The research on game mechanics turned out to also be their finalised version. Mind maps above present all the functions that in-game items have.
With those items it is possible to collect the clues necessary to reconstruct the events that happened in this place in the past.
In some locations the photo icon allows the player to take a picture and enter the “deduction mode” in which the player can piece together all the facts and recreate past events.
Gameplay in “deduction mode”:
Firstly, the player submits all the evidence which they think is relevant to what happened in this place.
Afterwards, the player needs to specify who the evidence belonged to (only applies to blood samples and fingerprints).
Finally, after all the evidence has been submitted and identified, the player needs to establish what events had taken place there. If the events have been recreated incorrectly, the player still gets 70 EXP, however it’s less than in the case of correctly recreated events (100 EXP) and the player doesn’t get to play in the flashback as the killer.
What happens after the player correctly recreates the events?
Correctly recreated sequence of events takes the player back into the killer’s past. At first I thought it would make the most sense to play as the killer at the spot where the events have been currently recreated at, but then I thought it might be more interesting to start from the beginning of his life, so that I would have the ability to explain the psychology behind his disturbing mind. The image above also does not really represent well enough the art style I was trying to achieve so I made another artwork which would explain the concept I had in mind better.
In this bluish, blotchy flashback mode, the player plays as the killer in his past and has the ability to interact with environment – talk to NPCs, collect objects and observe the killer’s actions. I want to point out here that this perspective switch does not intend to make the killer a more likable character or justify his future actions in any way. By implementing this mechanic I was aiming to make the player aware of the factors that caused the killer to become the bad person that he is and I wanted this educative fragment to have an entertaining format so that it would be remembered for longer.
Fingerprint Collection Gameplay
While exploring the mansion, the player will most likely stumble upon fingerprints which can be collected. I thought it might be useful to visualise how the fingerprint collection gameplay looks like.
Quests
One of the first quests in prologue, which the player will have to complete is find the keys to unlock all areas. Finished quests will provide the player with additional EXP, allowing them to advance to next chapters faster.
Upon entering the mansion, the player will be able to explore the main hall and reception. There, somewhere in the scattered documents, they will find a list of all the rooms in the motel and those will have to be opened in order to proceed further with the gameplay. Keys to all of the rooms (excluding T. Horton’s room, room 10, basement, shed) will be scattered somewhere around reception area and all the remaining keys will be placed in separate locations (the player will get hints as to where the remaining keys are).
Locations of 2 of the remaining keys:
