Moodboard:
Spotify playlist:
Directions for the game:
My ideas for the game focus on Narrative and Fantasy fun, and possibly Challenge depending on what mechanics might be included. One would be a narrative-driven game where the player wakes in a dystopian world and must save it/unveil its mysteries, involving a cast of characters and cursed objects. These objects would serve as particular milestones for the player to destroy or collect, and be used in the final end goal of the game narrative-wise. This could be accomplished as a 2.5D-like traverser or sidescroller, as examples.
Branching off but staying close to this concept, I thought one interesting direction would be to focus on the characters. The cursed objects could be affecting them, such that they flip between alternate versions of themselves. Narrative could focus on the world and reason for this, and the player could work through clearing levels that are based on each specific character and their mental state. In this sense, the player is “breaking” their curse in an active sense as level progression, while an overarching story is built.
Another idea would have the player perhaps already be an established role within a cyberpunk world, something like a vigilante/bounty hunter/mission agent/etc. They would then accomplish tasks based on a central hub where players can pick which missions to choose, and thus somewhat custom-shape their narrative/gameplay experience. After some number of sub-missions, they would be brought on track to a main mission with more significant narrative. The player would then discover things, i.e. perhaps sinister forces within the world, as they go and save a bigger cause by the end.
Some very rough thumbnail sketches of possible frames based on those ideas and a concept of a cursed object:
