BA4: Game Design Document #22

Monster Mechanics & Interactions

Stacey is lead character artist; she is designing all the scary monsters for our game, however, I am lead games designer and with that comes the control and power over the gameplay and its mechanics. Under this then comes monsters and their mechanics in game. 

Luckily my group and I share incredibly similar visions for this game and we all have an idea of how we want the game to scare the player. I have been thinking of how to show this and how to give examples and all I can think of are various “funny reaction” videos where you see what’s on the screen (so you will see the types of mechanics we want) as well as the players reactions. 

REC (warning, ending spoiler!)

First of all I want to show you a clip from the ending of  REC. REC is a Spanish horror film written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, it was released in 2007. The clip shows an horrendous zombie monster wondering around this building in the dark. There are 2 reporters trapped in the building and are trying to hide from this monster. 

 

Equipped with a camera that has night vision, the 2 people hide at the back of the dark room whilst filming this creature stumbling towards them, un aware that they are hiding there. When I first saw this, I was incredibly disturbed by the monsters appearance and the suspense was awful. 

   

So how and why does this relate to our game and its mechanics. Well, for one the couple  are forced to hide, its their only option. They have no weapons or guns (as far as I am aware) and are simply too terrified to approach this creature in any way, let alone to combat it. This is exactly the type of response players we want our players to have. They wont have weaponry or anything good enough to warrant an attempt at “beating” the creatures found throughout the museum and they will have a much better chance at surviving If they find somewhere to hide instead of trying to combat. 

Then there is monster player interactions to consider. In this clip we see the monster going about its “normal” business? Either way its just roaming around, un aware of the peoples presence. This is how monsters in the museum will behave. We will have various scripted encounters with monsters (as in, the player is forced to interact with them in some way every time they play that section of the game) as well as randomly generated encounters where players will run into the monsters when they least expect it. 

Monsters still might not become alerted to players, they might carry on roaming around, being odd and scary and players will get the chance to sneak past or hide until the monster has moved on. However there will be times, depending on the players levels of fear and psyche, when the monster will be more aware of their presence. This will make it harder to escape, give them less time to run away and generally make them more noticeable which makes sneaking much harder. Avoiding monsters all together is the best option…although you have a camera which you can use to fulfil your curiosity…at your own risk! 

Psyche and fear are elements which will affect the character in various ways both physically and mentally. In the video you can hear the peoples incredibly heavy breathing due to how terrified they are. They also stumble a lot in the dark before they find a “safe” place to sit and hide. This is due to anxiety and the sheer fear that they must quickly find a space to hide. This is something I thought would be great to implement into our game. If the player’s fear gauge is “high” then their movements may become clumsy. If they see a monster and run the other way past a large exhibition display they may accidentally knock over parts of the environment (out of control by the player) and this will alert the monster. Their footsteps will also be heavier as they are panicked and their breathing will become progressively louder in high fear situations. Obviously once in some form of hiding place, these elements will reduce and the player will be able to become stealthy again but its that exact element which causes fear and panic in the player themselves. 

“Best Reaction” Compilations & Why They Are Helpful

Some of the scariest games are played by gamers who then post their playthroughs and also their reaction cams. This is great for me because I can show you the elements which these gamers find terrifying judging by their reactions as well as the part of the game they found scary. Here are some of the best (and also funny) videos which have inspired me and my decisions on the scare mechanics of our game.

            

Why So Scary?

Whilst watching these videos I took notes so that you can further understand what elements I am cherry picking as ultra scary which I will then revive within our design document under the games core mechanics. 

If  a monster is chasing you its totally scary if the same monster somehow teleports to a corner you are about to run around thinking you are safe. Like an ambush. A violently scary and terrifying ambush. 

Random jump scares, scripted and natural. 

When figures appear randomly in front of you. 

When you turn around (possibly in already tense scenarios but also just normally) and see something standing there as if it has been watching you the whole time. 

Progressively uncomfortable music which gets louder/worse as you move though the game. 

The feeling that you are being followed but haven't been caught yet. 

Distorted visions. 

Odd actions, standing still, swaying, not looking at you but through you etc.