Matt Wolford
Software Engineer and Game Programmer
Student Innovation Project:
Peaks and Valleys
A game that is intended to be a story-driven, thriller, set in a creepy hospital. There will also be a Virtual Reality mode that the player will have to explore and keep an eye on his vitals if he wishes to survive.
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Built in Unity.
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Creators: Austin Messer - Art / Animation
Matt Wolford - Programmer
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NOTE: THIS IS STILL IN EARLY DEVELOPMENT
Key Features
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Innovative Heart Rate Monitor GUI
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Displays important info on your vitals that you must keep in check.
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Can help you and can hurt you.
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You must balance your vital signs and make sure not to over exert yourself.
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If your vitals fluctuate too much either way, the monitor will start making noise, alerting the creatures.
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Functions as your Inventory Menu.
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VR Mode
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Adds greater level of difficulty for a completely surreal experience.
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Nightmare-ish Creatures
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You must carefully explore your options when encountering one.
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You have no weapons and can only distract them or run away.
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Innovation and Prior Art
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VR Mode - The implementation of a separate VR Mode as opposed to a game that is the same with or without the headset was an important decision as the it allows for further replay value. Sure it might be seen as just a "cooler" way to play, but by having a separate mode that changes the game, the player now have two separate experiences to discover and the original game won't be compromised if the player doesn't have a headset.
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Hospital Setting - Not only have we not seen a VR game set in a hospital, we wanted to take an already somewhat creepy environment and send it over the edge. Our hospital environment dynamically changes over the course of the game, it will be far from the sterile, clean, white halls for most of the game.
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Heart Rate Monitor GUI - This is something special that the player will have to get used to as their character will be dragging it around for most of the game. The decision to make the GUI out of a heart rate monitor was based on something you see in a lot of movies and shows, and in those hospital settings, you always see someone walking around with an IV drip to be able to leave their rooms. So we thought "why not have the IV drip be a heart rate monitor since it has the potential to be helpful and a pain. The noise it makes will attract the creatures, but will also alert to you that you need to take pills or adrenaline to control your heart rate levels. In all the games we've played, we haven't seen something so helpful, yet so hindering at the same time and that will be a big challenge to overcome.
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Prior Art Inspirations - We draw inspiration from a lot of games, crossing multiple genres. Our biggest ones are Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Amnesia, and The Last of Us. These games all have dark undertones for different reasons. The amazing story behind The Last of Us is what drove us to create a story-driven experience for our players. We wanted to create a game that tugs at your heart strings while at the same time makes you jump out of your seat. Silent Hill and Amnesia have some pretty dark art that gives the suspense a greater effect when you're immersed in those worlds. Both Silent Hill and Resident Evil have had their share of insane enemies and that's where our inspiration comes from for our creatures. With our project, we hope to pay homage to those games that have created such memorable experiences and hope that's what our game will do too.
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