Mindsettings: IF Game
So I wanted to do an escape room type of game, because escape rooms don't necessarily require 'plot' and they require you to be very attentive to your surroundings.
Initially I was thinking of replicating my apartment, but then I was scrolling on Pinterest and came across these diagrams:
I derived the structure of my game from the first (three rooms connected by a central vestibule) and the content of the rooms (divine, romantic, and mundane) from the second. I also wanted to play with the idea of fulfilling conditions in order to win rather than 'getting out' of an exit. Therefore all the pathways out of the rooms are red herrings and lead to the players death. I also loved how in Bronze everytime the player examined the dining hall, a new flashback story would be revealed. I wanted to use this approach to reveal entries in a diary as well. Because our assignment was to focus on setting, I wanted to play with the idea that these spaces aren't really physical but actually different mindsets. Therefore in order to win you have to understand that these rooms are more like perspectives. You can't stay in the romantic or divine too long without diverging from reality. However, you need to take pieces of them with you (realizing that there is something divine and romantic aobut normal life), as well as leave pieces of yourself behind in order to win. I did the bit about leaving something behind as a condition just to make it less likely that someone would accidentally rather than intentionally win. But, there's meaning there in the sense that letting go of old things can help you 'move on.' I don't think this is the easiest game to play or even to understand necessarily, a least I'm not really sure, but I really enjoyed imbuing aspects of the setting with double meaning. Of course, I was heavily influenced by Subcutanean while making this, specifically how the Downstairs serves as physical representation of Orion's internal struggle. I wanted to do something similar, but more impersonal. This has been one of my favorite sketches, not really because I enjoy inform, but I think it's the most compelling concept I've had so far (at least to me), even if it wasn't executed perfectly. Overall I'm pretty happy with it!