Nevermind - #Client 251 Analysis

Client #251 is a story in which the girl witnessed her father commit suicide.

Intro Loading Screen

I really like the loading screen which seems like an interview recording of the client. Nobody wants to skip (my friend and me). Abstract photos combine with voice-over performance providing a strong context - this woman is in trouble. And keywords in the loading (scopophobia, church, loner, hate how people look at me/staring at me, car accident, jigsaw puzzle, and wine) have perfectly corresponded to environmental storytelling in-game.

First-look

The structure of the house starts with "weird" as all the houses are staked together around the main trunk. Then it gives a feeling of "normal" when walking around the living room and the kitchen. At the time we felt everything looks safe and under control, we opened the door to the second floor. --- A "Oh, shit!" moment came. In my mind, it was: “Wow, the rhythm here is right at the time!"

When we closed the lamp, the room/house turned into another world. I also thought it was the same as some part of ourselves: there is always a switch, you don't want to touch. If it was activated, everything would change.

I also noticed there was some freedom for the players to have different orders to collect photos, which is very smart.

Level Flow Chart + Emotional Arc

Three conclusions about design:

• The difficulty should raise with the game progress - to keep the player in the flow state

• The environment/gameplay should raise the tension along with the game's progress by controlling visual/auditory/tactile elements. The first two combines together can provide a feeling of achievement (putting effort to find the photo)

• The contents should be provided step by step with emphasizing, especially those important ones. Players are so smart they can combine those pieces together and figure out what has happened.

Others

There are many more design techniques embodied in this level. For example, the map design, even though I didn't dig into much here, I noticed the mouth room has a much higher ceiling. I guess it's because of the contrast of the low ceiling of the car accident maze.

Bio-feedback

As I don't have suitable equipment, I haven't got a chance to walk through it with full experience. I felt it would increase the fear and the difficulty in more scary/difficult places. Then it reminds me to adjust my breath. At that time, I would jump out the game for a while.

Level Flow Chart + Emotional Arc with bio-feedback