Torchlight Game Idea

Initial Idea:

A game where you control the torch with one hand and the shadow with the other. You need to always shine the torch on the shadow to keep it alive while completing parkour challenges. Idea inspired by Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons and Fire Boy and Water Girl.

Thoughts from my week 6 post:

• I think this game would be easy to make and would fit with the scope of the project.
• It would be a simple parkour/puzzle platformer and could work in 2D or 3D.
• The game world could be inspired by everyday objects, perhaps you play as a child interested in shadow puppets and imagining them coming to life.
• What would the goal be?
  • If the game is based from a child’s perspective, then what goals would the child have for the shadow?
    • Maybe to escape the shadow lands (dangerous) and to be free with the other shadow people in the light (Safe). In shadow they disappear but in light they are their strongest self.
    • Maybe the child is making a project for school, and the game ends with the completion of the project.
• The game as it stands doesn’t have much deeper meaning, compared to some of the other ideas, it’s based on the standard physics of shadow and light. Is there a way to apply deeper themes to this game?
  • Maybe the game isn’t played from the perspective of a child, but an adult who is dissociating from reality. Maybe they think they have become the shadow, facing a new and scary world where the light is the only thing keeping them alive. It could resemble someone who has gone through trauma or grief, their world completely changing, and they have to find the source of the light that they are holding on to. Maybe this can help us to explore themes of black and white thinking:
    • At the start of the game, the environment could be very stark – the torch light is the only light, everything else is completely dark, resembling black and white thought patterns. The protagonist could make very negative remarks on the world. As the game progresses and the protagonist begins to realise that not everything is hopeless, The environment could neutralise, and become brighter. By the end, maybe colour is introduced.

Feedback survey results:

This idea received 3/8 votes for peoples favourite game ideas. Here is some of the feedback it received (referred to as 4):

I decided to keep this idea as I personally like it as I think it would help me showcase my skills as an artist, be easy to build and has a good scope. I also like how it is very aligned with my topic at its core. I slightly edited the ideas overview and gave it the title of snapshot for easy reference. New overview:

Torchlight – You don’t remember how it happened, but you’ve become a shadow. You face a new and scary world, where the only thing keeping you alive is a torch’s light. Find the source of the light that’s stopping you from getting lost in the shadows, and maybe you can find peace. The player controls the torch beam with their left hand, and the shadow with the right. Complete parkour and puzzle challenges while keeping your shadow alive.

Game research relevant to this game:

Game Research

Mood board – Can also be found in my week 7 post:

The visual style of this game is most inspired by chiaroscuro aesthetics. I wanted the contrast between the light and dark areas of the game world to be stark, but they would eventually blur together, maybe allowing the player to see a bigger picture. The shadow can only explore areas of light, but maybe they can see things in the darkness that they can’t in the light.

Prototype 1:

Torchlight shadow puppet prototype:

I wanted to experiment with shadow puppets, so I decided to design a puppet house to act as a stage. This experimentation would help me gain first hand experience with how shadows work – how they distort and interact with light, which in turn would help me consider mechanics for the torchlight game idea.

Making the puppet house – Black on the inside to accentuate shadows. I cut out a window and doorframe for the light to flow through.

Complete structure. I made a small box for the interior to cast shadows for the puppet to interact with.

Window and puppet silhouettes. These came out really crisp. The light bleeds into the shadows, giving it a glowing effect. The shadow is darker where the floor and walls meet.

Doorframe silhouette.

These videos explore:

• Bold silhouette.
• Shadow character entering the light.
• Testing how shadow distorts at a distance.
• Shadow movement – walking, turning, interaction with other shadows.
• Silhouette distortion – the further from the ground, the more distorted the shadow.
• Shadow monster attack?

Prototype 2:

Torchlight paper prototype:

I already had the idea that the shadow character would only be able to exist within the light beam, so I wanted to test how that would look in a prototype. I was also not sure how the puzzles would work, and didn’t feel super confident about having the player moving the light themself. I cut some shapes out of paper and attached them to long black strips to make them easy to manoeuvre – I liked that it resembled shadow puppetry.

This prototype helped me to come up with a few of my gameplay ideas, such as:

• The level would have moveable shadows and immovable shadows. The moveable shadows can be rearranged to solve puzzles and help the player reach the end of the level.
• The moveable shadows can overlap like shadows can in real life – this wouldn’t affect the shadow character.

After this point, all of my work on this idea is documented in my weekly logs.