Hello everyone!
Let's discuss the main game mechanics and how they were created.
The following video includes and demonstrates all of the core mechanics:
Watch on YouTube
This information would be particularly interesting for those who would like to dig deeper into the background of the development:
Since the game is largely based on dialogues and conversations, I wondered how I could add dynamic elements to the plain text? Obviously, I realized I couldn't do anything radically different and started thinking about other games I know, their elements that might work well for my game...
A few rules were immediately set for myself - the controls should be as simple as possible, with a comfortable way to play with just a keyboard, while also being easy to adapt for smartphones.
Making choices
This example illustrates a moment in the game when you need to convince the boy to open the door. The portrait at the bottom of the screen displays the face of the speaker while also displaying various emotions. Currently, there are more than 100 different portraits available.
The most obvious mechanics that instantly came to mind have been used in various RPG/Adventure games for centuries, such as choosing between multiple answers in a limited amount of time. Persuading other characters when you can clearly see their attitudes (like in Deus Ex: Human Revolution).
I added another narrative technique to this list: the ability to lie. The player may find it more profitable to lie than to tell the truth, but they may also get caught if they exercise some of these choices. Many dialogue branches revolve around the choice of lying or not lying. I wanted to convey the sense that the world itself does not accept lies, and that deceiving can negatively affect your destiny.
Casting the incantations
An idea that emerged fairly quickly was to make the player maintain a rhythm when going through lines of dialogue. A spellcasting gameplay evolved from this idea - spells are chanted rhythmically word by word.
It was important to allow the player enough time to read the words, so the timer was made quite forgiving. Additionally, it was placed close to the text to make the reading easier.
Health mechanics - marker to the left of the portrait
This gameplay mechanic caught my attention a long time ago, while playing a 2D platformer called Celeste. There is a point in the story when the heroine has a panic attack. Keeping the heroine calm is achieved by holding a feather in a moving frame up and down.
I decided to implement something similar in my game - the heroine, due to a inborn disease, becomes physically ill during rituals. In order to monitor her condition, you must keep a marker constantly moving up and down.
The main benefit of this mechanic is that it adds the necessary degree of tension to the text. In addition to being very easy to learn, it can easily be made more difficult by making the movements more abrupt and making the marker less responsive. Meanwhile, the player can keep track of the heroine's condition without taking their eyes off the text, watching the moving marker with the side vision and orienting by sound (if the marker reaches a critical point, the accelerated heartbeat rate and tinnitus could be heard).
Casting spells successfully with declining health. Persuasion level is the marker on the right.
As all mechanics are simplistic enough from a gameplay perspective, they can be combined to create tension without overloading the process.
As an example, the combination of dialogue choices and incantations creates situations where you need to choose between several options quickly.
By casting the incantations while the heroine is unwell, you are tasked to keep an eye on both rhythm and condition at once.
Thanks for taking the time to read this! Hope this information was helpful to you.