HomeHomeGlitchescape is a 2D puzzle narrative game that explores the theme of artificial intelligence painting.
It's an exercise in experience goal driven game design. The plot follows a typical hero's journey. We aimed to combine gameplay mechanics with narrative, allowing the player to influence the plot by solving puzzles.
The main puzzle is a shape matching process. Paintings are blurred by high saturation dots. The player's task is to use given "blocks" to restore the original painting.
By applying the same mechanism with varying complexity, the levels forms a difficulty curve, allowing players to experience appropriate challenges and a sense of achievement as they progress from learning to mastery.
Using the core rules, players can temporarily explore deviations from the established objectives, allowing them to selectively gain more information about the puzzles behind them. In the final puzzle, players can use the core mechanism to make narrative choices.
We expect the players to experience a reflective process on the boundary of artworks and “nonsense”.
We emphasize character development. As the story unfolds, the player's relationship with the protagonist transitions from a guide and visitor to a more intimate connection. Understanding the protagonist's past can assist the player in better comprehending her inner desires and making choices to help fulfill them. The player will understand completely the antagonist’s intention for doing tricks and messing around with paintings. They will also feel the open-ended sense of the storytelling.
According to our experience goal, we designed our playtest survey.
Ten players responded, and two of them were interviewed.
After the playtest, we verified our narrative design, UI/UX. We also realized that the difficulty curve needed improvement.
Throughout the design process, we applied the design methodology outlined in Tracy Fullerton's Game Design Workshop.
Our approach was guided by a central "Experience Goal", initiating with a paper prototype and progressing towards the alpha version. We aimed to craft a character arc, pushing her to evolve in response to an antagonist.
Additionally, we delved into the realm of "combinatorial design", emphasizing the fusion of interaction and storytelling. In our understanding, game narrative transcends mere reading and answering; gameplay serves as a conduit for players to immerse themselves in and actively contribute to the unfolding story.
