除é”
3 PLAYERS ~25 MIN
Chu Mo is a themed escape room experience where the players take on the role of exorcist students, trying to seal a rampaging demon away. By combining alternative controllers and traditional game mechanics, we hope to bring a truly immersive experience to our students!
ROLE:
Station Design, Voice Acting
TOOLS USED:
Unity, Figma
TEAM SIZE:
12
DURATION:
2023.1 - 2023.11
GENRE:
Local co-op,
Alternative Controller
GAME TRAILER
The students must work together to quickly identify curses and reverse them by using the powers of 3 different magical tools - Drums, Talismans, and Relics.
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GAMEPLAY DESIGN CHOICES
Independent Roles:
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Each player must complete their station's unique task
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Players can find a station that suits them! This minimizes player frustration and increases replayability.
Shared Objective:
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Teamwork teamwork!
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Reversing each curse will require the contribution of all players.
World Events:​
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Brings players together after each boss phase
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Adds an element of excitement and urgency to the gameplay
Immersive Curses ​
To bring the curses to life, our design centered around projection mapping, fidgets, and sound effects
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Projectors: display visuals on the walls, such as blood and ghost.
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Fidgets: mimic the Demon possessing objects, controlling the electronics in the room to turn on and off.
Observe & Identify
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Together, the players will observe the room and search for curse signs.
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Input them into the database!
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The database shows the solution for each station task
The game mechanics of the 3 stations draw inspiration from ancient magical tools used in Chinese Taoism exorcism.
DRUM STATION
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The Drum Station's mechanics focus on rhythm and memory.
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The player is challenged to replicate unique patterns while maintaining the tempo.
STATION GAMES DESIGN
DESIGN PROCESS
Early Gameplay Ideation
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During the ideation phase, the game initially gravitated towards a fast-paced rhythm game.
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Upon testing, it appeared that it was hard to hear/follow the beat with loud sound effects in the room.
Mini-game Design
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We incorporated pattern memorization and decreased the tempo speed.
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This challenges the player's short-term memorization skills
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The pattern gets longer and more complicated as the game progresses, increasing the difficulty.
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Physical Installation
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Vibration sensors are connected to a Makey Makey for input detection.
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Since the sensors are overly sensitive, I added foam boards to dampen vibrations and enhance precision.
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After the concept artist laser cut their decor design, I painted it, these pieces are important cuz they hide the monitor so it does not take the player out of immersion.
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An intricate workspace to enchant, draw, and cast talismans.
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The player needs to enchant their talisman with the correct element, then finish drawing unique symbols with their brush.
TALISMAN STATION
DESIGN PROCESS
Early Gameplay Ideation
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We knew an exorcism game must have talismans - from the start, we wanted to do the idea of tracing/drawing unique symbols.
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At first, we wanted the player to have an ink palette and they had to select the correct color.
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However, this use of different colors is not referred to in Chinese exorcism, we had to make some changes so the station feel thematically correct :3
Mini-game Design
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We dug deeper into the concept of "五行" - the 5 elements that interact and influence each other through a cycle.
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Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water.
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Instead of choosing the correct color, the player will have to enchant their talisman with the correct element.
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After enchanting, unique symbols will show up on the screen for players to draw over with their brush.
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We want the station task difficulty to scale with the game process, so the symbols will get more complicated, and the player have to draw more!
RELIC STATION
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The Relic station keeps the player actively moving while challenging their observation skills.
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the player must activate the required relics in a specific sequence to wield their power.
DESIGN PROCESS
​Early Gameplay Ideation
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Initially, the design for all 3 stations involved players standing stationary next to their designated areas.
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But after getting inspired by a lot of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) games, we thought it would be fun to have a more dynamic station that requires the player to move around.
Mini-game Design
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We placed two shelves that hold the relics on the opposite side of the classroom, adding physical activity but also appeals to players who appreciate a hands-on experience!
Relic Props
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Our initial approach was to use physical props as relics, but they turned out to be too heavy for the pedestals. So... we ended up 3D printing them.
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Me and one other artist got to hand-paint all 12 models (was super fun!!!)​
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The pedestal works like a button - when the relics are pressed, the pressure generates input.
ROLE OF BEIDOU + TUTORIAL DESIGN
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The most challenging part of this project for me was designing and voicing Beidou - the instructor.
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With many different game mechanics, it is beyond crucial to have a well-designed tutorial to guide the players.
Instructor Persona
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When coming up with ideas of how to do the tutorial, the team all agrees that the most efficient way to guide the player is to create an instructor character - Beidou 北斗.
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​I designed Beidou's personality to be a blend of liveliness and sassiness. She approaches her teaching with a vibrant energy. Yet, she doesn't hesitate to use humor and sarcasm to lighten the intense atmosphere.
Tutorial Flow
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I first created a flow diagram to better picture what needs to happen during the tutorial.
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The entire tutorial should take about 5 minutes to complete (including when the players play their station)
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It was important to me to balance banter within teaching, to efficiently teach them everything while letting Beidou's personality shine <3
I lost count of how many revisions I have made to the tutorial scripts, and, not gonna lie, I never thought I would voice a character hahaha. But looking back, I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and brought her to life <3