did I?
Genre : Visual Novel, Point & Click
View : FMV
Engine : Unity | GoPro Hero 7
Platform : Windows
Team : The last 5 Brain Cells(Ayush, Nayan, Nithin, Sagnik, Srushti)
‘did I?’ is an experimental FMV visual novel game which is very narrative and choice-based. The theme of the story is slice of life and aim at achieving interactive storytelling for single players.
Gameplay
Mechanics
This is a visual novel game and the main mechanism is choosing the decision and each one has its own consequences. Some micro interactions are introduced in the game to keep the player engaged during the gameplay and they tell about the character’s alter. Mini games are also added in between videos to bring some pacing to the gameplay. There are some missing parts when the character’s alter changes, which are filled using sounds(phone calls, memory fragments etc.)
All the interactions are done via ‘Left Mouse’ click and memo book is accessed using the button ‘M’.
Choices
A consequence of the player’s choice will occur, and the narration will then take a different branch. Every choice also affects the memo book. Elements for replayability.
Example : If the player decide to buy milk, it results in the character drinking milk with tea else the player drinks black tea.
Mini Game 1
Goal of game to clean the room of the protagonist. Player can click and drag the objects to their respective positions. When the room is cleaned, the objective is accomplished.
Mini Game 2
Goal of this is to catch the thief running away with your bag. Player has to click to move the character. The faster you click, the faster the character moves. If the player misses a click, the character slows down.
Memo book
Memo book can only be accessed after the player achieves the memo book. When the player has memo book, it is shown in the right bottom of the screen.
The player gets informed whether the memo book has been updated.
The memo book records the player’s decisions as they are made.
Example: Both of the player’s decisions about the purchase of milk are recorded in the memo book.
GoPro videos - 1920p x 1080p
Videos are as first person perspective as it has been recorded with a GoPro Hero 7, mounted on the person’s head.
Gameplay
There are two endings – one good and one bad. The player has to watch the videos, understand each character’s behavior( through micro interactions) and go through the memo book. The player has to analyze and deduct the good choice based on these factors and false deductions lead to bad endings.
Story Progression
The player is unaware that Ansel (the protagonist) has D.I.D. at the start of the narrative. Even the alters are not aware of one another. Initially, the alters switch due to external triggers. The introduction of each alter takes place in Act 1 of the narrative. Every alter has suffered a loss, and these losses are all related. There are four alters: Agora, Govind, Freedom, and Ansel. In act 2, the alters become aware of one another and begin exchanging hints. Act 3 focuses more on self-realization and alters supporting one another in achieving their objectives.
Design Process and Timeline
‘did I’ was a design project done under the guidance of Mr.Chirag Chopra(Lucid Labs) and Ms.Amrapali Hazra(Digital Game Design Faculty, NID). The course lasted 10 weeks.
