UX / Gameplay

Gameplay Arc

For DREAD IT, our team was focused on an idea for a tense game about overwhelmingly powerful monsters that the player has to use their wit to just barely defeat. We went through a lot of iterations, but what we landed on was my idea for fragments that the player would have to destroy while being chased.

The gameplay loop goes like this:

First, the exploration / setup phase:

The player arrives at the level, which is in a safe state with no monsters around. Their task is to explore, find all the fragments, and identify their route to destroy all of them. Once their route is planned, they lay out their traps, and head to the first fragment.

Then, the execution Phase:

Of the 2-4 fragments in a level, the player can choose whatever order they want to destroy them. Once they destroy the first one, the Shade appears and begins to relentlessly chase them.

With each subsequent fragment, the player has to arrive at it with enough time to spare so that they can destroy it without the Shade grabbing them, which forces players to think strategically about their route. When each fragment is destroyed, the Shade is then re-summoned to where the fragment is, which resets the chase to where the player is just a few meters ahead of it.

Then, the final chase:

Once all the fragments are destroyed, the Shade becomes unstable, and the players have to lead it to the Aperture at the beginning of the level to capture it. Once it's within range, players just have to press interact and the Shade is finished. This serves as one last "skill check," which keeps the chase tense until the very last moment.

I was very inspired for this moment by one of my favorite games, SOMA, where there is a sequence where a monster chases you down a hallway and you have to turn around and hit the button to close the door very quickly to reach safety.

Keeping the Aperture locked at the start of the level also gives each level a loop where players experience each space in two contexts, similar to Pizza Tower, where you go in slow, then come out fast.

The gameplay loop overall was also very inspired by Teardown, where you have to plan a route through a level to steal a number of paintings within a short duration that starts ticking when the first painting is grabbed.

The Fragments

With the Fragments, what I would describe as the primary element of each level, I wanted to make sure that interacting with them instilled the feeling of dread. In order to amp up this feeling of tenseness that they get while destroying them, I added a slight zoom out that, when matched with the string riser that plays, creates a sort of sinking feeling that is then turned to adrenaline as the fragment shatters, and the shade erupts with a roar.

I also made use of our particle system, lighting, and camera parallax to give them an obviously unnatural vibe that really draws attention. This was especially important because the fragments themselves can be anything, from TV remotes to staplers, so this unified them and made them easily identifiable.

I also added an additional stream of particles directing towards where the shade would be summoned, because players were having a hard time identifying where the shade was coming from.

Additionally, thanks to our wonderful composer Nathan Brookman, each level had a layered soundtrack that got more intense with each fragment broken, making the chase feel more and more intense. When the final fragment is broken, the Pillar tells the player to "RUN," and the screen maintains a constant, subtle shaking until the level is over.

The Aperture

In each level, the Aperture is both the first and last thing the player sees, as it's always placed right at the entrance of the building.

One of the big signifiers I made for it was the indicator light, which is akin to a small stoplight and shows the state of the Aperture. When it's red, there are still more fragments to destroy. If the player tries to use it, it will produce a dull click, and Peggy will say "I need to destroy the fragments first." When it's yellow, the fragments are destroyed but the shade is not in range. When it's ready to use, and the shade is within range, the light will turn green.

At this point, the player just needs to hit the interact key, which will cause the aperture to produce a bright flash, which starts the Shade death sequence. I was very inspired by the way the Blight Gannons in BOTW die, so I used our particle system to create tendrils that would explode out of the Shade, shaking the camera while doing so.

Struggle Phase

Since we really wanted to Shade to feel unbeatable to an unarmed Peggy, we agreed that a health system for the player would be disingenuous. However, we still wanted to give the player fail states, and a couple opportunities to save a run from a slip-up.

Back in Tugboat Terror, I implemented a system where enemies would grab on to the player, and they would have to wiggle the left and right keys to free themselves. When I playtested this, I was always amazed to see how intuitive and fun it was for players, so I decided to try it again for Dread It.

When the Shade catches you, you enter a struggle state, where you have to play a sort of tug of war with it by spamming left and right. If you manage to free yourself, the Shade becomes stunned for just a couple seconds, long enough for you to get some space and set a trap.

Each time the Shade catches you, though, it becomes harder to struggle. This leads to most players being able to consistently struggle out two times, and some players being able to struggle out a third time if they are lucky. This effectively gives players three health, while also creating a cool moment where they can squeeze out one more if they are quick.

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