MNEMONIC - Design Insight

MNEMONIC was created during a game jam which featured the theme: “Sacrifices Must be Made”.

With this idea in mind, me and my team were able to begin bouncing ideas around which eventually lead to it being the game that it is.

A first person rogue-lite game, where the player must sacrifice time or exploration.

Conception and Tying in the Game Jam Theme

Initially we had the idea of having some sort of fast paced roguelike game where the player would need to quickly clear “floors” before a resource ran out, this resource could be something like oxygen to fuel a space suit, or simply time you had until you needed to reach the next floor.

However, this resulted in forcing the player into one specific playstyle, where speed was always the most important factor. This meant that many players might be enticed to run past enemies entirely, creating a game that didn’t really fit with the idea of sacrifices needing to be made.

In an effort to accommodate more playstyles, we designed a new way for the resource to be tracked. Rather than a simple “Yes, you completed the level” or “No, you were too slow”, we became more lenient with punishments to the player for not completing floors quickly enough.

The player would be given a set amount of time which would be divided into thirds, upon this timer reaching one of these milestones they would be given a Strike, once the player reached the end of the level they would need to remove any accumulated Strikes by taking on debuffs that would go into effect in the next level, additionally, the player could also “pay off” a Strike using currency that could be collected throughout the level.

Now with the key concept of Exploration vs. Time, we were able to begin defining more elements of the game.

Game Pillars

Throughout the development of MNEMONIC we always kept key ideas or pillars in mind. These pillars would help inform other design decisions, as well as keep the game vision clear. These pillars consisted of:

Sacrifices Must be Made

Every choice is a sacrifice, choices have consequences. One door opens another closes, and no choice should feel specifically like a bad decision.

Fun to do Fast

Snappy movement, engaging combat, skill based, different playstyles should still be viable. “Easy to play, hard to master.”

Surreal World Inside a Mind

Due to the setting of the game taking place within the mind, many creative liberties can be taken. Physics don’t always apply, surreal levels with lots of verticality, and being able to slowly tell a story about the mind you are inside of.

Design Focus

Many of the design decisions that are made in the game revolve around the player’s experience, and how the player feels about their skills.

Levels are designed with multiple paths to encourage more mechanically skilled players to take challenging paths, while more simple paths for newer players also exist. Player character movement was another big focus due to how much emphasis there is on the player’s movement abilities.

To make the gameplay feel better and intuitive, many abilities are automatically completed for the player, this includes: sprinting, wall running, and climbing. These actions are done automatically in order to allow the player to focus on the obstacles ahead of them, rather than the controls they may need to input at a certain time.

Game Features

Parkour Movement

The player is able to employ various movement mechanics as they traverse the level. With these abilities the player will feel as if anything is possible, fueling the fantasy for the player and making them feel good when they are able to complete a difficult route.

Corruption System

The corruption system adds a sense of urgency to the player’s experience. They will need to quickly maneuver their way throughout the level in order to not receive debuffs in the next area, however, exploring and defeating enemies is also rewarded. This system was carefully tweaked to ensure various playstyles are catered to and allows for a wider range of players to enjoy the game.

Surreal but Readable

With the game taking place in the mind, many elements can have artistic liberties taken into account. Level design and layout includes this focus, incorporating surreal art and M.C. Escher aesthetics into the level while making the level objectives clear to the player immediately.