Our game idea is to develop a horror, played from the first-person perspective, with some minigames and puzzles included. When trying to break down our project into different definitions and research perspectives, I will start with the concept of the video game genre. Genre, when describing video games, is mainly used to describe the style of gameplay, and its main mechanics. However, it is a common practice to use multiple gameplay styles or genres within one game. Because of that, when trying to organize video games into specific genres one encounters many obstacles - it is very hard to create one universal criterium to do so.
From the beginning, we knew we would develop the 'Horror' game. However, it is a category very hard to define: "Neither the industry nor audiences think about the horror genre as either a historical or a theoretical totality; instead they operate on a much smaller scale, interested only in what is relevant to them in the context within their engagement (...) is situated" (Hutchings, 2004). Following this logic I cannot simply use a horror genre to describe our project. As I mentioned above, one of the most common classifications regarding videos games refer to their style of gameplay. Thinking this way, the category most related to our project would be the Adventure Game - "a game that is about puzzle-solving, exploration, and narrative, and a relative (or total) absence of randomized combat." (TV Tropes, 2004))
Getting deeper into that category, the subgenre describing our game best would be an explorer horror game - a mix of adventure games and environmental narrative genres. " It unsettles because threats are to be taken on through exploration and puzzle-solving. Often, enemies encountered cannot be defeated, only fled from (...). The standard atmosphere of this particular horror subgenre relies on silence and isolation, and the emotional oppression that flows from it. The protagonist finds himself alone in some dark, depressing world, (...) Stories are usually minimalist and balanced towards visual storytelling and symbolism." (TV Tropes, 2004)
Typically, games falling into this category were made using the RPG maker - simple game-crafting software - and bounded by its limitations. They would use mostly pixel art and using three-quarters view. This attitude could be used to our benefit, because when Unreal Engine is a much more sophisticated and versatile tool we are quite restricted by time and our abilities to use it, so taking the minimalist approach could prove advantageous.
We decided that in game we create player experiences of the world from the first perspective. Not typically used within the adventure/explorer horror genre, "First Person stories have the advantage that it is very hard for the reader to not feel sympathetic towards the narrator." (TV Tropes, 2004) It allows to convene a very personal experience within a game and could be useful when creating a claustrophobic atmosphere or sudden jump scares.
The other genre our project would fall into would be a Minigame Game - medium containing other games within it. "[This type of] game consists of a series of puzzles, challenges and games with very different requirements for defeating them" (TV Tropes, 2004) We are planning to create 3 minigames within our game - Platform Game (A Level requiring reaching the end of it by avoiding falling into the void), Word Puzzle (Text game answering a puzzle asked by the character we meet) and simple Escape Minigame which would aim to look like one of the Gmod incarnations presenting "bots (...) who possess a single-minded goal - find (...) player and deliver a one-hit kill". (TV Tropes, 2004) The last minigame is going to be contained within the actual level of the game, and the first-person perspective should fit it very well.
"By providing context to your larger mini-games, and fun to your purposely divergent ones, you can add depth, replay value and additional layers [to your game]" (DellaFave, 2014) Creating the minigames we are aiming at enriching the player's experience and keeping him engaged. Our goal by utilizing them within the game context would be achieving the four characteristics that constitute flow (an optimal experience described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) - "a challenging activity, clear goals, clear feedback, the paradox of having control in uncertain situation" (Katie Salen Tekinbaş and Zimmerman, 2003).
It is not easy to flawlessly introduce minigames into the main gameplay -"mini-games don't have to be meaningful or intimately tied to the gaming world, but they should make sense in the game's context." (DellaFave, 2014) Designing them we would use the in-game characters introducing us into them, and they would be well placed in the storyline.
The next concept useful when describing our project would be trope - "explained in wider context, is a storytelling device or convention" (tropedia.fandom.com, n.d.), a theme the audience will recognize and interpret accordingly. Narrowing this definition to video games, "tropes are not limited to the narrative element of the medium. Other aspects can become one, from game mechanics to the visual design". (Roberts, 2021) Video game tropes are often categorized by specific genres, like for example "horror game tropes". In the following paragraphs, I am going to describe tropes we are going to use in our game. I sourced all of them from the TVtropes website - a gold standard for exploring tropes across media, including video games. All the names of the tropes come from the website.
1. Gotta rescue them all - it is one of the more popular video game objectives to rescue either single or multiple characters. Once rescued they may stay to follow the main character, cooperate with him or run or fly off on its own. In our case, we are entering the game level to rescue our dog lost in it. Once we find it, we are going to escape the level with him, following us. This will deliver a core mechanic of the game and clear enough goal to be the main narrative component.
2. Jump scare - commonly used within the horror genre, "have been called lots of things: "cheap", "lazy", "the lowest form of horror" because the jump caused by a sudden loud noise is a physiological reaction you can't control, even when you're expecting it." (TV Tropes, 2004) However, used properly, not too often and with a sensible build up and momentum could be a useful gameplay mechanic - would allow the player to participate more (expecting the unexpected) and thus to deliver a meaningful play.
3. Instructive level design - very useful in delivering the players level the way designer intended. Key tool in delivering the flow - keeping the challenge at the appropriate level. We are planning to create our game level as maze. Not to bore the player with unsuccessful dog search, thus deliver the meaningful play, we plan to make the corridors leading to the dog significantly brighter and more interesting with detail and objects.
4. Unexpected gameplay change - changes of gameplay bring a variety to the player's experience, but they should be implemented sensibly not to disturb the flow of the game. We are planning to use minigames within our main mode of gameplay. To introduce them without disrupting the action, we bring them up when the player meets each of the characters. They are going to be related to the story and the message delivered by each character.
5. Boss Battle - lots of games (especially Action Games) include a confrontation with an enemy who is one of its kind, unique and stronger than other enemies we meet. This enemy his commonly referred as "Boss" and often defeating him is a crucial element of the game. In our prototype, we would face a boss after rescuing our dog in the final stage of the game, which the character would not confront but try to escape. The final run would be one of the minigames mentioned in the previous trope.
6. Creepy Twins - "identical twins who tend to speak, move, and act in tandem just enough to weird out the audience. " (TV Tropes, 2004) The other characters the player is going to interact with within the level are twins, brother and sister. They will have their individual creepy story to tell (related to the boss, their mother) and the minigame to invite to. They, together with their mother, should bring to the game a sense of conflict and uncertainty, key narrative elements fuelling tension and creating dramatic effects within the game.
7. The Maze - "mazes in video games are usually labyrinths. A simple maze consists of nothing more than a series of rooms through which navigation is not straightforward" (TV Tropes, 2004) In our game, the main game mechanic would be finding our way through the maze, right into its centre, where our lost dog and the Boss awaits. An important part of the explorer horror genre is environmental storytelling - the maze itself would serve as a narrative component of the story. As such a key structure, it will have to be properly addressed within the level and environment design.
8. Always Night - the setting where the sun never rises. It will be a key element of the environment design and would help to build the horror atmosphere.
The game prototype we are aiming to create will be of an Adventure Horror genre. The main game goal would be to find the dog lost at its entrance to the maze, which is the main game level. The main game mechanic is to get through the maze and complete the minigames triggered by meeting three characters. The final, third minigame would start when we find the lost dog, next to the final character we meet. It will be escaping from the maze with the rescued dog, resulting in the game ending.
Bibliography:
DellaFave, R. (2014). Designing RPG Mini-Games (and Getting Them Right). [online] Game Developer. Available at: https://www.gamedeveloper.com [Accessed 22 Jan. 2025].
Fast, E. (2004). TV Tropes. [online] TV Tropes. Available at: https://tvtropes.org/ [Accessed 23 Jan. 2025].
Hutchings, P. (2004). The horror film. Harlow, England ; New York: Pearson Longman.
Katie Salen Tekinbaş and Zimmerman, E. (2003). Rules of play : game design fundamentals. Cambridge, Mass.: Mit Press.
Perron, B. (2018). The world of scary video games : a study in videoludic horror. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
Roberts, S.R., Seán (2021). Improving video game conversations with trope-informed design. Game Studies, [online] 21(3). Available at: https://gamestudies.org/2103/articles/rennick_roberts [Accessed 22 Jan. 2025].
tropedia.fandom.com. (n.d.). Tropedia. [online] Available at: https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Tropedia [Accessed 23 Jan. 2025].