1. Essential Experience
The core experience I aim to create in Backroom DoGoJo is one where players gradually develop a sense of comfort and accomplishment within a strange and daunting world.
While most “Backrooms” games focus primarily on horror, danger, and the desperate need to escape an unknown environment, I want to offer players something different.
At the start, as players explore the vast, empty expanse of the Backrooms, they should feel a subtle sense of tension mixed with curiosity—possessing only limited resources and little understanding of their surroundings.
As the game progresses, this dynamic shifts. Players will discover peculiar creatures, gather resources, earn currency, and upgrade their equipment. Through these activities, they become increasingly familiar with their environment and unlock a variety of new gameplay content.
I also want players to find satisfaction in continuous growth. Whether it’s synthesizing creatures into higher-tier forms, watching their economic wealth expand, or unlocking new upgrades and features, each step should provide a strong, rewarding sense of progression.
Base-building is another vital component of the experience. Players can gradually transform the once-desolate Backrooms into a living space that feels increasingly comfortable and secure.
By the later stages of the game, I want players to experience the thrill of having established a sprawling economic hub and a complex network of structures—all set within what was once a terrifying, uncanny void.
2. Design Intention
My design intent is to integrate exploration, creature cultivation, progression, and construction, allowing players to gradually gain a sense of mastery over their surroundings.
Exploration and Atmosphere
I leverage the realistic yet unsettling environment of the “Backrooms” to evoke both curiosity and a subtle sense of dread. Players are encouraged to explore various areas in search of resources, equipment, and new opportunities for advancement.
Creature Cultivation and Progression
The systems for replicating and synthesizing creatures foster a continuous sense of growth. Higher-tier creatures generate more currency, enabling players to unlock new gear and access further development opportunities.
I want the process of earning and accumulating currency to be deeply satisfying, rewarding players for the ongoing expansion and refinement of their cultivation systems.
Construction and Security
Construction serves a purpose beyond mere aesthetics. Furniture and other structures help restore the player’s sanity and create safer zones by suppressing the activity of nearby entities.
This provides a practical incentive for players to build a living space, while simultaneously making the environment feel increasingly comfortable.
Interconnected Systems
My goal is for exploration, progression, and construction to support one another, rather than existing as isolated activities.
Players discover new resources and opportunities through exploration, generate wealth by cultivating creatures, and then reinvest those gains into upgrading their equipment and improving their living environment.
Through these interconnected systems, I want players to experience the process of transforming an alien, frightening place into a home of their own.