PARANOIA Game Pillars:
- Stealth
- Necessary to beat the game, players must avoid being seen on-camera to disguise as much of their movement as possible. The closed world design and puzzle solving aspects should come into conflict with this aspect to make stealth as difficult as possible, and promote a paranoid reaction in players.
- Puzzle solving
- Clashes with the necessity of stealth in the game as the puzzles within this design, will force the player to get close to cameras. This will also tie into the last pillar of feeling like you’re constantly being watched. The puzzles should have multiple solutions, and no tutorial, forcing the player to learn by assumption
- Closed + claustrophobic world design
- In conflict with the player’s need for stealth to create a feeling of paranoia. While the gamespaces should be small, they should also be cluttered – in one way giving the player cover to hide, and in another forcing them to squeeze past cameras tightly in some areas. Game physics should be sensitive so objects easily move/fall over, which can be caught on camera.
These 3 pillars should underpin the main emotional reaction I’m trying to get from players: a feeling of constant paranoia over whether or not you are currently being seen.
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