unforum

[MarbleArk]

Do. Want. Now.
This is the best idea i've ever heard for a game. OMG I can just imagine The guys who made Amnesia making this! That would make my life complete.

[HecateNight]

OMG SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS THREAD!!!!! (I am majoring in Game Development, with a concentration in the artistic aspects of it.) I have been thinking for a very long time about this game as well. I mostly play horror games, and I am pretty much an authority on horror games. I really love them! Although I do tend to like games that are not as well accepted by most people... but whatevs. Very glad to see discussion on this!

So, here are my ideas on this game.

1. It's going to be a combination of a bunch of games, taking things from many different horror games that worked well.

2. As far as the physics goes, and for physical interactions and melee combat, I would like to see it similar to Condemned. I think that the exploration, jump scares, running, and the ability to grab a melee weapon (however feeble or strong) from the environment would suit the feel of Marble Hornets. In Condemned, the player as well as enemies could grab pipes, two-by-fours, mannequin parts, or whatever else was lying around that could be used as a weapon. I think parts such as the Masky encounter in Brian's house would benefit greatly from this.

3. Considering the timeline, I think we need to look at Siren as a reference. One thing I like about Siren is that it always spelled out where you were in the timeline of events, who you were playing as, and what your objective for the scenario was. I think, given the segmented feel of the Entries, the game would be best played using the timeline layout similar to that of Siren (I'm talking about the first one. Never played the sequels or the PS3 remake or whatever.) This way, the entries can still be presented in the order Troy and Joseph want them to be presented in, while not losing players in the confusion of where they are or what they are trying to do. Players need to know their objectives.

4. Video cameras are integral to MH. I loved the camera combat mechanics of Fatal Frame, and thought they were very fun. MH practically needs this, tailored to the mechanics of MH of course, and I think it would be great for doing non-combat things such as documenting hidden TTA messages or capturing hidden TTA masky sightings. Think about being able to capture shots of the papers found in Alex's house, perhaps for later analyzation, or discovering a masked person standing at the same spot that a TTA video was filmed from, perhaps filming Jay as he explores. Regarding camera combat, one thing I see that the game could do with this is give players a feeling of fending off or escaping temporarily from the Operator through the use of Jay's camera, complete with all the telltale distortion. Imagine how cheap it would feel if you were playing through the Operator encounter in Entry 40 and the game just took control away from you (lol) and you just watched a cutscene as Jay up and ran? Not very fulfilling for the player. It would be much more fun to have to shit yourself trying to capture the Operator on camera and fight him off just to buy yourself enough time to run through the forest and live another day. That, and you can get scared just by fiddling with your viewfinder and seeing the Operator through a window. Maybe in the MH game some things can only be seen through the camera?

5. There are many instances, and Entry 46 demonstrates this the best, where Jay needs to (at least attempt) some stealth, such as hiding in the closet. I would like the game to draw some inspiration from Clock Tower or Haunting Ground for this. I like the idea, especially mixed in with periods of action, exploration, puzzle solving, and evidence analyzing, of there being times when poor ol' Jay just has to hide (or even other characters, I'll get into that later). This would definitely up the tension, especially in moments where the player has to hide temporarily from the Operator while planning an escape from it. Or even hiding from Timmasky or another Masky. Think of having to escape from the hotel with Tim chasing you down. You go down the stairs, now what? You hide underneath the staircase, while he aggressively hunts for you. That will definitely put some fear into the MH game.

6. And who will the player play as? An obvious answer is Jay, but I really like the idea of not playing as him in all entries. Think of ones with only Alex in it, the player would definitely be playing as him. This can add more to the story when players are Jay running from the Operator in the woods (40) and then they are some mysterious hooded character (41) then play as Alex discovering Jay in 42. Also I think, especially in the Season 1 entries, that players should be playing some entries as minor characters. A vision I had for the very beginning of the game is to start players right off when Alex and Seth are together, and have the player be Seth. At the end when Seth is taken by the Operator we immediately cut to the Introduction, a foreshadow to the cut to driving after Tim's leg is broken. I also like the idea of some segments of the game where players are a member of TTA, just trying to get some footage and not get caught, while still keeping TTA's motives and identity under wraps from the player until much later in the game. This will keep players curious about the story behind the characters they control. Also, as a new game plus bonus, we can unlock more TTA segments, with all identities revealed so that players know what everyone is doing at different points in time to give replay value to the game and get more story on a second playthrough.


OMG if anyone seriously read all that I will seriously hand you a virtual cookie.

EDIT: My avatar is totally your reaction to seeing this wall o' text, amirite?

[Xicon]

[Foood]

insight on cameras:

I'm not sure if I like the camera system too much. I mean, I'm cool with the idea of the player having to get tapes/batteries and such, but having the game take place in first person without looking through the camera, while also being able to look through the camera, may make it too confusing.

For all we know, when Jay/Alex encounter The Operator in the MH universe, they don't necessarily black out on-the-spot. Things happen, but the viewer is unable to discern exactly what because the camera goes out and the characters lose their memory of that time period. The tapes are the only way Jay and Alex are able to recall anything. However, the player won't be able to actually lose his/her memory so they'll be able to see what happens after the camera goes out... which is why the game should be presented strictly through the camera's view.

Plus, would you really wanna look through tapes of stuff you just did?

The only advantage to having the camera/tapes be a separate view is that it prevents the player from "reacting" to Slendy distortion that he shouldn't technically be able to see. But honestly, if you can see Slendy distortion, you're probably already screwed. And who knows, maybe Jay and Alex could see the distortion on their camera's viewfinders.

But having the view be through cameras wouldn't be too restricting. The player would be able to set down the camera in any place, though they wouldn't be able to wander too far out of view. They would also be able to get multiple cameras and switch between different camera's views with a simple button combination. The chestcam would be included in the game, and would be an obvious upgrade because it would allow the player to wield two items at a time instead of one. If the player has multiple cameras set up, the cameras can "go out" if The Operator gets too close, but the character himself will not black out (getting warped to another location at a later time) unless The Operator approaches the cameras that are viewing/being held by the character.


While an MH-related game will probably never be made, it's fun to discuss this stuff.

[HecateNight]

^ I like that idea, and it stays true to MH. The idea of having a camera set down and having Jay/Alex/whoever walking around reminds me of the camera angles in the first resident evil and silent hill games. The only thing I'd watch out for is making sure the player doesn't get disoriented.

[Masky]

There needs to be some sidequests. In one, you have to rescue Brian from the Loop of Unhappiness.

[Andvalli]

[Masky]

You also unlock Troll Mode, where all the tapes are Gimme 20 Dollars or some other dumb video.

[MachZero]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GURPS

this could be helpful as well, and is what the Fallout SPECIAL sytem is based on

[MachZero]

This could also be looked at for inspiration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan:_Report_from_Hell

[Chest Cam Avenger]

For the camera-mode, I'm thinking something along the lines of Iron Helix, or Myst. More puzzle than adventure/action.

Also, when the flashlight dies, you just see "It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a Grue."

Seriously though, I know it'll probably never happen, but I love the idea. The concept of seeing your camera off to the side start freaking out and slowly realizing that means the Operator is near would freak me right the hell out.

[12th]

[Zarggg]

Gameplay thoughts:
When you (the player) starts the game, you're only told that an old friend has given you a set of tapes and that there was something odd about them. It's up to the player to watch the initial ones and figure out the story and where to start looking for more, rather than being told everything up front.

[punxtr]

It would be much easier to base it off several vlogs like MH, and create your own unique story without worrying about bumping shoulders with Troseph or related.

Also, someone suggested camera angles like in Myst? How would that work? The puzzle aspect doesn't seem strong in MH either; LA Noire is probably as close as it gets off the top of my head?

[Randoman96]

@Foood - You're not looking through the camera, it's just the camera's screen in the corner. The only reason for the camera in FP view is for real-time Operator detection, and then you can stop and go over the past few minutes of tape to do more in-depth checking.
At home, you can use the tab system to jump to important events that may offer a different view from the camera.

@punxtr - I posted the OP on /x/, and they suggested making it have its own original story.
Puzzles are basically the TTA decoding "software", piecing together evidence of your own accord, and teleporting doors.

Sorry if none of this made sense, I'm running on less than two hours of sleep.