...
This "Don't go up the Stairs!"
mission is an excellent vertical slice of my overall game concept because it
includes all the major components and unique selling points of His Dreams. Among the major hooks is the
player's ability to choose their survival strategies and mission order. Each of
these choices is followed by meaningful repercussions that empower the player's
sense of control. The mission is also rich in creative objectives, various
mission solutions, character depth, dialogue interaction, shadow opponents, rewards
for wise solutions, an unsettling yet slightly beautiful atmosphere pastiche
and many mysterious allusions to Simon's real life which are baked into various
aspects of the game. It runs approximately 1-2 hours.
Symbolism & Setting
The mission solely takes place in a
house with many ghosts and dark secrets. This setting is especially important
because houses in dreams usually symbolize the dreamer. The narrow house stands
several precarious stories high and digs a few floors deep into the earth. Many
of the rooms in the house are symbolically locked with ominous warnings to
anyone who dares open them. When a player tries to open a locked door, a scary
image will flash and their controller will shake. This image will give them a
clue of what lies behind the door, and perhaps give them a taste of how nervous
Simon would feel. These locked rooms will often contain some ghost, object or
setting that Simon associates with his fears, self-loathing or repressed
experiences. As the player begins to unlock these rooms and battle, avoid or outwit
what's inside, they are exposed to an unsettling yet captivating hodgepodge of
rooms belonging to different periods and events in Simon's life. For example,
the player will enter a room directly after a shotgun has gone off inside, only
to find they're in Simon's suicidal mother's shabby living room, but only the
gun is to be found. Most of the atmosphere and unspoken emotion for this
mission are set by these allusions, juxtaposing mysterious rooms and lighting
ala David Lynch's Inland
Empire.
Choices, Control & Dialogue Interaction
When the mission begins, Simon, his
domineering boss, Don and best friend Travis are trapped in the haunted house
with sociopathic punks chasing them. They must escape by working together to
find the front door key. Bad choices will lead to the injury or death of a
group member and constantly wanting to be the decision-maker will lead to the
group splitting up, which is more dangerous for everyone. However, if the
player never insists on being the leader, they will miss out on holding many of
the weapons and other items the group finds. The player and Don must share the decision
making power for the group. When wanting to decide, the player must use
dialogue choices to convince Don to agree to their strategy. The mission
establishes this gameplay concept within the first couple minutes. As the group
barricades themselves in the kitchen to keep out the punks, a prominent knife
is stuck in the cupboard. The player has a few seconds to grab it before Don.
If Don gets it first, the player can argue that they should be the leader and
therefore hold the group's only weapon. If Don agrees or if the player grabs
the knife first, they are the leader for the first decision. Seconds later, the
punks are successfully breaking past the barricade. The player must decide
between two escapes: the door leading to the foyer or the hole in the kitchen's
floor that leads to the cellar. The wise choice is the door to the foyer, which
Don will choose if he's the leader. If the player makes the unwise decision to
jump blindly into a hole in the floor with no exit strategy, they will have to
pay the consequences. A gruesome and violent ogre, who symbolizes Simon's birth
father, dwells in the recesses of the house. The player will not be strong
enough yet to defeat this creature. The group has no other option but to climb
back up to the kitchen. However, since they have no rope yet, they will have to
use Travis to boost them up, which leaves him vulnerable to an ogre attack. Now
the group has to cater to an injured person. If Travis gets seriously hurt
again, he will die.
Missions & Strategy
The mission's arc is based on three
missions and a final battle that is influenced by the player's choices
throughout the mission. The main difference between these missions is the boss
at the end. To complete each mission, the player will have to battle one of the
punks. Each punk has a weakness that is the strength of one of the strategy
choices. These strategy choices are one of the main variables in this overall
mission and game. At the beginning of each mission, if the player is the
leader, they can choose between searching for keys, searching for weapons or
hide and sneaking around the house. Each of these choices and their level of
consistency have repercussions.
If the player chooses to hide and
sneak (i.e., Stealth) for a mission, they will mainly gain access to rooms by
travelling between the tight spaces between walls, vents and other secret
passageways. The advantages to this strategy are the player receives the most
protective armour and attracts less ghosts and confrontations. However, they
will find few weapons, which makes them vulnerable, especially if they are too
clumsy and get caught travelling in these mobility stifling spaces. The player
also can't explore much or gather as many items because it increases their risk
of getting caught.
If the player chooses to search for
weapons to battle their foes (i.e., Psycho) they will mainly gain access to
rooms by finding weapons strong enough to break down the doors. This strategy
has the advantage of open exploration and more weapons to take on any enemy. However,
the violent nature of this strategy attracts more ghosts. The player will also
receive the least protective armour items.
If the player chooses to search for
keys to the locked rooms (i.e.,
Clever Boy), they will mainly gain access to rooms by solving puzzles to find
keys or items to open the doors. This player can explore freely, get a medium
amount of protection and weapons, and attract a medium amount of enemies. However,
opening doors by solving puzzles is generally more difficult for the average player
than killing or sneaking. Don will often choose this option.
The
consistency in which the player chooses each option also has repercussions.
Choosing the same strategy, such as stealth, every time not only indicates the
player is most likely not sharing power with Don, but also that they're not
accumulating any puzzle solving or attacking skills. This may cause problems
when they encounter two of the three bosses. However, the advantage to this
strategy is that the player will have the highest level of stealth skills and
items possible in the overall mission.
Choosing mission order is another strategic
variable because each mission's final boss has a unique weakness that
corresponds to one of the strengths of the strategy choices. Dido is blind and
will be easier to defeat with stealth; Fido is vicious and can only be defeated
with force; and Zippo has a spark of humanity that can be appealed to through
conversation manipulation. Also, since the player gathers items from every
mission, it's best to leave their weakest mission until the last when they have
gained more items for protection.
The Ogre & Rewards for Wise Choices
The final variable is the symbolic
ogre in the cellar. The player can choose whether to kill, befriend or avoid
the ghastly creature. Befriending is the most difficult. It's accomplished
through careful dialogue choices and attack restraint. If the player befriends
the ogre, he will rescue the group in the final scene and, even more important,
the player's rapport with the NPCs in the Dream Hub will increase. This results
in NPCs revealing more secrets and giving more items.
Final Battles & Proof of Consequence
When each mission is completed, the
player receives half of a light bulb that's tinted with a colour corresponding
to the strategy they used to complete the mission. (i.e., stealth = blue,
psycho = red, clever boy = green). By the end, the player should have a
complete light bulb of one colour or a piece of all three, which is the
equivalent of a full green light bulb. When all three missions are completed, a
large industrial door in the bottom level of the basement opens. Beyond it is a
dirty and poorly lit hallway with three doors.
The player plants their light bulb in the socket outside their
corresponding locked door and enters. This will be their final battle, which is
distinctly lit by the light bulb they just placed.
The predominantly Psycho player's
mission will involve getting the front door key out of Fido stomach after he
swallows it. Guess how? The predominantly Stealth player will have to quietly
maneuver around a slumbering restless psychotic and delusional man dressed in
baby's clothing in order to get the key. The predominantly Clever Boy player
will have to sort through Simon's toy chest and find the toy that represents
one of Simon's biggest fears. For every wrong guess, he will have to battle a
slew of ghosts.
A Final Test
As the player uses their key in the
front door following their final battle, they will be transported to the final
locked door in the house, which is the attic. The punks will be there standing
in front of a closed and curious stage curtain with their guns drawn. If the
player attacks, the punks will kill them before their weapon is even drawn. Fido
will announce one of you must volunteer to be killed in ten seconds or all of
you die. If the player volunteers, they will be shot and instantly freed from
the house, since it's a symbol of Simon. Mission
complete. However, if they don't volunteer, at the last second, Travis will (or
Don if Travis is dead). The punks will mess with him, but shoot no one. Having
had their fun, they run off gleefully laughing behind the curtain. Unless, of
course, the player quelled the ogre: in that case he will attack the punks
before they can count down from ten.
With nowhere to go and nothing else
to do, the player will look behind the curtain and notice the punks have
disappeared. There is just a mirror with an eerie reflection of Simon bound and
gagged. Once the player touches the reflection, the mission is complete.
Rewards
A cut scene from Simon's real life
will follow this. It will illustrate the main theme of the "Don't go up the
Stairs!" mission, which is Simon's power inadequacies. This scene will
illustrate his struggle to have any control over his fourteen year old daughter
and the rift that has grown between them since Simon's wife died.
Player also now has a thermal suit
when they return to the Dream Hub. They can possibly use it in future missions,
unless they've already completed the missions where this suit is helpful. This
is an example of a mission reward that helps influence an ideal main mission
order.
