Suggestions?

[Grabthehoopka]

Last time around, someone suggested something about hand-washing, and you said you would like to, but you couldn't think of a good game mechanic to center it on that would justify putting it in the game.

I then suggested that there be an area or level where there are sinks or wash stations or something to that degree scattered around, and if the player doesn't wash their hands frequently enough, they'd start scratching and claw their face off like that one part of Poltergeist. Basically, there would be a timer counting down and washing your hands would reset the timer. You'd convey how much the timer has counted down by audio visual cues, like a sort of creeping, scuttling noise that gets louder and louder, the edge of the darkness could start closing in towards the player, or maybe a brief animation where the character scratches at an itch on their hand or wrist that would happen more frequently the further down the timer got.

If I recall, you said you liked the idea, but it was too late in development at that point to add something that complex.

[RightClickSaveAs]

nah he is making it take place in the 1980's ! SWEET! Cause then the nightmares can consist of being chased and attacked by giant blocky atari monsters. muhahahahah

wait he said not sci fi.. ok giant blocky SHOULD PADS...

Oh man, I have some bad memories that feel like nightmares about the 80s... fluorescent colored untied high tops, horrible perms... (feel free to use any of those ideas Matt!)


I really like Grabthehoopka's idea about having to keep your hands clean. As someone with a mild germophobia (I wouldn't insult people who actually have OCD by saying I'm OCD, with me it's really just a thing about washing my hands a lot), this would really hit a note and would also put some pressure and objectives on the player.

[matt]

It is indeed a very good idea and would have been great fit for Neverending Nightmares. I'm not sure if the next game will have OCD as a major theme though... I have some new ideas planned, so I'm not sure if it would work. I'll definitely keep it in mind though! I might be able to work in some fear of contamination type things. I seem to recall some other good suggestions along those lines...

[Grabthehoopka]

It is indeed a very good idea and would have been great fit for Neverending Nightmares. I'm not sure if the next game will have OCD as a major theme though... I have some new ideas planned, so I'm not sure if it would work. I'll definitely keep it in mind though! I might be able to work in some fear of contamination type things. I seem to recall some other good suggestions along those lines...

One of the best parts of any game that really preyed upon my sense of contamination was that part in Amnesia: The Dark Descent when you have to go in the cellar with the black moss. The spores are poisonous, so what do you do? Why, make a makeshift IV needle out of a spile and a copper pipe, drill a hole in a dead guy who was immune, stick it in, stick yourself with it, and transfuse his blood. Instant immunity! The only thing left to do afterwords is bet on what'll kill you first: infection from not cleaning the needle off, infection from not cleaning the drill off, infection from transfusing blood from an unknown corpse, infection from not doing anything even remotely close to hygienic the entire time, autoimmune reaction from the blood being the wrong type, unknown disease in corpses's system, death from the black mold after having not worked in the first place, or maybe just blood loss from sticking a gigantic hollow needle in your body the wrong way.

Perhaps if the character had a wound or rash or something similar that they kept with them for almost the entire game and occasionally treated with items in the environment, but that still gets progressively worse and worse as the game goes on? I remember reading about that mountain climber (the 127 hours guy) that cut his arm off, and him describing the state of his gangrenous arm in the final hours before he cut it off.

He said that cutting your arm off might seem crazy, but anybody would have done the same thing in that situation; he wasn't even thinking of it as his own arm at that point. It was just a piece of rotting meat tethering him to this boulder. The first time he tried to cut it off, he discovered that the blade on his multitool was too dull to break his skin, so he tried to stab it off, which didn't work because it wouldn't penetrate his bone. Days later, he eventually twisted his arm until the bones broke, and by that point his arm was so necrotic that his flesh was practically peeling off, so he made himself a tourniquet and lopped it right off.

Speaking of which, there's a "puzzle" in the final boss of the rather underrated Dead Space: Extraction where that exact thing happens and you have to shoot off your own arm.

[matt]

I'm not sure how far I'm going to take the contamination stuff, but at the very least, I'm going to use a real life location where I was having a panic attack because of my fear of contamination. I'm not sure if it'll be as intense for anyone else, but either way, I think it'll make a good horror location.

I've heard good things about Dead Space Extraction. I do love PS Move light gun games (I found the Wii way too inaccurate), so it seems like a game I'd enjoy. I have a bunch of games on my queue (I'm finally getting to the end of The Evil Within, but there are plenty more to pay), but I'll make sure to check it out.

[LobsterSundew]

I really like Grabthehoopka's idea about having to keep your hands clean. As someone with a mild germophobia (I wouldn't insult people who actually have OCD by saying I'm OCD, with me it's really just a thing about washing my hands a lot), this would really hit a note and would also put some pressure and objectives on the player.

What if there was also an enemy type (Perhaps a facet of protagonist's mind) that had cleanliness OCD too. The situation would be that the only water tap in that specific room is guarded by an enemy that is currently using it. Making a mess in the environment would serve as a distraction to lure the enemy away and keep the enemy occupied while the player desperately tries to clean his own hands with the tap. The protagonist would be conflicted about creating the mess which could lead to character development as he or she overcomes the OCD just enough to perform the task that makes the mess like throwing a clod of dirt while his or her hand is protected by a rubber glove (A glove obtained through a puzzle). After performing the act the protagonist could freak out a little and quickly remove the dirty glove in a panic. If it is one of those dissection gloves I used to use as a biology student there could be the audible snap sound effect as the glove is removed.

[JPrice]

It is indeed a very good idea and would have been great fit for Neverending Nightmares. I'm not sure if the next game will have OCD as a major theme though

Ohhhh well that's cool. Do you have any idea as to the major themes you had in mind for the next game then? Or is everything still being debated and changed on that front? I only ask because it'd be cool to think and suggest ideas that would fit around the framework of those themes, obviously we can only do that if we have an idea of what sorts of themes are in the game hahaa

[matt]

What if there was also an enemy type (Perhaps a facet of protagonist's mind) that had cleanliness OCD too.

That is a really interesting idea! I'll have to add that to my list of things to think about!

Do you have any idea as to the major themes you had in mind for the next game then?

I do. I'm not sure how much I want to reveal, but it is going to be similar to Neverending Nightmares in many ways, but I'm not going to try to express my feelings/experiences with mental illness - at least not directly. Instead, I want to have interesting characters and narrative. I feel like I've told my story, so I don't want that to be the primary theme. I think it will still explore some aspects to it just because it's difficult to separate myself from my illness.

The main theme is going to be expressed through the narrative, so I think it would be a bit spoiler-y to talk about it. However, I can say that a lot of the secondary themes - guilt, failure, responsibility, loneliness, etc.

I'm not sure how helpful that is though. I think what fits in the game and what doesn't will be largely limited by the setting and premise, and I'm keeping my mouth shut about that for the time being, so I realize that makes it tough to make suggestions. I'm not really sure the best way to proceed though.

My thought was just to get a ton of suggestions, and I'd filter through them and play hot and cold, but I can see how that would be frustrating. I'm open to suggestions on how to take suggestions.

[Grabthehoopka]

However, I can say that a lot of the secondary themes - guilt, failure, responsibility, loneliness, etc.

Guilt, responsibility, and failure, you say? Alright, how about this. You give the player a pet. The character comes across an animal of some sort, let's say a bird in a cage that's like stuck in a ditch on the side of the road or something. Now, they can choose to pick it up or not. If they don't, well then they don't really have to worry about it.

If they do pick it up, then they open the cage and acquire the bird. Now, you can even do a sweet little thing like the bird flies away, but right at the exit of the area it flies back and the player can interact with it, and it perches on their hand. They now have an animal companion that they carry with them for the next area or two (just perched on the character's hand, though, don't worry about programming AI). There could be an idle animation where the character strokes the bird's head. If you really want to go nuts, you can add a couple interactables with the bird, like a mirror that you put the bird in front of and watch it freak out for a bit, stuff like that. Basically, build the relationship in the simplest way possible.

After that, an enemy/monster comes and you prompt the player to hide in a closet or something. While they're hiding, you can hear the enemy shuffling around outside, and it starts to leave. Then, the bird squawks. The enemy pauses, then comes back. The bird keeps squawking, and the enemy starts walking closer and closer. Well, in the closet with you is a butcher's block with a cleaver. If the player figures it out and is willing, they can use the cleaver to chop the bird's head off. If they do this, the enemy walks up to the door, blotting out the light fanning in from under the door, and waits. Then, it leaves. Of course, the actual process of killing the bird would have to be very deliberate, so they would hit interact once and put the bird on the block. Hit interact again and pick up the cleaver. Hit interact again and grab the bird, laying it down sideways. Hit interact again and chop off its head, and drop the cleaver. Lots of blood. All these interacts serve the dual purpose of torturing the player by making them go through the process, and by making sure that nobody does it on accident. If the player hits any of the move keys, they immediately put down the cleaver and pick the bird back up.

After that, of course, you're free to torture the player further by adding some subtle bird squawk musical cues whenever the enemy is around, or by adding in some bloody bird cages to the background of later levels. If they let the bird live, I don't know. I'm not sure you should do anything. The enemy kicks the door in, the bird flies away out the door, and the enemy kills the player. They wake up in a bed and never see the bird again. Maybe you can add some non-bloody birdcages to later levels just to double fuck with them.

Anyways. You say you're taking any and all suggestions in as large a quantity as you can, so I figured I should start throwing some really insane shit out there.

[matt]

Wow! That is really intense and screwed up. I'll definitely keep it in mind! Thanks for sharing!