Effective talk: Design in horror games
Year of Talk: 2021
Video Link: MORTIS 101: 'FAITH's' Horror Design Toolkit
The initial idea for the game was how effectively could someone combine 8-bit graphics with a satanic storyline (Drawing inspiration from the satanic scare of 1980).
Personal design philosophy for the dev of Faith:
One of the core design pillars revolves around the narrative. Giving a why the player is doing all of the actions can help motivate players to complete tasks.
Able to make the player part of the narrative. Trying to get a high score or finishing something quickly can motivate the player to play the game.
Another important design pillar is game mechanics. This can be creating a level or set of levels that let the player learn and use different game mechanics. Are meant to be used by the player to advance the narrative of the game.
The final pillar is Affect, the way someone might feel or experience different situations. This can help determine how the narrative evolves over time and how different game mechanics lend themselves to said affects.
When planning how to affect players emotionally it would be a good idea to plan out the type of players that are the target. It helps to plan the types of events that might happen that can more likely lead to envocing those emotions.
When trying to design a game targeted to a specific type of people if you can find a medium to large youtubers who have similar personalities it can help more easily reach a wider audience.
Thinking about mechanics for the game:
Any feature you try to add to the game needs to support the previously mentioned piller. Try to ask yourself how it might support or subtract from Narrative/Mechanics/Affective
Try to keep the features you're implementing to a minimalist aesthetic. This helps to not overwhelm the player and to help them better understand the narrative and what is happening in the world.
Emphasize the player's/main character's vulnerability. This will make the character more relatable and make the game feel scarier, as it is easier to lose progress.
Find ways to have mechanics turn against the player or emphasize certain situations. Maybe have the controls changed for a narrative reason, which would make the game much scarier.
Earning the player's trust to later turn around and scare them even more. Goes hand in hand with the last point. Where you want the player to get comfortable with a mechanic but it later turns into a problem you hadn't anticipated.
Find ways to build anticipation and show what will happen if certain actions are taken. Maybe having the player see that a certain monster goes somewhere that the player can go, or in some way foreshadow a possible event in the future but make sure it is used to cause emotion in the player.
Place the player in the worst situation possible in the game. This helps bring out the best in them and can help with the narrative and evoke feelings from them. Try to combine the current narrative, the mechanics, and the effect, which can help bring out the scene even more.
As you make the game make sure to re/evaluate design choices. This allows you to make sure if the decision is actually helping fulfill one of the main three design pillars. It also helps make sure the game has a tighter gameplay loop and can become a better experience.
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