Game concept
ROOM-9 is a 2D Escape Decryption game that focuses on exploration and judgement. Players are placed in a cavernous corridor and need to make choices by observation and feeling with limited time and information. The game doesn’t tell the player which door is the right one, the player can only gradually piece together what appears to be the key to escape from here here by entering rooms and completing levels.
The goal of the entire game is not to solve all the rooms, but rather to find the few correct rooms out of the multiple possible choices. This makes every room entry carry uncertainty and makes it so that the player must constantly weigh the risks.
Map structure
Corridor Concept Art
ROOM-9’s map consists of two main spaces: corridors and rooms. These two spaces are completely different in function and experience, but they are closely connected.
The corridor is a space that continuously moves forward. Players can move laterally through the corridor, and there will be a layer of black fog above them that is constantly descending. This layer of black fog will not attack the player at first, but will create a constant time pressure that constantly reminds the player to move forward. The main function of the corridor is also to apply pressure; it keeps the player in a constant state of being pushed.
On either side of the corridor, eight seemingly identical doors will appear. Avoid letting the player see at a glance which one is the right one, in order to make the choice more dependent on feeling. These doors are the bridge between the corridor and the room.
Once the player enters the room, the perspective switches from landscape to top-down view and the pace changes. The room is more of a short challenge area than a corridor. The player needs to complete a small puzzle or quest in a limited amount of time in order to confirm that the room is the correct room and to return to the corridor from within the room.
This alternation of corridors and rooms allows the game to vary in pace. Tense progress through the corridors and quick judgement in the rooms. This cycle is the basis of the entire game experience.
Gameplay
The player is always in a constant state of being pushed and must constantly explore new rooms. The player is not informed of the rules of the entire game at the beginning, but goes through the same process over and over again: enter a corridor area – observe the area – choose – execute an idea – assume the result – move on.
The things the player has to do aren’t complicated per se, but they hardly ever happen in a completely safe situation. Every stop consumes time and poses a risk. There is no relief until the last door is opened.
Mechanics
Poison Fog Mechanism
The poisonous fog will gradually spread downwards from the top of the corridor. The player can clearly see the poisonous fog advancing and can feel it as a constant reminder that time is passing. The Poison Fog does not cause damage at the start, but once it is fully released, the player will lose the game.
- The fog starts the timer as soon as the player enters the corridor.
- There is a total of 15 minutes from start to finish, and the player needs to successfully gather the keys to open the last door within this limited time. There is no timer window in the game to remind the player how much time is left.
- The fog in the room is timed separately from the fog in the corridor. The fog in the rooms is timed as soon as the player enters the room, which is two and a half minutes for each room. When the player completes the level in the room, the fog in the room dissipates, but the fog in the corridor is always spreading, and the fog in the corridor doesn’t stop when the player enters the room.
- The fog advances at a constant rate and does not pause or slow down or speed up due to player behaviour.
- After the toxic fog completely covers the area, the player will fail. Failure in the room returns the player to the corridor, where they can re-challenge, but if the poison fog covers the corridor, the entire game is lost.
The Poison Fog is not an attack-based mechanic, but rather a constant source of stress. It serves not to punish the player for operational errors, but to limit the player’s inability to have unlimited thinking time.
Room selection mechanism
In the corridor, the player encounters eight rooms that can be accessed. The doors to these rooms are all identical in appearance as far as possible, and the player cannot tell which is safer or more important by the differences.
- Room entrances do not provide hints
- There are a limited number of correct rooms, and only the correct room contains a key, but the wrong room may contain some clues.
- There is no room entry order, players can enter any room at any time
- Wrong choices consume time and the player must decide quickly under the pressure of the poisonous fog: whether to enter a room and which room to enter.machine
In-Room Challenge Mechanics
Upon entering a room, the player is faced with a small level challenge. These challenges are usually simple, and the general gameplay can be observed through the level. The player has a limited amount of time to complete them or they will be forced to exit the room.
- The objective of each room challenge is clear and usually does not require text.
- Operation requirements are simple and do not require the player to perform complex operations, and generally test brain power.
- There is a time limit for activities in the room.
- After completing the level there will be feedback on both success and failure, failures can be retried as long as they are before the poisonous fog covers them. Success will reveal if there is a correct key in the room.
Failure mechanisms
When a player fails, the game does not usually end immediately. But the player will clearly feel that time has been consumed. The following focuses on in-room failures when the total game time is not consumed.
- Without clearing the overall progress, an in-room failure puts the player back at the door of the room, where the player can choose to continue the challenge or choose another door.
- Does not force a do-over, and does not disappear when the player dies if they already have a key collected on them.
- Failure mainly consumes the remaining time and does not have an impact on the overall process.
- It can lead to a significant increase in follow-up pressure, with time spent for nothing but no information gained.
- This mechanic encourages experimentation. Players can keep trying with their intuition, but each mistake will make the later time more stressful and mess up the player’s rhythm.
Mechanism for correct number of rooms
The player’s goal is not to complete all rooms, but to find a limited number of correct rooms among multiple choices.
- The number of correct rooms is fixed, with only 3 of the 8 rooms giving keys, and collecting all 3 correct keys to unlock the last exit door.
- Even the wrong rooms don’t give obvious hints.
- Repeatedly selecting the wrong room will drastically reduce the amount of time available.
Core Gameplay Loop
The player’s overall experience is centred around a core loop that repeats itself over and over again. A typical play cycle begins in a corridor. As soon as the player enters the corridor area to gain some brief information, the poisonous fog begins to spread downwards, continuously creating tension. As they move forward, the player needs to observe the environment and the rooms that are accessible.
Next, the player needs to decide whether or not to enter the room, and which room to choose to enter. Players can only enter by their own intuition, and there is no way to go back once inside.
Upon entering a room, the pace of the game changes. The viewpoint switches to a wider view of the room. The room is also filled with poisonous fog, and the player is faced with a small challenge that needs to be completed in a short period of time, and must figure out the objective and make a move before the fog drops completely. The room’s fog drop does not progress in the same way as the corridor, and the fog does not begin to be released until you enter the room.
If the challenge is successful, the player may be able to obtain a key and therefore know that the room is one of the correct rooms; failure occurs if the poisonous fog in the room is fully descending, and the game does not end, but instead reverts back to the corridor, with the option of either re-challenging the challenge or choosing a different room. At this point the poisonous fog in the corridor continues to advance and the player’s available time becomes tight.
Each time they return to the corridor, the more experience the player will have, and the more intuition will be taken up. This cycle repeats until either the player manages to collect all 3 correct keys and open the final exit, or the fog completely covers the corridor and the game is lost.
It’s the overall cycle of ‘forward-choice-execution-result-choice’ that forms the core of the ROOM-9 experience.