Synopsis
You are a reporter exploring a town that has been uncovered by an exceptionally low tide. At first, it seems like nothing but another boring assignment from your megalomaniac boss, but when you find a torn page*, you start to think there might be more to what happened here. As you try to uncover the hidden truth about what happened, you will explore different parts of the town, uncovering connections between the inhabitants, connected by a mysterious ritual. You must deal with the town as well as the tide.
* hints at the murder of the innocent girl
Mystery
When the player comes to the town to investigate, it seems as if an innocent girl has been murdered while trying to escape something. As the player explores, they uncover the events that led to this event.
The town of Kenrak was a once-bustling fishing town on the Coast of the Northwest. A lively and thriving community, the townspeople were known for the hospitality and killer fish stew. But with great success comes great consequences – overfishing led to the waters becoming destitute. With the main source of income dried up, the townspeople looked to the mayor to bring the town back to its former glory. After several unsuccessful attempts to revitalize the town, people began leaving Kenrak behind to find a new home.
The mayor makes a desperate wish on a cold, dark night for his town to become whole again. The next day, a mysterious visitor came to the town, and began to spread seemingly good fortune. The beginnings of a cult form, as the mayor of the town becomes convinced of the visitor’s god-like powers to grant their wishes, controlling the tide and bringing them a good harvest, encouraging the townspeople to do whatever it takes to satisfy the visitor.
As the influence of the visitor spreads, the town becomes more violent and selfish. things begin to take a darker turn, as the visitor begins to demand payment for the fortune he has brought -something beloved, irreplaceable. In attempts to appease the visitor, the townspeople give up anything they have – from prized possessions to their severed limbs, they attempt to pay for what they have received. But it wasn’t enough. The mayor, the leader of the cult that has formed, is forced by the townspeople to acknowledge the sacrifice he refuses to make. His daughter, who has remained one of the only townspeople to remain wary of the visitor and his gifts, who he loves more than anything, who cannot be replaced, must be sacrificed to repay the debt owed.
When the time comes, the mayor fails to complete the ritual and sacrifices his daughter. The townspeople revolt, attacking the mayor and his daughter for their selfishness. The townspeople kill the mayor, and as they attack his daughter, she makes her first and final wish to punish the town for what they have done, to never forget the sins they have brought upon the land. The visitor laughs cruelly and grants this ultimate wish, swallowing the town whole, never to be seen again.
The player investigates the homes of the townspeople to reveal their desires, the dynamics of the town, their loss of reason as they hunt for the innocent girl to get to her first, and the actual process of the ritual itself.
Tone
- Curiosity
- Foreboding/Tension
Tone References
- Silent Hill
- Resident Evil
- Return of Obra Dinn
- Outer Wild
Setting
- Pacific Northwest, Seattle-ish area.
- Set in the past and present
Gameplay
- Delving into rotten and dilapidated houses. Playing small minigames in town (mixing drinks, fishing, etc) to replicate actions in the past.
- The different houses in the town are different mini-dungeons that the player explores and solves puzzles in to uncover clues about the past
- A conspiracy corkboard that keeps track of all of the discoveries the players have made (each clue found, connections between clues) that the player can access anytime to review
Key Challenges for Design
- Creating a compelling story that can be integrated into puzzles
- How much randomness should be a part of what objects change with the tide? It needs to be somewhat random, but also controlled in that the player should still be able to make interesting discoveries each cycle.
Key Challenges for Tech
- How complex do we want the puzzles to be?
- How can we construct a visual representation of the clues that the player has discovered
- Rituals to activate cutscenes–what will the code for this look like?
Team Concept Docs
Concept & Mood – Ore – Team 8 – The Mechanics of Magic
https://mechanicsofmagic.com/2023/05/08/concept-doc-2/
https://mechanicsofmagic.com/2023/05/09/checkpoint-1-concept-doc-18/
https://mechanicsofmagic.com/2023/05/08/p2-checkpoint-1-concept-doc-2/
