For my chosen emotions, I wanted players to feel a sense of thought-provoking euphoria. I take a lot of inspiration from the visual style of Gris, combining it with a more colorful, neon-filled ending visual style.
Here are three proposed directions our game, “Dimensional Drift,” can take:
- Blob goes through a traumatic event and is left to figure out how to deal with said event. They meet other characters who are willing to support them through the event, others who are trying to take advantage of their trauma, and others who simply don’t care. By meeting these characters, Blob learns different ways to cope with the trauma that they face and ultimately have to decide how to defeat or live with their trauma. This type of game relies heavily on the narrative but also offers challenge and fantasy as they navigate the puzzles Blob goes through. There is relatability in Blob as they experience the emotions that come with trauma.
- Blob’s story is not told through puzzles but through skill/level checks and required items they must find, similar to a game like Disco Elysium. Although this proposed direction is more mechanically-driven rather than story-driven, it provides an alternative for how we might want to tell Blob’s story if we find that our game has a stronger narrative than gameplay. This type of game relies almost exclusively on the narrative, with some discovery and challenge sprinkled through finding hidden items and figuring out how to level up past the skill checks. Making difficult choices will also be a key mechanic in this type of game.
- Blob’s story plays out as a 2D rpg, similar to games like Undertale, where Blob has to navigate Blob City. As they progress, they “battle” different characters who challenge their current understanding of the world. For example, a character like the “The Daredevil Racer” might move so fast that Blob would have to slow them down somehow. In that, Blob learns how to calm others and themselves down. The “battle” abilities would be reflections of emotions Blob has learned as he grows. This game offers a sense of challenge through the other characters and expression as players are able to build Blob however they like.
