Untitled Horror/Suspense Game Design Concept
Unitlted
Summary
Genre: Psychological Horror
Playtime: Short/Medium 30 min-1 hr
Setting: Modern
Story Structure: Linear
Rating: Teen
Non-Commercial
1 player
"This is ___. I thought of him when I was ___ years old. I was pretty lonely at the time, but I'd heard of other children who didn't have friends using it to cope with the stress.
I've realized since then that it isn't friends that make you happy..."
A girl has always been locked in her house. A beautiful, extravagant house, with all the amenities and facilities a person could want. She can't use them all the time, however, while her parents are away she is locked in her room. Luckily she has her imaginary friend to keep her company. A dependable fellow too, for it appears he never leaves either. With his help, she sneaks out into the house while her parents are away to find fun things to do.
Protagonist Girl
Although not the quickest to understand the subtleties of things, she has learned to put things together in her own way. Always eager to help, and always willing to lend an ear. She's never been outside her house. Despite the fact she doesn't truly appreciate what that means, she doesn't like being cooped up in her room and waiting for her parents to let her out.
Her parents are warm and compassionate, and she loves her parents dearly. She also has a great deal of affection for her imaginary friend, shifting from appreciation to reverence at times. Besides these three people, she has never talked to anyone. There is nothing with a screen in the house, despite it clearly being a modern setting.
Of course has to have an adorable design. I think a pale little blonde would be fitting, maybe a little boyish or lanky. Definitely has to have sharp features, but hopeful eyes. The look of a child that will grow up to be strong.
Imaginary Friend:
"Well, I'm just a projection of you, I don't actually have a subconscious."
"So you have no imagination? No dreams?!"
"No. I am merely here to observe."
He can't leave.
Bouncing around a few ideas for his appearance, it'll have a large impact.
Mother
A pleasant looking middle aged woman.
Father
A pleasant looking middle aged man.
Gameplay
"How can you have a sense of wonder, I was wondering?"
"I am only able to scrutinize what is around me, and base this on what I already know. I can consider what sort of practical use might be plausible from what I see in front of me, but I cannot see what the original inventors' true aspirations were."
"Naturally I want to know what I do not know, but surely even you know that?"
+Use objects and tools in unconventional manners to solve puzzles.
+Sneak around the house and have fun without doing so in a manner that will be noticed later.
+Difficulty is low if you use hints from the imaginary friend a lot, but can be harder if the player chooses to forego this.
+Emphasis on setting and atmosphere. Mindset would be a willingness to try and see things from the girls' awkward, somewhat bizarre, make-shift perspective.
There are three separate sections composing the game, each section unlocked after completing the one before it. The title screen will have the protagonists sprite representing each section, and will scroll horizontally as new sections appear for the player to choose from.
+Story Spoilers+
Childhood
This section is spent exploring her house from her child's eyes, during the first occasion her imaginary friend encouraged her to sneak out of her room while her parents were away. Find ways to entertain her. This section has a whimsical vibe to it.
Teenage Years
She has felt insecure about her position for a long time. As she plays in the house, reads, has dinner with her parents, she feels uncomfortable, jaded.
Adulthood
Features I'd Like
+Very simple 'retro' graphics with a few animation effects
+A quiet, ambient soundtrack, with some cute/creepy intervals
+Maybe full voice acting for the four characters, or the main two
+Pixel-style bust art
+Pixel-style CG's
Footnotes/Other -
There's lots of questions left unanswered as of writing this, I'll be fleshing this out over time.
I thought I'd use this blog to keep concepts, one game per post. Nothing set in stone or immediate plans for development, things like that. I'll just keep updating each entry as I go along.
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