How We Immerse Players Into The Horror Fantasy With Sound
Sound Is Everything
Where They Go asks players to dive deep into the fantasy horror experience of being hunted and tracked by a monster in the strange world of the Mechanika Hotel. A significant part of this is the way players will manage the sound they make. Not only will players be able to engage with environmental and crafted items to distract monsters, but they will also need to consider the noise they generate while moving through the world.
Player movement can create sounds of varying intensity when they crouch, walk, and run. Running is the loudest, drawing the most intense attention and from a greater distance. Walking is a less intense draw for monsters, while crouching, being the most subtle, is almost undetectable. What the player steps on also matters. Walking on carpet is quieter than walking on a metal catwalk, and players should consider that when in tight quarters with a monster. All of this is important, as the Witch is blind and highly attuned to the noise in her environment.
Watch Your Step In addition to the players’ general movement, which can draw monsters to their location, there are sound triggers. Sound triggers are environmental interactions that have a visual tell to help players avoid them.
When players begin to learn this system, they will be met with larger triggers. These are easy to spot and avoid, as long as the player is paying attention. Walking and running over these will create a sound that will draw a monster to investigate that location.
These larger triggers appear as torn flooring with exposed floorboards or an overturned Auto-Cart where dishes have spilled and broken.
These triggers will be easy to spot and avoid if the player is paying attention.
But not all triggers will be so easy to see.
Some will be smaller and easier to avoid, but harder to see. A small pile of broken ceramic or a large carpet stain can denote a squeaky floorboard. These work by creating scenarios that can draw in a monster if a player is running carelessly through the world, creating an opportunity for the monster to stalk the player like a real predator.
The more adept a player becomes at moving through the world, the less they will attract unwanted attention.
Players Can Augment This Mechanic
As players explore the game, they will discover Relics. We won’t be doing a deep dive into those right now, but they are part of a perk system that allows players to gain abilities or build systems that allow them to move more freely. Pairing this with the Crafting system players will be able to tune the world systems and mechanics in their favor and build into their preferred playstyle. The end goal is still immersion into the type of horror fantasy we are building. You can't fight back and you are being hunted, but you are smart and can find new ways of outsmarting your pursuers.
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