Overview
Working Title:Residual Fear
Genre: First-person psychological horror/investigative story
Target Audience:
Players aged 18 and above who like the atmospheric and narrative horror game experience are fans of games that emphasise tension, realism and narrative narrative, such as Visag and Soul Eater.
Short Pitch:
“A forgotten crime was found in a dilapidated manor, and every piece of evidence there not only revealed the past, but also reshaped the reality of the present.”
Core Experience:
Players will play the role of a supernatural investigator and delve into this strange and deserted crime scene. Each area/floor presents a unique supernatural case, combining puzzle games with psychological horror elements. Its goal is not only to uncover what happened – but also to survive in the face of the terrible truth.
Gameplay Concept:
Explore the reality and corruption phenomena related to past crimes.
Collect and analyse the evidence that can reveal the fragments of the story.
Experience the ever-changing reality – as the truth approaches, the world around you will become distorted.
Facing the fear behaviour related to the emotional residual caused by each case.
Pillar 1
Made by space itself: repetition, emptiness, and no outlet make players always under the psychological pressure of “Did I go wrong/Will I never be able to get out”. The backroom environment has strong readable clues (light and dark, noise/current sound, wall stains and material changes). These details can be used as both navigation and narrative information carriers – players are “observing space” rather than “watching the plot”.
Inspired by Escape the Backrooms (Pie on A Plate Productions, 2022), where repeating spaces and environmental details create tension and mystery.
Pillar 2
Evidence-based investigation and environmental issues
Investigation is the main driving force for progress. Players collect and verify evidence (photos, diaries, recordings, traces), and then connect the found content with the information in the notebook to draw feasible conclusions. Evidence is superimposed layer by layer: small clues build the background and direction, while key evidence reveals the veil of the goal and scene.
Pillar 2
Puzzles are designed based on the logic of the manor, not abstract puzzle box tasks – such as restoring energy, entering a closed room, reconstructing scenes or matching physical details in the environment. Explanation is very important: the right conclusion can stabilise the space and reveal the next goal, while the wrong conclusion can exacerbate fear.
Ghostpie Studio (2020) Paranormal HK [Video Game]. Ghostpie Studio.
Example: Inspired by “Psychic Hong Kong” – explore the haunted environment through fear puzzle solving. Encourage active exploration and in-depth narrative immersion.
Pillar 3
Psychological fear and perception system:
Fear comes from the player’s distorted perception rather than sudden shock.
The environment will change subtly according to the player’s fear value – the light flashes, the echo changes, and the room layout is subtly distorted.
Players will gradually question the essence of reality and echo the core theme: “Fear is the collapse of self-consciousness”.”
Pillar 3
Inspired by Resident Evil 2 Remake (Capcom, 2019):
Based on “fear” on psychological projection and uncontrollability – the more the player is out of control, the more the environment is like “responding” to the player’s mental state. My project will turn this idea into a readable system: through the gradient distortion of lighting, sound effects and spatial details, players can feel that the world is being rewritten by their own emotions in exploration, instead of being forcibly frightened by the script.
Core Game Loop
Screen Mock – Up
Moodboard
