Blog Post #1
What & Why:I am going to cover the general feel and the aesthetics of the current version of our game. After reading the concept document for Echo we were very interested in how the mechanics worked together with the aesthetics. We thought it would be very interesting to combine the dark feel of the game and the use of sound or light as guidance for the player. We wanted to keep the narrative of a moth that lost its children in an enviroment with threats and dangers around every corner to make the player feel an urge to explore the full game even though you are alone and targeted. How:To create a sense of loneliness and to make the player feel targeted and exposed we chose to limit the player’s vision dramaticly. Without any sort of power-up you have very limited vision around the player, the rest of the screen is close to black. This makes it hard to navigate around the level and makes it hard to predict enemy attacks. To help you guide your way through the level to find your children you can pick up light berries around the map and either hold on to them or throw them into areas you do not dare to explore just yet. Your enemies are big and scary insects that tries to hunt you down. We decided that you should not be able to kill your enemies as a player, so that even if you manage to escape from an enemy you will not feel safe knowing the enemy is still alive waiting to catch you next time you pass by. Your children are small ”baby”-versions of you spread out in tricky areas of the map, and when you finally manage to find them they will follow you as you search for the rest. When you have managed to collect all three children you must head back home to your nest to win the game. I think the lighting and environment of the game combined with the goals from the narrative and the challenge of surviving all threats make for a great feeling while playing. We want to add some more content for the game, but we also want to amplify the player’s experience by improving the mechanics and the visuals already implemented.
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