BACKSTORY
GAMEPLAY
An immersive first-person experience about being kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a car. A journey in which sound is the main focus designed to be played using a standard controller (mouse) in a different way.
CONTEXT & BACKGROUND
A short experience inspired by the sole survivor of the "backpacker killer", Ivan Milat, a serial killer who murdered at least seven hitchhikers in the 1980s and 1990s. Their bodies were found buried in the Belangelo forest, Australia. The killer abducted his victims by car, killed them and buried them in the woods.
The survivor managed to escape from his car and call the Bowral Police Station, belonging to one of the nearest cities, where over the years different testimonies about attacks on the road arrived.
His testimony was crucial in convicting Milat in 1996.
IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS
- A mouse with a scroll wheel is required to play.
- Headphones are HIGHLY recommended. You might miss out on the experience without them.
- For the full experience, hold the mouse like a lighter and start the game with your other hand behind your back.
- If you want to go further, play the game lying on your side.
A GAME BY
Rocket Raw
Naburo
Endorth
Made in 6 days for the GUNSCREEN HORROR JAM.
Thanks for playing.
Download
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Comments
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Real neat!
ThoughtsČ
- love the scroll-wheel/lighter thing. I wish you could remove all keyboard interactions, however. You tell the player to start playing with only one hand, with that hand being occupied by the mouse, and then have two Čenter any keyČ prompts and a moment where you have to randomly click keys to find an object. IČm just thinking that a mouse click should suffice for the first two, and then the latter can be cut.
- really like the look and the audio-based puzzles! yČall did great!
Hey, first of all, thanks so much for playing it!
By the other hand, what you mentioned was intentional! The idea was to simulate having to grope around in the dark to find something you can't see (that's why we don't ask for a certain key). Having only one free hand means you can't use the lighter and search in the dark at the same time, so you have to put down the lighter first. The idea was to simulate the experience of being very limited in your movements in a dark place, but we know that because it's a bit unusual it's not always understood.
oh, I did understood that. I just felt that it wasnāt effective (it took me around 1 second to press the required key, after gliding my finger over all of the keys on my keyboard). I feel itās a very clever idea but that it distracts from the immersion provided by the otherwise unique and tactile control scheme you had going on with the mouse.
I am wondering if there is maybe another way of implementing the āgroping around in the darkā with just the mouse, or at least with the keyboard in a way that is not so easily cheesed by dancing down the rows of keys. Here are a couple of ideas Iāve had:
- I donāt know if itās possible to detect whether the mouse is not on its pad, but what you could do is have to move it around on the pad, lift it āoverā obstacles signaled by audio cues (lifting over being simply taking the mouse off the pad and then putting it down on another part of the mat) and then grab at the environment with a left click. Or maybe you canāt jump your hand over objects but have to instead move them out of the way with a left click.
- the object moves when you correctly select it with a key-press, such that itās three consecutive key-press prompts (this is to represent the object being slippery or perhaps shifting around in the truck)
Apologies if this is two-centish, I did that just cause I think itās an interesting design problem and wanted to try to solve it myself ;)
This is random, but the game reminded me of that song āfeiticeiraā
Really interesting game, especially the lighting mechanic — a very cool idea that creates a lot of tension.
However, it was a bit hard to get into at the beginning since thereās no clear starting point. If the player knew where they began or had some initial guidance, it would improve the experience a lot.
It would also be great if the player had to turn off the lighter when the killer looks into the trunk — that could add another layer of tension and make the mechanic even more intense.
Maybe the killer could also check the trunk more often because he thinks he heard something. Then the player would have to quickly hide everything to avoid being discovered. This isnāt currently in the game, but it could be a really exciting addition.
There are clues to help you figure out where the trip begins! It's true that it might be a little overwhelming at first, because you're still getting used to the game and its mechanics, but it's designed so you can solve it in two tries at most (although it can be solved easily on the first try if you pay attention!). The second attempt might allow you to better appreciate some details.
We had a lot of ideas we would have loved to include! But in the end, we had to prioritize and focused on what we thought was the most interesting part of the experience.
Thank you so much for playing it and for your feedback <3