Hi again,
Just a quick preface about what I want to do in a single sentence: A gravity defying FPS horror game.
Ok, here’s the whole preposal.
My Idea:
Objectives: Escape (idea is a linear based game,just kill the monster.)
Mechanics: Hoping to have FPS capabilities as well as gravity switching.
Characters:
- Main player character (not set in stone) – Retired police officer who attempted to rescue a child who got seemingly kidnapped and brought into a seemingly innocuous building.
- Monster – Low crawling fast monster that climbs around on the walls and ceiling. Very thin and fast.
Game world/setting: Takes place in a nice looking old-ish house. House layout to be incredibly warped and doors lead to other doors that puts the player on the ceiling of the room they just exited.
Features: Trippy horror shooter (?) where the monster can be seen running along the sideways and upside down hallways that connect to everywhere else. Monster has to be fought in order to win.
Intended audience: Horror fans. FPS portion shouldn’t be too detailed to shut out those with not as good of aim.
Game style and player experience: Player should have around a 20-30 minute puzzle-like horror shooter. Monster has strange tendencies that the player has to figure out then figure out how to kill.
Art style description:
Semi-realistic
Generally dark
Oak hallways and other wooden furniture
Night time
Windows with moonlight pouring in
Small candles on walls (to be blown out later)
First Person
Player should have flashlight attached to weapon (tbd what weapon)
Concept Art
(I’m not that good at drawing, but to be frank, this was thrown together in like 30 minutes. Nonetheless it still gets the point across.)
Moodboard
Another visual of what the enemy should be like. Up on the walls and scuttling around above the player’s head.
As a horror fan, I am really excited to see more from this concept! The monster sounds very creepy, it reminds me of Lickers from Resident Evil 2 (which are terrifying). The house not making logical sense and being disorienting to traverse also sounds super cool, it will really add to the creepy feel. Will the player have actual combat encounters with the monster before the end of the game, or will it just appear running in shadow to build up suspense?
I’m thinking of trying to make a mechanic where the monster will constantly be approaching and the player has to find it in the maze-like rooms to prevent it from hunting them down. Of course the player can try to run, but actually finding it and engaging with it should provide a much longer grace period. So in short, yes I want there to be actual combat.
I am a big fan of horror games. Nothing is more thrilling and heart clenching than being chased by a creepy monster. One game I think you can use as reference is Phasmaphobia. Although this game deal with ghosts, the gear in the game is something that I feel you can implement into your game. For example, having tools that can help the player fight the monster. This game also deals with indoor environments like creepy old houses. Will the player ever get a close visual of the monster, or will the player only get to see a dark silhouette of the monster?
Horror games spook me way too much but I really appreciate creepy art so I’m excited to see this come together! The long creepy monster will be exciting to see, and I love upside down rooms as a design concept so that’ll be fun to put together. Will the upside down gravity also affect the rest of the room (will there be broken lamps, fallen tables, etc) or are you the only upside down thing in this building?