Overview
This game adopts a linear story structure; this means that when the player talks to Harley, they are given a main objective (hints where the next incantation piece is). Players must get the previous object in order to progress to get the next one; more than one object cannot be found in a single day. However, once the players have the main objective, they are free to wonder around the world and complete tasks non-linearly, this means that when a player has accepted a task, this can be carried over to the next day.
I want the player to be given some sort of freedom when they play this game.
Types of worlds
There are two types of worlds, the day and night. These two vary in difficulty, the day time is more colourful and there is little psychological horror aspects, whereas during the night, the player encounters enemies; lost souls. Night time also has a different colour palette in comparison to the day.
World Progression
As the player progresses with the game, the game will sort of break the 4th wall. This can be done by having another NPC be aware that they have a task to be done. 4th wall breaks become more and more obvious as the game goes on. This is shown through the environment by having “unloaded textures” or images. By adding this, it will contribute to the psychological horror aspects of the game.
Incantation pieces
Incantation pieces are scattered across the map. The main goal of the game is to retrieve all these pieces and the player can only retrieve one piece per day
Once all of the pieces have been found, the player will encounter a cutscene with the Ring Master and a boss fight will commence.
Side quests
The player can choose to interact with the main circus crew and do a side quest for them. In return, the player gets a special ability. There are 5 in total.
Map concept
This is roughly what the map could look like, as long as the main points you see are here, other environments can be added as well to make the area feel more lively.