Overview
Team Project
Released 2023
Made in GameMaker 2
My roles:
Gameplay Designer
Lead Programmer
After Dark is a tense top-down RPG in which the player must reconcile with the complete lack of control over their own safety.
After Dark was a project for an Alternative Games class. I worked on a team of four. Our alternative value was to advocate for victims of physical and sexual violence, and comment on victim blaming. I programmed most of the game, and designed the main gameplay loop. Additionally, I had to manage source control and learn GameMaker 2.
Accomplishments
Fully design and program almost all systems and mechanics
Work in a team to scope, iterate, and adjust project
Use simple gameplay mechanics to convey an emotional and stressful experpience
The Prototype
After forming teams, we had to create a short prototype build. I was the sole creator of this build. This was my first time using GameMaker for an extended amount of time. The goal of this build was to create the basic chase mechanic that would be used in the game. To do this I had to implement movement, collisions, timers, quicktime events, and death states.
Chase Sequences
My proudest contribution to After Dark are the chase scenes that take up half of the gameplay loop. Our message with this game was that violence is not the fault of the victim. To convey this, there is no way to actually win the chase scenes. However I wanted it to feel like you could win, so that players don’t give up and instead actively try to fend off the killer.
The killer character starts off walking slower than the player, giving the impression that he is stalking the player. His speed increases over time, and as he gets closer a heartbeat SFX plays louder. When he collides with the player, a quick time event is activated. This simply has you press a random key on your keyboard. When you win the QTE: the killer is stunned for a moment, the killer’s speed is increased, and the QTE time limit becomes more strict. The killer recovers and chases you again, now more powerful.
As simple as it is, the QTE system created a thrilling experience. Players have to scramble to find the correct key, which conveys a feeling of a scrappy and desperate battle. A skilled player will be able to prolong this chase for a while, but the killer is designed to eventually get powerful enough where it becomes impossible to win. The end product uses simple gameplay mechanics to create a frightening and thrilling experience.
Sequencing
To further convey our message we had the game loop between a few characters to show that anybody could be victimized. After the player dies, I have the screen dramatically cut to black. In between chase levels, the player enters a museum level. I put calming music in the museum to create a sense of emotional whiplash in the player, as if the world has already forgotten about the death of the previous character and life has moved on. The museum was also used as a way to elevate the narrative. The exhibits in the level change to reflect the character that you played as in the previous level.