Developer Journal #1: I'm Designing a Text-based Psychological Horror Game?

Is that... Even possible? It dawned on me a couple of weeks ago that I have learned just enough programming to be able to design my first game. Exciting I know! Now I've been told to take it easy on this one—it's genuinely my first attempt at making anything like this, no one's going to expect it to be good.

So let me ask...

what if it was good?

Initial Observations

I've seen and played a ton of popular video games, along with niche games with cult followings, and many titles people have never heard of. There's a specific type of quality to them that awaken sides of us we've never explored. I've also encountered many "first time" developer games, and have seen forums filled with people who want to make something, but gave up before their dream could reach fruition.

Now I'm not Miyamoto or Yamaoka, but I feel that whatever my release will look like, that it just may be worth the playthrough. I was fortunate enough to not have to cut corners while picking up the fundamentals of C++, and what's keeping me going through this literal mountain of homework is the simple thought; "Hey, I can put this in a game."

The Limitations of Text Only

I've chosen to start from the ground up. Instead of dividing my attention between gameplay and making a gooey (GUI/graphical user interface) for it, I wanted to do the best I could without being held back by not knowing how to make the game play as intended. There is a lot I would miss out on, as the Windows console is not the most attractive setup, nor it's own limitations of what you can and cannot do.

Challenges that I face involve not having jumpscares, and losing the visual connection players often have with characters. How are you going to fear... What you cannot see? Books, are a magical thing. Instead, my focus must be redirected to the game's framework, story line, and any other genre-breaking tropes I can conjure up. The overall game mechanics must make up for the sheer lack of graphics and sound. I'm a girl, of course I love a game with cute cosmetics, but instead of making a pretty alright title—I want to go "one more".

This is going to be an interesting project to say the least. Whenever I'm asked what kind of game I'm making, and I respond with text-based, I can almost feel the support being less of sounds amazing, and a little more of...

I will play it because you made it (no matter if it's great or not so great.)

The Horror Game Genre

With something as widely established as horror games, at first glance it would appear that I have my work cut out for me. Design is counter-intuitive. I don't plan to rehash what other games have done, but become inspired of what they have accomplished and done to innovate this spectrum of absurdity already existing. When I think of Horror games, I remember games like Tundra Penumbra, where your goal appeared to be not to encounter any enemies, using stealth like you were Snake or something.

Amnesia made it so you had to choose when you were going to end up screwed or not. In the first 20 minutes I was already panicking after spamming my tinderboxes any chance I had. Rooms and textures warped, and you would hallucinate things that in retrospect were obviously not there.

SCP Containment Breach made players have to actually plan out their pathing using the "blink meter", you would have to evade enemies when for a portion of it, you couldn't see. Things would appear sometimes when you opened your eyes and you would have to plan accordingly while having the constant worry that an SCP would be in your face everytime you opened your eyes. This is not even to mention the density of it's lore.

I'm not even going to touch on FNaF, but you get the gist—great horror games have mechanics you haven't seen a million times before. Each one possessing something unique, that you didn't think was possible before playing them. To even make a splash here, I would have to come up with concepts just as ridiculous.

Game Inspirations

While the titles listed above could soothe most fixes, they weren't the ones that drove me into wanting to create one of my own. What makes a game horrifying to me relies on many factors, that aren't the easiest to place your finger on. These are some of the titles that inspired me:

Lemmings

Bubble Bobble

Kirby (and The Amazing Mirror)

Yume Nikki

LSD: Dream Emulator

Silent Hill 2 and 4

DDLC (Doki Doki Literature Club)

IB

While I won't go into the nitty gritty on what makes these games stand out in a league of their own, I will touch on one asset that all of these games posses. Each of these titles listed genuinely challenge the player's mind, to think and act in ways that make you question your sanity. You play until you're stuck, then you reach the point beyond conspiracy levels in your own strategy... In desperation, you go out of your way to try something that just can't work that way... but it does.

Things like that, give me major respect towards a game and the teams that develop them.

What I Think Makes a Great Game

I like to be abstract on ways a game can make you feel, but there are still many key traits that amazing games have that I simply can't overlook. A great soundtrack can tie together a well thought out story, or introducing a mechanic that monopolizes on subconscious fears.

Memorable characters, emotional timing, good controls. These are some of the things that generally engross a player into the world that was made for them to learn about, explore, and connect with. There is no right or wrong here, but what separates a good game from a great one is the designer's awareness of the player.

When a game is made, the developers are aware that people are going to play it. But who plays it, and why is something that needs to be grasped when making one. Great games are easy to pick up, but feel impossible to master. There is always something more, that is missed at first glance. I love fanservice in games, and no—not panty flashing. Putting something in their game that only the most hardcore can appreciate, and it leaves you in awe. They put it in there to reward your dedication of time to them, and to show their own appreciation for you—the player.

It's amazing to experience something that blows your mind as intended by someone else.

Revealing Some of This Game's Details

Now this article wouldn't be fun at all if all you had was the most general sounding description of what I was actually doing. Development has already started, and for now I'm a one man team. The title of the game is called Ineffable, and will be PC only. I was originally planning to host a closed beta in September to receive feedback and to determine what changes should be implemented. Depending on what happens, it will likely be later in the year.

Ineffable already has a few "unique mechanics" that are uncommon to see and difficult to compare to. One of them I have never seen in another game before! It will be beatable for any player, but will cater to all levels of enthusiasts. There are multiple arcs and endings in the works as well. Ineffable does 4th wall breaking and I will have to include warnings prior to release. Lastly Ineffable is a non-linear game, depending on your play you may have an entirely different experience from someone else.

As far as no graphics or sound, I'm slightly teasing c: I'm already working on "some things" that should mitigate the issues, but they will take quite a bit more time to make. I admit a text-only game sounds exhaustingly boring, so I am making something I would want to play myself! 💖

No promises on how long it will be right now, but I'm aiming to bump the playtime up as I continue development. Coming up I will be keeping you posted on the game's progress, while covering the different paths/gameplay styles I'm taking while working on this project!

Prototyping Stage

It's a text game, but it's only getting started.