Visual: ‘Hallway Game’ - Level Block-Out

‘Hallway Game’

An experiment in Surreal Horror

TEAM SUN

VERSION 01 Publishing Date (Version Beta: Coming in June)

Game Design Document by Jonathan Brauer 

Updated on 5/15/2021

Table of Contents

Overview 3

Gameplay 5

Story 8

Aesthetic & Art Direction 10

Sound Design 15

Credits 18

Revision History

Overview

Within this game, our focus is to systematically increase a player’s feeling of unease as well as urgency over the time they are playing within the game environment. The player’s objective is to explore this environment, a single hallway with four identical doors on either side, making their way to a separate door--somewhat different from the rest--at the end of this hallway. As the player progresses down the corridor they will be encouraged by means of sound to interact with ‘slits’ that are in the doors that they are passing... and by interacting with them, they will trigger events ranging from realistic and natural to that of the surreal, adding to the experience of ‘horror’ that this game is attempting to invoke.

Genre: Surreal Horror, Exploration, Experimental Simulation

System: PC

Target Audience: all genders, teens to mid-twenties

Target ESRB Rating: T

Key Competitors: None that we are aware of

Goals of the Game/Pillars

Uneasiness/Unrest - Within the game, there will be an incredibly large focus on diegetic sound, which changes over time to create feelings of urgency and uneasiness within the player as they progress through the single-player experience. We will also be utilizing visual elements in a similar fashion to the sound to enhance those feelings. Examples of these visuals will be in changing the angle of the play environment, creating a feeling of walking up-hill, and narrowing the walls, creating a bit more of a constricting feeling as they progress further into the corridor.

Exploration - Players will progress through the level by walking; however the presence of sound is specifically designed to peak curiosity… even in the state of a gut instinct being to not investigate those curiosities. There are events that trigger by the player walking down the corridor, but the main focus of exploration will be in the doors that the player is passing as they walk forward. Each door features simple slits that the player can open to investigate the sounds behind each doorway. There are sounds behind each door regardless of player interaction that peak curiosity, but when the player interacts with the doors, they will discover the sounds behind the doors are not always as they seem. In this way, discovering the soundscape this environment provides by experiencing it is the exploration we are largely creating.

Subversion - Additionally to creating unrest within the player, sound and visual elements within the gameplay environment will purposely be tailored to subvert player expectation with regards to what they would consider ‘natural’ to being behind a typical hallway door. Playing around with expectations… creating patterns and then at times providing the opposite of what those patterns would expect is a loose, yet never forgotten theory of horror that we are playing into with the design of this gameplay experience.

Inspiration

Content-wise, there are three works that contributed to inspiring our game design.

P.T. - The subtle and obvious progrisive changes that unnerve the player as you progress

Superliminal - The game superliminal was the original inspiration behind the ‘hallway’ aesthetic. 

Amnesia - The game Amnesia was pivotal in the creation of our project’s overall design. Within this game there was a focus on using sound to inspire urgency and fear within the player. In our game, we are gunning to follow a similar path, creating a player experience in that sound is the base for evoking emotions in our players.

Story Brief

Generally speaking, it’s not important who the player is, as the game is intentionally designed to be first person. If anything, we are looking to create a feeling of agency within the player by allowing them large amounts of control in how they move through the environment. Goalwise, narratively, a door is slammed behind you--the player--and the only way to progress… is to go forward. How the player goes forward though is up to them. There is no requirement for a player to interact with the sounds they are hearing behind doors through the means of the ‘slits,’ and thus, the player can simply, should they choose to, walk through the corridor without touching/interacting with any of them. Regardless, we encourage these interactions in the game through enticing sounds; sounds that peak a player’s curiosity in it. But we do not force a player to be subjected to the game’s more on-the-nose ‘scares,’ and that’s okay. Not every person would go to the sounds, and allowing players that agency is something we are happy to do. The game is an experimental experience after all.

Gameplay

The game is not difficult at all. The only ‘difficulty’ is in a player’s ability to explore, finding door-slits if they desire to, and initiating the game’s core mechanic, which is interacting with them. The game’s only mechanical objective is to walk from one end of the hallway to the other.

It is a short game that only involves the player walking, and using a singular button to interact with what is around them. All that is required for them to succeed is being able to walk, and interact. 

Controls

PC Keyboard Controls: MOVEMENT

The player moves within the game level using the typical pc keyboard movement controls.

OBJECT INTERACTIONS

The player utilizes the ‘E’ button to initiate interactions within the hallway environment.

Win/End Condition

There is no ‘win’ or ‘lose’ condition associated with this game necessarily, but there is an ‘end’ condition. Technically, since there is no time limit on how long the player can stay within the level, they can explore there as long as they would like. However, their experience will undoubtedly end upon interacting with the final ‘End_Door,’ opening it to reveal a sticky note and brick wall. Ultimately, the entire experience involves the player working their way towards this door that they may likely assume leads somewhere… yet when they open it, it leads to nothing more than a brick wall that is revealed to them, with a sticky note stuck to it that says “Boo.” Simply put, by interacting with the sticky note the same way that they interacted with the door-slits throughout the hallways, if they so chose to, they will initiate a “destroy_object” script for the sticky note, which will, in turn, initiate the final “end-game” phase of the environment… playing the final sounds, showing the final visuals, and when it is done, ending the players experience by bringing them to a final menu screen. So… in short, ‘picking up the sticky note on the wall’ is the end-condition for the gameplay experience.

Camera

Like other first-person game experiences, our camera will be simulant of the player-character’s eyes, allowing the player to--through the character’s eyes--explore and interact with the hallway environment we have provided for them.

Time

Time is not necessarily critical to gameplay within our game. It utilizes a 1:1 ratio for real-time. Notably though, it is something we use as a tool for the initiation of certain in game events. More specifically, when a player interacts with certain triggers within the world, be it through collisions or our ‘E’ button interactions, there will be times when events are set to occur on delayed timers, making them seem less ‘scripted,’ which we hope will aid in preventing a clear ‘mechanicalness’ to our interactions.

Game Actions

There are no additional interactions outside of simple walking mechanics and the single ‘e’ button interact mechanic.

The only exception to this is that we will most likely be pairing the escape button to a pause menu.

Player Actions

Actions that players can take in the game:

1. Event Interactions - players can interact with the environments interactables, such as door-slits, the exit-door, and the sticky-note, by pressing the ‘e’ button while looking at the interactable from a certain, rather close distance away..

Game World Actions

1. Certain Sound and Visual events, notably, will be triggered by the player unknowingly walking into collision trigger-boundaries, which will activate countdown timers for when those events will take place.
2. A door slamming sound will be initiated at the start of the level, indicating to the player, simply, that a door has been slammed behind them.

Scoring

n/a

Player Progression

Player progression is simply not something that is tracked. All events, be initiated via a collision trigger or the player manually pressing ‘e’ to interact with them, can be done for the most part at the player’s digression. Obviously, the player cannot avoid the collision triggers if they wish to reach the end of the hallway… not really. But they can choose to not interact with the door-slits. The only milestones that mark the player’s progression are the door slam, which marks the beginning of the player experience, and the sticky note, which initiates the sequence that concludes that experience.

Rewards

n/a

Resources 

n/a

Story

The game’s story is the story of a hallway… a hallway with a mysterious purpose, unknown to the player… and a player themself… who is travelling within it. A door is slammed behind them, locking them into the space, for reasons they do not know, and will not learn... and it becomes apparent that the only way out… if there is an out… is forward.

Game World

The ‘game world’ is a singular hallway that changes over time. Nothing matters beyond this hallway, although if the player listens hard enough, they can hear the sound of alarming sirens blaring beyond the final door. In this hallway, the walls are lined with doors… four on each side… all with a different sensation of soundscape within them. What is making these sounds is not always clear, but what can be counted on is that something is making them… somethings are making them…

The design of this environment is inspired from the hallways of the game Superliminal, but the environment beyond the inside of the hallway is meant to be kept purposefully ambiguous, as to invoke the imagination of the player, should they allow it to be invoked. The outside of the hallway is essentially whatever the sounds inspire the player to imagine. Nothing more, nothing less. It is that simple.

Timeline

If there were to be a specific timeline that the game experience follows, there would be three sections it can be divided into:

Start - The moment of initialization within the game level, marked by the sounding of a door slam and it locks being locked.

Middle - the player’s exploration and progression via walking through the hallway, making their way to the other side at the pace and frequency of interactions that they would like [in terms of the door-slits]

End - The moment the player opens the door, revealing the brick wall behind it, indicating they are trapped within the hallway, and the “Boo” sticky note that is stuck to it. Upon picking up the sticky note, the “end-phase” of the game--the conclusive event--will be initiated, marking the ending to the player’s game experience.

Game Events (or Cutscene(s))

There aren’t any cutscenes within the gameplay; however there are trigger events that every player will experience when walking through the game’s staple corridor.

These are, as the design inhibits currently, the door slam at the beginning of the level, marking the level-start, the narrowing of the hallway walls and delayed changing of incline of the hallway itself, which is in its entirety triggered via an invisible collider about 33%-30% of the way down the hallway, the opening of ‘End-Door,’ allowing players access to the final interactable within the game, and then that final interactable itself, a sticky note that initiates the final ‘rumbling’ event of the game--marking its ending.

Player Character(s)

The player plays within the body of a first-person character that they cannot see, whom they will control in order to explore and interact with the ‘Hallway’ level-environment. This character is meant to embody ‘you,’ the player, and as a result of this, the character was intentionally left unnamed.

NPC(s)

n/a

Aesthetic & Art Direction

The art style we’re going for is rather bleak overall… or bland, for lack of better words. The general theme with the look is that the hallway itself will be dull, and uninviting, whereas the ‘End Door,’ that the player is ultimately progressing in the direction of, is a brighter color, looking as if it is the natural place to move to/walk towards. The End Door itself may seem rather appealing/inviting, as it is intentionally a contrast to the rest of the environment.

Visual Direction

As mentioned above, the general tone of the environment is meant to be darker colored… with more muted toned--airing on the side of being uninviting, hopefully, to the point of being a bit uncomfortable… though might be a stretch. The environment is supposed to be sort of bleh by itself, yet with the additions of the sound and visual triggers/events within the gameplay, will add to the aura of uneasiness and urgency fairly quickly… because that blandness and muteness, with somewhat darker oriented tones, will make the player feel unsafe. Now this is unsafe, not to a point where they do not want to play a game, but unsafe in that they would rather leave through that inviting door at the end of the hallway, if that makes sense. Every art decision made is inherently tailored to enhancing the feelings we are already trying to invoke from the gameplay’s interactions.

Style Guidelines

Truthfully, there aren;t really any style guidelines we are religiously adhering to. It’s more so an artistic vibe that we are trying to follow. In essence, if the art feels neutral to uneasy when a player looks at it, it’s something we want to go for. Hower, if it feels incredibly comfortable, inviting, happy, etcetera… we’re missing the mark with it. It’s not about following guidelines, but rather, it is about staying within a range of particular emotions that we are wanting the art to help inspire, or add to in terms of the gameplay.

Concept Art

Level Design

The progression in this game is all about what we would like to consider controlled emotional heightenning. Put another way, emotional evolution as the player progresses. With this in mind, the level’s hallway was intentionally designed to be short enough to boast a less-lengthy type of gameplay experience, yet at the same time, long enough to feel uncomfortable when visual elements like narrowing walls, or an upward angling floor dynamic are added into the mix. Similarly, we wanted there to be a large enough amount of sound-oriented interactions to continue this emotional heightenning, yet also did not want to put too many interactables like that into the environment, to where, even if the interactables are horror oriented, they begin feeling comfortable, or even rather boring, as the player gets farther into the level.

With all of this in mind, the medium-lengthed, typically heighted, tiniest bit on the narrow-side hallway we came up with was one that is not disappointing, as it allows for a gameplay-time around what we were shooting for, while also providing enough content to create an experience in the genre of surreal horror, as we were assigned.

Also something that is important; as the player moves further and further down the hallway, visual and audio elements they are exposed to are tailored to be less and less in the realm of what people would consider mundane/typical/natural--thus, airing in the realm more so of the surreal as they get further into the hallway environment.

Level View

Photo (Left): Overhead View of ‘Hallway Game’ Hallway in Level Sketch

Photo (Right): Overhead View of ‘Hallway Game’ Hallway in (Unity) Level Block-Out

Player View

Photo: Player-View Within ‘Hallway Game’s’ (Unity) Level Block-Out

Game Flow

Menu Scenes

The Main Menu (Featured Above): Our Main menu, although it may very possibly display concept art in the background, will feature simple play and quit buttons for the player to choose whether or not they would like to play the game, or exit the game. This main menu can be reached at any time either by initiating the ‘pause menu’ or pressing the ‘main menu’ option within the ‘Post-Game’ Menu. Notably, the Post game menu will be the same as the Main Menu, except the Play Button would be replaced with a Main Menu button, in order to bring the player back to the main menu screen… so that that can start the game again, should they choose.

The Pause Menu (Featured to the Left), is a menu that can be accessed at any time by a player during “gameplay” by pressing the ‘escape’ key on their keyboard. Similarly to the main menu, there is a Quit option, and similarly to the post-game menu, there is a Main Menu option; however, since this menu is a panel overlay, rather than an individual scene, it can feature additional options such as Resume, which allow the player to continue playing the game from where they left off when they paused it, or, start the game over from the beginning, by choosing the Restart option. Notably, the restart option may not be present in the final version of our game, as it is not entirely necessary as a menu option, though it is nonetheless currently being considered for that particular menu by our team.

Dialogue Scenes

n/a

Cut Scenes

n/a

Asset List

[The following section is a full asset list of every asset you need to build (or find) for the game related to the visual development].

Characters

• n/a (player is technically a floating camera)

Game Objects

• Wall Door (Model)
• Start/End Door (Model)
• Lighting Fixture (Model)
• Door-Slit (Model)
• Emergency Light (Model)
• “Boo” Sticky Note (Model)

UI/UX

• Pop-Up “Press E to Interact” when player cursor hovers over an Interactable Object

Animations

• ‘Footsteps’ Sound (player passby)
• ‘Start Door’ Slam
• ‘End Door’ Open
• Door-Slit Animation (Repeated 8 Times for the 8 Wall-Doors)

VFX

• Light Lens Flare (Emergency Light)?
• Miniscule/Tiny Lens Flare (Overhead Fluorescent Lights)?

Sound Design

The initial sound of the level, although all of it is diegetic, will be the simple sound of fluorescent lights on the ceiling above the player. There are soft sounds behind the doors in the player’s immediate vicinity at the start; however, there will not be much other than that. 

As the player progresses through the level, walking through invisible trigger boundaries and interacting with Door-Slits, should they choose to interact with them, more creepy, unusual, louder sounds will begin to make themselves known within the play environment, both from behind the doors (not including the exit, and from the beginning of the hallway where the player started itself. As the progression takes place, the sounds will increase their volume, and the sounds at the beginning of the hallway--the ambience in the back, as we call it--will evolve into a cacophony of sounds that are rather disturbing. Overall, the sound design of this game is very important, and all of the sound incorporated will work to create unease and urgency within the player over time.

Music

The music starts off quite simple… being… nonexistent, but slowly there will be an introduction of simple piano, talking drums, and finally, what we call a ‘scary violin.’ Ultimately, it begins very mundanely; calmly. However, as the player progresses, the music will seem to gain a restless atmosphere to it, evolving inevitably into an ambience that really aids in creating that sense of urgency we’re gunning for within the player.

Menus

On the pause menu, there will be a wispy wind background noise that acts as an ambience, and on all the other menus, the calm piano music will be the only sound present.

Levels 

There is only one play environment. While the music will ‘gain’ over time, there will not be an inherently different set of tracks that plays from the intended singular progression of them within the ‘hallway.’

Sound Effects

[Describe the various sound bites that will be used throughout the game? What kind of tone? Softness? Hardness? Where will the sound effects be recorded or procured from? How many different effects will you need for repeat actions (i.e. hearing the same jump sound over and over again in a platformer, you would vary the sound slightly)? What key bits of information are conveyed solely through sound? If you are working on a device that allows haptic feedback, you could detail here how the sounds may tie into that.]

Menus

n/a

Levels 

n/a

Asset List

[The following section is a full asset list of every asset you need to build (or find) for the game related to the sound design].

Characters

• Footsteps

Background

• Wispy Winds [Pause Menu]
• Piano [Calm]
• Talking Drums [Rhythmic]
• Violin [Scary]
• Heartbeat (Slow)
• Heartbeat (Medium)
• Heartbeat (Fast)
• Air Raid Sirens
• Heavy Rumbling
• Structure Groan #1
• Structure Groan #2

Game Objects

• Creaky Door Slam
• Door Lock 1
• Door Lock 2
• Door Lock 3
• Door Slit (Open)
• Door Slit (Close)?
• ‘End Door’ Open
• Sticky Note ‘Pick-Up’ Noise
• Fluorescent Lights (Diegetic Ambience)

UI/UX

• n/a

Animations

• Running Footsteps
• Suspense Synth-Drop
• Scary [Quick] ‘Shinging’ Noise
• Scary [Slow] ‘Shinging’ Noise

VFX

• Whimpering Woman/Rambling Woman 
• Wailing Woman/Screaming Woman 
• Voice-Over (“Hey… Come here… Please… It’s okay… It’s safe “)
• Voice-Over (Quick, Harmless NON-SCARY “Boo.”)
• Echoey Clown Laugh
• Metal Door Banging
• Ungodly [Inhuman] Screech
• Light water droplets
• LOUD Train Passing Noise 

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

-        Four ‘Door Interactions’ still need to be planned, and thus, 4-8 sounds [at least] are subject to be added to this list at a later date.

-        Further Door Interactions Should/Will be oriented specifically toward ‘the surreal,’ side of things, if possible.

Credits

Katherine - Producer

Adam -          Programmer

Jon B -           Designer, Sound Designer

Kelsey -        Artist