Mars at Midnight
A Mars space station shrouded in darkness lost power after a terrible accident. Equipped with knowledge of electromagnetism, players must save the station from certain doom.
Concept
I began by imagining being alone and in danger on a space station. I wanted to create an experience that incorporated the first person character controller and space station assets from the asset pack, but with a retro twist inspired by old first person PC games.
Every aspect of the design ties back to a central theme of isolation and fear of the unknown. I removed the player’s main weapon by repurposing the gun in the FPS asset pack as a flashlight and having darkness be a central part of the game.
Next, I created an electrical system that became an important part of the experience. Platforms, doors, elevators, and lights could be turned on by first completing a minigame to repair an electric box. Later, to help players know where to go and give more context to the story, I added text logs of the player’s colleagues on the mission to Mars.
Ship Layout
The inability for the player to look up is an interesting aspect of the character controller, after I reprogrammed it to work with retro FPS PC controls. This locked camera position adds to the player’s unease. The player cannot see ceilings and is unable to see above or below while riding elevators. The final escape ceiling trick creates a surprising burst of enemies from an unexpected location. The first elevator creates a slow reveal of a legion of space suits seemingly staring at the player from their pedestals.
Player flow is straightforward through the ship to minimize confusion. In my experience playing horror games, it is more effective for players to know where they want to go and have a sense of dread or apprehension than to be confused about how to proceed.
A long, central hallway appears at the beginning. The player will see almost every door they will enter at the beginning, minimizing the chance of getting lost. The office, an important location where players begin and return to recharge their light, is always easily accessible. Although players do not know it at the start, they may peer into the final room from the office.
