In light of With Love, Cervantes' abysmal failure in showing what I'm capable of, I've taken a step back from how I view game design. I've tried to view it all through a new perspective - a new lens, if you will. I've done some reading and some researching that has led me to some new and interesting ideas. So with a fresh set of eyes, and a powerful lust for game design - I present Circadian.
The Concept and Its Goals
A lot of the motivation for attempting another adventure game lies in the desire that remains from With Love. So with Circadian I want to have that old school adventure game feel with some of the new school advances in decision making. If anyone is familiar with the word circadian rhythm you will soon figure out the significance of the title. For those who don't know, it would be my pleasure to explain.
In psychology, or more specifically the study of sleep and wake cycles, the circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle of biochemical and behavioral processes in living organisms. For human beings, it's the time we spend each day awake and asleep. The events that take place in these two phases are tightly bonded and deeply correlated. This is the major idea behind the gameplay model of Circadian. Most people have an understanding that what you do during the day affects your dreams - and your dreams can affect your days.
In Circadian you practically get to control the rhythm of the main character. The decisions you make, the people you encounter, and events you consciously experience play an active role in the dreams you have. Choosing to even sleep at all, plays a major impact on the character and his dreams.
This, however, has its limitations. I can't give the player complete reign over everything. Covering the impossible depth of variables in the human subconscious is virtually impossible. So all this will happen with in the confines of a loosely non-linear narrative. Within all this is the ability to interact with countless objects and people. So now that you have an idea of the concepts behind Circadian, feel free to skim through or deeply read the following.
The Narrative
Circadian takes place in 1876, during the United States era of Reconstruction. In the small Virginian town of Hampton lives a troubled writer named Howard Hollins. Howard has made a small fortune off his first novel, but recent financial troubles and a history of psychological issues have plagued him with writer's block. His last several books have either received little publication or are completely unfinished.
The narrative focuses around Howard's attempt to improve his writing and invariably his life as a whole. The way in which he believes he can do this is by visiting a radical new doctor, Sylvester Whitman. Dr. Whitman is known as "the brain doctor" because he specializes in a radical new approach which would later become psychology as we know it. Dr. Whitman feels that in order for Howard's creativity to increase he needs to reorganize his social life and study his dreams. He tells Howard that getting out in the world and filling his mind with new and inspiring things will have his creativity bursting at the seams.
Unfortunately, the root of Howard's problems run much deeper. When the line between his dreams and reality begin to blur, a wave of repressed memories take over. It's up to the player to guide Howard on a journey through reality and the strange world of his dreams to cure him and eradicate the haunting fragments of despair that plague him.
The Actors
• Howard Hollins (main protagonist, player character, age 30)
- Howard is a very quiet and strange man who spends the majority of his time indoors
- Howard was sheltered as a child, when his elderly and ill mother moves in with him it draws up repressed emotions
- His relationship with Dr. Whitman has a significant impact on his desire to change his life
- He is an astute writer, but his fiction lacks inspiration and emotion because he is practically void of both
- Howard has a very sophisticated vernacular compared to most his age
- As an adult, Howard has had no social life, has never been in an intimate relationship, and fears contact with most people
• Mother Hollins (antagonist, age 55)
- Howard's blood mother
- Needy and nosey
- Overprotective and preachy
- While she loves Howard, her ways are the cause of many of his problems
• Dr. Sylvester Whitman (protagonist, age 53)
- "The Brain Doctor"
- Intellectual, analytical
- Uses strange new approaches to help Howard
- Dr. Whitman is very eccentric; his mannerisms and vernacular are thorough and sophisticated, but flow in an eccentric way
- He seems to care about Howard very much, motivating him to search inside himself
- In turn, Howard invariably helps shape him into an understanding man
• Stanley Milgram (protagonist, age 31)
- Known Howard since grade school; is one of the only "friends" Howard has
- They keep in touch, but have virtually no social ties
- Works as a journalist in Hampton
- He is an opposite to Howard, being very social, a ladies man, and a creative journalist
• Teresa Altman (protagonist, age 27)
- Teresa is one of the very few local followers of Howard's works
- Her shy nature complements Howard
- She, like Dr. Whitman, works to see Howard improve his life; however, she disagrees with Dr. Whitman's methods
• Darius Latcher (antagonist, age 42)
- Darius is new in town who seems to pursue Howard with a strange lust for vengeance
- His motives are unclear, he usually acts against howard through mental means rather than physical
- his origins are unknown, and why he wishes to harm Howard is a mystery even to Howard
The Gameplay
Circadian is an adventure game. Using staple adventure features such as deep interaction, puzzles, branching dialogue, and immersive environments Circadian is a homage to games like Monkey Island, Myst, and Loom. Let's take an in depth look at the games major features.
• Mouse Functionality
Circadian is controlled entirely by the mouse. From moving Howard around to browsing the menus - the player has one simple interface. Using the mouse as a tool for interaction is the most beneficial use of the mouse functionality. Hovering about objects or people in the environment displays cursor cues that indicate what type of interaction will occur upon clicking.
This is the default cursor. It is used during movement in the game scenes as well as in the menu and dialog screens.
The Grab Cue. This cue represents any objects in the game that can be pick up. From there they can be viewed, moved, or stored in the player's inventory.
The Dialogue Cue. This self explanatory cue indicates any object(mostly NPCs) that initiate a dialogue sequence or a conversation.
The Investigate Cue. The '?' of this cue indicates something unknown that can to be inspected by the player. The results can vary from information to items.
The Action Cue. This cue is the basic indicator of some action. Whether it's using and equipped item, jumping over an obstacle, or knocking on a door - this is the cue. In a majority of the cases the cursor will change to the icon of the item you are using.
• Dialogues and Conversations
In Circadian there is a difference between dialogues and conversations. The difference being that dialogues are linear and conversations are non-linear. Dialogues are simply scenes of talking and blocking(stage term for character movement). Conversations hold every quality of dialogues except that you can chose what Howard says - which can change the course of the scene.
The decisions you make in(and out) of conversations have bearing on how people will respond to you in the future. If you tend to be a jerk, people will be less inclined to ask you favors or they might just be a jerk back. If you like to lie a lot - and get caught doing it - people will begin to mistrust you. If you're a genuine guy then people are going to respond accordingly. Managing these decisions have an equal share of ups and downs. I don't want any one player to feel that being an asshole is totally better(in terms of gameplay experience) than being a saint. Going completely nice will yield different results than being a meanie, but the experience is just as rewarding for either path.
• Social Standing
Decisions in conversations aren't the only thing that influence your social standing. Actions and events that are connected to you also have an effect. To track how you fare in the eyes of others, Circadian uses a couple of stats - Traits and Personas.
Traits are the underlying factors in how people respond to you. They are a direct aspect of your decisions. They are measured in the background as fluctuating numbers, but represented to you as titles. The traits are:
- Trust: Do people have trust in you? Do they believe what you say and confide in you? Or do they see you as lying sack of crap?
- Respect: How do people view you? Do they look up to you with reverence? Will they do almost anything to make you happy? Or do they despise you and go out of their way to avoid you?
- Adoration: Does the female population enjoy your presence? Do you ensnare crowds of dainty women with love as you pass? Or do you make the crowds turn and run?
Personas are archetypes which define your actions. These play a role in your social standing in the real world, but they also have a significant bearing on the dream world. They are measured in percents that can fluctuate as you make decisions:
- Gentleman: Being a Gentleman means holding yourself to higher standard of just any ol' Joe Schmo. You treat your fellow man with respect and dignity.
- Brute: To be blunt: you're an ass. You do what you want, and do it how you want to. You care little for what people think of you and it shows.
- Philanthropist: You give and you give and you give some more. You're a generous fellow who is always willing to extend a helping hand.
- Rogue: You are a conniving son of a bitch. You lie, cheat, and steal to take advantage of people. But hey, it works, right?
The variables that are in control of these stats are what drive the cause and effect engine that runs Circadian. While monitoring them isn't essential to playing the game, they provide a useful look at how your decisions are having an effect on Howard and his presence in the world.
• Items Usage
Throughout the game you will collect, use, and consume items. Items can be equipped and used to interact with objects or events within the game scene. For example, a match will light the oil lantern that will illuminate the room so you can see. In addition, combining two cleverly equipped items can result in the creation a new and much more useful item. Paying attention to what items you are obtaining is a vital component to the puzzle aspect prominent throughout the game. There are two types of items in the game. These are Key and Collector items.
Key items are items that are used in the game and serve a function in gameplay. They can be consumable, infinite, or even temporary. They can be viewed in the inventory menu, and most of them can be equipped. Collector items are items that the player can collect in the game. They have little to no significance to the progression or play of the game, but serve as a component in challenging the player to explore and collect. These items can be viewed in the Collection pane of the Stats menu. Howard can collect Civil War artifacts such as pistols and cannonballs; in addition, he can collect literature like adventure novels or philosophy.
• The Day and the Night
The game runs on a full day and night cycle. During the day the social component of the game takes place. You are often interacting with people, attending events, visiting friends, or exploring the many scenes in the game - it's up to you. At night, when everyone should be sleeping you can explore the depths of your dreams. Dreaming serves as a major component of the narrative and contains almost all of the games core puzzle and interaction content.
The decisions you make and the type of person you become plays a role in influence certain events and aspects of your dreams. With that, the decisions you make in the dreams also have some impact on the story and Howard in the real world. While you can choose to not sleep in order to have more time to pursue other interests, dreaming is one of the primary story elements in the game.
• The Journal
The Journal is just like any quest managing interface you'll see in games like Oblivion or World of Warcraft. It allows you to monitor things that need doing or events that are coming up. It's all written in first person to give a neat little subjective view from Howard's end of the narrative spectrum. Using the Journal is a very essential part of keeping track of game events.
• The Small Stuff
Amongst these major features are a couple small features that exist mostly for extra content and fun. These include learning to play the piano and acquiring the sheet music to play many famous pieces by composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Frederic Chopin. While you playing the game you can keep track of all the stuff you're doing by acquiring Achievements. Going to your study and interacting with your Manuscripts shows the progress Howard makes as he begins to write things again.
Music and Ambiance
The game features music that most people of the era would listen to - classical orchestra and classical piano. All of the game music is composed by various members of the Newgrounds Audio portal, so many thanks and credits to those talented musicians. The pieces will range from serene preludes to dark nocturnes as the emotion in the game fluctuates.
In tandem with the mood of the music I wanted the environment to produce just as much ambient mood as well. Things like player footsteps, sound emitting from fire, lakes, crowds, and objects - all of these bring in a depth of ambiance to the game. The bulk of the games final size will most likely reside in the Audio folder.
: Aesthetics
I'm not pushing for a revolutionary aesthetic with this game. The graphics will fit the game and the time period it is set in. The menus are rustic and fit, as well. The majority of the feel will come from the new sets of toning I've been using to simulate ambient lighting. I've done a bit of tweaking and tweaking and tweaking to find a ton of tone settings to emulate refracted light from hardwood floors, or filtered light from forest trees. The fact that the lighting has been given a bit of thought will have a major impact on the visual "feel" of the game. All in all, the visuals get the job done. I wouldn't have it any other way. :wink:
Project Status
Current Stage: Post Concept, Writing and Prototyping Pre-Development Stage
Projected Demo Release: Q2 2010
Projected Release of Act 1: Q3 2010
Thanks for your interest in Circadian! I hope you've enjoyed learning about about it as much as I've enjoyed sharing it with you. Stay tuned for some screenshots and more juicy tid-bits of information in the future.
Mundane