different in dreams. You might think that you have been dreaming for hours - however the longest duration for a dream is 7 minutes so our brain can really speed events up. This is what science tells us. But unlike Inception, we only see dreams in REM level of our sleep. Even though there are many levels in sleep, only in one level we see dreams.

Another note: All the faces we see in our dreams are people we see/encounter in real-life, even if you don’t consciously remember them - brain recognizes and records them as folders in your subconscious.

1. Displacement

This occurs when the desire for one thing or person is symbolized by something or someone else. Like you can see your father as a lion in your dream.

2. Projection

This happens when the dreamer propels their own desires and wants onto another person.

3. Symbolization

This is characterized when the dreamer's repressed urges or suppressed desires are acted out metaphorically. I.e. you can see a bridge which represents your path toward your objective in real-life: Being rich, receiving promotion

4. Condensation (kinda Censorship)

This is the process in which the dreamer hides their feelings or urges by contracting it or underplaying it into a brief dream image or event. Thus the meaning of this dream imagery may not be apparent or obvious.

5. Rationalization

This is regarded as the final stage of dreamwork. The dreaming mind organizes an incoherent dream into one that is more comprehensible and logical. This is also known as secondary revision.

Concept Ideas

Some ideas from the top of my head today.

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Iterative Design Circle

Research about our Initial Idea

Time Travel in Games

• Story only - plot device, the motivation to play the game been done for long time in video games (ex. Command & Conquer Red Alert, inFamous 2 )
• Time Zones - different zones (levels) of the game that you travel between, but there is a mechanism where you effect something on one of the levels it affects the others (ex. Chrono Trigger, Singularity, Darkest of Days )
• Time Loop - where you keep playing the same thing over and over ( ex. Major’s Mask, Ratchet & Clank)
• Reverse Time - reverse time from current events to previous events ( ex. Time Shift, Braid )
• Fixed Jump Back - jump fixed amounts of time  ( ex. Chronotron, Tomebot, TimeDonkey )
• Free Form - a superset of all ( ex. Achron )

Why add Time Manipulation

• New/Different gameplay experience
• Create a franchise
• Difficulty
• Serious Games
• Altering perception of reality

Time Gameplay Mechanism

• Undo/ alter past
• Reverse/ change directions
• Edit Timeline
• Chronoport( transfer things across time)
• Timeline overlay and Branching
• Ghost (You see your previous attempt as a ghost while playing in real-time)

Links to similar games:

• http://inceptiontheapp.com/dreams
• Super Hot (http://superhotgame.com)
• Dream Heist (board game)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dwmgiZ1ajI - ( Innovative Gameplay Using Time Travel and Time Manipulation )
• The Silent Age: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv0tPW9Az5o (Using a time machine device to switching the time but the same place)
• Neverhood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqzsjpQmSfw kind of puzzle games (problem solving) which you have to solve the problems to reach new places or open a door for example.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdAMr4qmKFA - ( Super Time Force with commentary from the creator )

Categories Related to Prototype Idea:

Action:

• Player has a device (toy, ability) to send enemies(10 seconds to act) into 2 different levels(30 sec to act/60 sec to act):
• If you send an enemy to a different level you create an instance of yourself in the level which you can switch to and need to defend( you have 30/60 depending sec to defend)
• You can be killed by an enemy in every level you have an instance of( in other words in level you have transferred an enemy to).
• Time still passes but with a different speed on other levels.
• Every level has different mechanics.
• Sort the enemies according to the mechanics and defeat them.
• Understand the enemies so you can act faster on the levels with less time to act.( an enemy shoots in a pattern, lets say 2 fast shots in a row then a pause then again 2 fast shots, you can use that to figure a way to beat him faster in the levels with less time to act)

Quest:

Opening scene starts with the character confronted by an intense situation, which triggers huge stress and the ability to go to lower states of consciousness. Every state of consciousness is more wicked the lower in consciousness the player gets.

Three story arcs:

• Past - learn how everything has let to this point.
• Present - you have learned that you have prepared for this situation before and actually that it is all part of your plan for the future
• Future - Execute the master plan and deal with the situation.

Sport:

• 3v3 Players send their efforts(abilities, units, moves) on a lane. Each member of the team has 90 seconds to do that. Just on the first round
• each member has 10s/30s/60s to act. The opposite team send their own efforts( with absolutely the same timing) and try to win in a test of
• strenght/strategy/knowledge. A referee in the middle to observe which team is pulled/pushed beyond it(losing) giving a bonus for the winners.
• There are 3 milestones( levels ). First milestone( takes some time) is to take over the middle. Now the team has a bonus but you have to face the challenge of the
• Second Milestone(takes time). In this milestone your teams strength is tested even more ( but you have bonus ). The team has to break the others team trick/defense/trap
• plus the efforts that the opposite team is sending. The Third Milestone(takes most time) will be to pull/push the other team out of the field which will require the most
• effort. Rules will apply equally to both teams, the objective is the same and all of the different efforts will be available to both teams.

Racing:

• Driving a car through a racing track (level). You can take shortcuts but they transport you to a stranger track with different physics, the more time you want to cut the deeper in the shortcuts you have to go and the more difficult and twisted they are. Beat your own lap time or beat others time. 
• Players might have abilities like nitro, where you can speed your car even more, adrenalin rush ( will help to take corners ) where time slows down a bit and the computer(somehow masked to be seamless) calculates the best action to take( like brake to some point, turn the wheel to that point, release brake, use handbrake, give gas) which the player does according to the instruction and takes the turn like a pro( computer :). 
• Use skills and abilities to be the best driver.