Checkpoint 1 Concept Doc (Team)

Working Title: A Sea of Spells

Synopsis & Setting:

The year is 1602. Witches are real, but are seen as inherently wicked. While the witch hunts of Europe rage on, nobility all over the world privately recognize the value of keeping a witch under their control. As such, witches are often captured and sold into slavery. Some witches avoid either of these fates by becoming witch-slavers themselves, leveraging their own magic to ensnare and control their victims.

This is where our story begins. The players are a group of witches who have been caught by a notorious band of pirates led by the infamous witch-slaver, Captain Sthenovos. At the start of the game, they are trapped in the ship’s brig. Unfortunately for them, the pirates have just spotted land, and will be in port in just an hour. However, as they contemplate their fate, the ship’s cat, Periwinkle, slinks downstairs with the keys to the cell. The witches realize: this is their last chance to escape. Over the course of the game, the players must solve puzzles around the ship to sneak off the ship before it docks. For the first half of the game, the puzzles revolve around stealth and the clever use of items to progress through the ship. In the second half, the players will regain their magic, and will have to defeat Captain Sthenovos to survive!

Gameplay:

Our game will be an escape room in a box. As such, most of the puzzles will rely upon analog elements such as cards, paper props, and a few higher fidelity props such as glass bottles and the Big Mouth Billy Bass. Players will be able to solve all puzzles without the explicit use of technology, although the Billy Bass will be our hint system. Some puzzles may be easier to complete on pen and paper, so we will include some scratch paper and pencils in the box.

To traverse through rooms, the plan right now is to model our game after the Unlock! box games. These games allow players to “traverse” through a space by finding hidden numbers on cards and by solving the puzzles presented by the cards. The number associated with each card is often used as the solution to other puzzles, which is how players are guided through the game. However, we will likely invent a new me

thod of directing the players through the “physical” space that does not rely upon such math, as we have found it to be clunky for some kinds of puzzles.

Key Challenges for Design:

Balancing difficulty and accessibility: One of the primary challenges in designing this escape room game is striking the right balance between creating puzzles that are challenging and engaging while ensuring they are not too difficult or frustrating for players. This will involve extensive playtesting and iterative design to fine-tune the puzzles and make the game enjoyable for a wide range of players.
Integrating story and puzzles: The game has a strong narrative component, and it’s essential that the puzzles and gameplay elements feel organically connected to the story. We must ensure that the puzzles make sense within the game’s context and that solving them helps advance the narrative.
Physical space constraints: As an escape room in a box, the game’s components need to fit within a specific size and weight limit. This presents challenges in terms of selecting and designing props and materials that are both functional and space-efficient.
Pacing and progression: Designing the game’s structure and pacing will be crucial to ensure that players feel a sense of progression as they move through the game. This includes balancing the use of stealth and magic in the two halves of the game and creating a satisfying climax with the confrontation against Captain Sthenovos.

Key Challenges for Tech:

Big Mouth Billy Bass: We envision this as the primary source of instructions/hints throughout gameplay, so it must be comprehensive and reliable. We are currently planning on modding a stock Billy Bass. This will entail completely gutting and redesigning the internals based around an Arduino Nano. Code exists for controlling the motors in sync with audio, but we will have to create the input system from scratch. Fitting the wiring and designing it will be a significant challenge, since we have a finite space within the internals of the Billy Bass to work with. Guides exist online for adding bluetooth functionality to the bass, but we want our unit to be self-contained, so we will have to make our own recordings for the hints and figure out how to incorporate them into the bass.

Key Challenges for Art:

Representing rooms and items clearly: Because the different rooms of the ship will need to be seen on different cards, there’s a fairly substantial amount of original art that must be created for this game.
Theme: The game is set in the year 1602, and the art needs to reflect the historical setting. The design of the ship, the costumes, and the props need to be consistent with the time period, while also maintaining a fantasy element.
Designing props and puzzle components: We will need to design various props and puzzle components that are both visually appealing and functional within the game’s constraints. We must ensure that the art supports the gameplay and helps players understand and solve the puzzles.
Limited resources and production costs: Creating a high-quality and visually appealing game can be resource-intensive, and we will need to balance creative vision with the practical limitations of production costs and materials. This may involve making strategic choices about which elements to prioritize and finding creative solutions to deliver a polished final product within the given constraints.

Who is this for?

This witch and pirate themed escape room in a box is made for teams of approximately 2-5 people, although individuals can play on their own (though the group experience might be lost) and more than 5 people may be able to participate although the relatively larger group may cause some disparity in the involvement of each of the individual players. In terms of age group, the theme of our escape room is definitely kid friendly, but some of the puzzles and challenges might be more suitable for slightly older kids (as younger children may not have as much fun if the puzzles are a bit too difficult). Thus, the recommended age group would be around 12+.

In general, our game would be suited for groups of friends who want to have an exciting experience traversing through a pirate-ship quest while also solving puzzles along the way, all within the confines of a box. In the same way, this game would be great for families and can also work with younger children if parents or older siblings are involved.

In a more thematic sense, this game is made for those who want an adventure-styled and narrative-based escape room experience. While escape-rooms are generally mainly for the mind-bending puzzles or head-scratching riddles, this escape room is also trying to build an exciting and story-based aesthetic with its witch and pirate-themed narrative. Additionally, our game would also be suited for groups of people interested in fantasy, as our gameplay is deeply entrenched within that realm.