DEVELOPMENT DIARY
CONCEPT 2: REDITUS
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The Idea:
This idea came about when I watched a talk by Keith Kahn in The Language Show 2022 about all the translations of the instructions in Kinder Surprise Egg. He spoke about how a lot of the stuff written in the instruction manual is entirely gibberish, and ends up looking like symbols rather than letters to native readers. For example, in the screengrab below (what Keith calls the Estonian Scandal), there are words that are entirely made up. Some of the Macrons (accents above, below, or through a word) do not exist in any language and have therefore managed to create words that are not real - there is no such word as 'voivad' or 'voi' with those macrons. From this, Keith was inspired to create his own language - a conlang. If we lose languages, can we create our own to replace them? Are we more likely to lose a language if they're not properly recorded? i.e. making up macrons - if it can happen on Kinder Eggs, it's likely to have happened elsewhere (what if in the future all the proof archeologists have of the Estonian language is a Kinder Egg manual?). Keith's conlangs and the need to properly record languages have really inspired me here.
The Gameplay
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Essential Experience:
Details on the Essential Experience can be found here on a previous page.
When playing this game, I wanted my players to have a tense experience; one that would constantly keep them alert and on their toes, but not afraid. I also wanted players to understand that their actions have consequences - if they don't remember words and translations, or at least have them properly recorded, they would have to find them all over again. To emulate this experience, I would need to have dramatic visuals and large environments for the player to explore (so there is always something to do). I would also need to take away the ability to record words in the game. To display this, I created the below one-page pitch...
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"Players explore an environment, looking for seemingly gibberish translations of common words in order to progress through the space"
"This may not be a door that needs unlocking with a key, it will often be something discreet; a battery needed for a light to see a hidden corner or a lace needed for a shoe in order for the player to sprint. Many are dotted through the space – some will never be used, some are used immediately, and some are used later on in the story. Players have no easy way of viewing words they have discovered… so they either have to remember words, return to areas, or find their own ways of recording. How can words be recorded? Failing to correctly recall a word results in the player returning to previous areas, and the translations ahead altered." The main aim (for me at least) is for players to eventually learn the in-game alphabet, and be able to work out answers themselves without having to search for them. At the start of the game, this alphabet will look like completely made-up symbols, but with enough gameplay, players will eventually work out that each symbol corresponds to a letter. If this doesn't happen, it wouldn't be an issue, but I think it adds an extra layer to gameplay - it allows players to feel smarter and they don't have to be frustrated by the threat of having to return to areas. I'm hoping to allow each play-through to have different word-keys for replayability, and in case a player needs to return to find a word again - they cant guess translations, they have to know them. (This could also allow for speedruns?)
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A Deeper Dive
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Gameplay Walkthrough and Prototype video:
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The main body of the above prototype was made using ​ the December 1st, 2022, Google Doodle for Gerald "Jerry" Lawson's 82nd Birthday, "one of the fathers of modern gaming who led the team that developed the first home video gaming system with interchangeable game cartridges". I went and added the videos of gameplay into PowerPoint, and then added sound effects and the pop-up boxes as a semi-transparent overlay. This is obviously a completely different style from what I'm eventually going for, but I think it was a great way to showcase my idea. I had a few people play through it and they understood it much better in comparison to when I tried to explain it verbally to them. I like to think the gameplay here is self explanatory, too.
Why Reditus?
Reditus is a Latin word that has many translations depending on the context in which it is used. Here, I am using the translation 'the returning' or 'to return'. This is in reference to the idea that players will have to return to previously explored areas if they don't remember/record their words. I once again chose Latin because it's one of the oldest languages that are still taught today.
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Gameplay Loop:
Details on Gameplay Loops can be found here on a previous page.
Activity and Risk: Players travel through a darkened space collecting word-keys that unlock spaces to upcoming areas. Word-keys can be hidden anywhere within an environment and are not always obvious to a player. There is no in-game way to record word-keys that a player has found, so players risk losing their translations. If a player uses the wrong word-key on a lock, they are forced to re-explore areas and find new word-keys.
Reward: Players can unlock new areas and find new exciting spaces. If a player manages to learn the alphabet within Reditus, there's an added aspect of feeling smart and gaining satisfaction.
Opportunity: Players unlock new in-game areas and find a new appreciation for the importance of properly recording/remembering and using language.
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Ratings and Controls:
For Reditus, I originally chose to use the 'Everyone 10+' ESRB Rating, however now, I'm not so sure this is appropriate. The game would have no gore or violence, nor suggestive themes, but the dark environment itself might be frightening for young players. Gameplay may also be too difficult and infuriating. Because of this, I'm thinking of upping my ESRB Rating to 'Teen' and having my PEGI Rating set to 12.
I think having this as a single-player game would make the most sense. Having two or more players running around trying to find words would eventually become too hectic.
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UIX:
As previously stated, there is no way in which players can record words in the game and then look back on them later. Because of this, there would be no need to have a word-bank or anything like this. When a word-key is found, it will appear as an overlay on the screen in-game that will promptly disappear, and questions regarding word-keys will be found on surfaces nearby the intended lock.
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Design:
This isn't intended to be played as a horror game, but I hope a spooky environment will add to the tense nature of the gameplay and encourage exploration. I've taken a lot of inspiration from the Resident Evil games here...
Concerns:
1) I want the importance of recording languages to be clear to players, but I'm worried that the idea of having no way to record words would be too frustrating and cause players to give up on the game. I would need to make it easy to begin with and then slowly increase difficulty (somehow?!)
2) It would be rather difficult to design a large atmospheric space in the amount of time we have.