Spotify playlist (The Life of a Myopus)
Moodboard: The images above evoke a playful, cartoon-ish tone that may drive the worldbuilding aspect of the game. The moodboard is composed of objectives, motivations, and potential level-designs.
Emotions to evoke (player/user experience): Anguish, Fear, Optimism (hope)
The player will play as a myopus, a small hamster like creature, living in the deep depths of the forest with their family they must provide for.
Types of Fun: Adventure, Narrative, Fantasy.
Direction 1: Point and Click Adventure
We’ve all agreed that the strongest direction for our concept is a point-and-click adventure game. I believe this fits because it allows the game to primarily focus on atmosphere, puzzles, and environmental storytelling. Players can click through illustrated scenes, retrieve/collect objects, inspect details in the environment, and solve environmental puzzles.
Direction 2: Limited Movement as a Mechanic (Narrative)
The main mechanic would be limited movement. Because the myopus has such a short lifespan, every transition between scenes costs time. Each click forward represents not just travel, but aging. This gives the player a reason to be careful and efficient. Wandering too much, backtracking, or making unnecessary choices could mean arriving too late. The game becomes not only about solving puzzles, but about choosing what is worth spending your limited life on.
Direction 3: Moral of the Story
The moral of the story could center on human-caused environmental degradation and its effects on small, vulnerable lives. As the myopus travels farther from home, they eventually reach a part of the forest that has been deforested by humans. What was once a living habitat full of moss, shelter, and animal life is now barren and dangerous. This moment reinforces the anguish and fear within the game, showing that the myopus is not only racing against time, but also struggling through a world damaged by forces beyond their control (the soundtrack, specifically Fairy Fountain translates this struggle well). Their journey still reflects optimism and hope, as they continue forward out of love and determination (to retrieve the golden moss for their sick partner at home). This helps communicate a larger message about resilience, while also emphasizing the importance of protecting natural environments before they are permanently lost.
