DUAT (2019)
Team project (1 designer + 2 Artists + 2 Programmers)
Adventure/Puzzle
Time: 2 months
OVERVIEW
Discover the secrets of a lost world either alone or with a friend (one player on the mouse another on the keyboard) in this short experimental adventure using a dual control system that separates the player and the character. Just as you’d choose dialogue options in a text adventure, you can perform actions to make your choice in this visual adventure, using a full body control system – that lets you manipulate the arms, legs, head and eyes of your character.
DUAT works as a Reverse Metroidvania. Since all abilities are already unlocked, the real challenge comes from figuring out what to do and in what combination as well as what choice each action could reflect, given the situation.
There is: No Text. No Tutorial. No Dialogue. No UI. Your goal? To find purpose and order in this world of chaos and discover how far you can go before you eventually give up.
MY ROLE
Game Designer
I worked on the design for the world, the 'choices' and the narrative. It was interesting to design challenges for the player that made good use of the full body movement system. Since the player receives no guidance or tutorial, it was important that these challenges were not difficult in the traditional puzzle sense, but rather allowed the player to make a choice between two possibilities.
The ideal play-through would be equivalent to the experience of reading a book but translated to a game with narrative that is driven entirely by the environment, without any text, dialogue or objectives, letting a player's imagination guide them through the story, just like a book does.
The separation of player and character through controls and mechanics was also important to reinforce the main theme of duality,
“Puzzles” are all based on 1 of the 5 identified characteristics of human-kind. They are Achievement – the urge to apply knowledge and ideals to excel at a challenge. Cooperation – the innate desire for working with others and being a part of society. Consumption – the need to consume resources in order to live. Self-Preservation – safety and security of the body; the will to live. Control – The need to be in charge of a given situation; to decide your own destiny. Each “puzzle” presents the player with a choice that either reinforces or goes against these ideals.
Project Manager & Sound Designer
We used the SCRUM methodology for this project as we didn't have much time to deliver a prototype. Our efficiency wasn't great as most team members had full time jobs to attend to besides the project. Daily meetings weren't possible, but we tried to have a weekly sprint meeting. Overall I think our scope was fine, but perhaps our efficiency could have been better, which would have given us more time to test the game with target audiences.
I also created an original background score and sound effects with surrealistic synths mixed with classical tunes incorporating strings and wind instruments. Sad yet hopeful background music that adds to the feeling of exploring this massive and lonely planet.
