Woodside Developer Spotlight - Dames 4 Games Showcase
Welcome to Woodside, a third-person survival horror adventure. Explore, investigate and survive as Grace as she comes face to face with the supernatural terrors that plague a seemingly quaint British village.
The upcoming supernatural adventure from paper flower games adopts the unique capacity of horror to evoke strong emotions in its viewers and players, weaving a dark mystery through its gameplay to tell an important story.
DESIGN LEAD/PRODUCTION
- Design and Development Lead for a supernatural horror adventure game.
- Level editing and gameplay prototyping in Unreal Engine 5.
- Designing a compelling narrative and engaging game world.
- Art and Audio Direction.
- Project and Community Management.
- Level editing and gameplay prototyping in Unreal Engine 5.
- Designing a compelling narrative and engaging game world.
- Art and Audio Direction.
- Project and Community Management.
Team Size: < 5
Genre: Survival Horror/Adventure
Engine: Unreal 5
Genre: Survival Horror/Adventure
Engine: Unreal 5
Design goals
- Providing opportunities for player agency at all stages of the core loop.
- Telling a unique, immersive and engaging horror story.
- Showcasing a detailed environment that transports players to a believable rural England.
- Telling a unique, immersive and engaging horror story.
- Showcasing a detailed environment that transports players to a believable rural England.
DESIGN QUESTIONS/SOLUTIONS
How can we maximise player agency at all stages of the core loop while maintaining a power balance that best serves horror experiences?
Exploration:
While village regions are, for the most part, explored in a sequence that follows the game's narrative, non-linear exploration in Woodside allows players to explore locations within regions in any order. Additionally, when new information is gained, backtracking to locations previously visited opens up new areas of the map to the player.
While village regions are, for the most part, explored in a sequence that follows the game's narrative, non-linear exploration in Woodside allows players to explore locations within regions in any order. Additionally, when new information is gained, backtracking to locations previously visited opens up new areas of the map to the player.
Investigation:
Clues collected by the player are added to the Clue Log. From there, the player can decide to cross-reference clue information wherever they see a connection. While this is one way to reveal important story information, cross-referencing can also reveal additional lore and hidden extras, rewarding the player's curiosity with optional content.
Clues collected by the player are added to the Clue Log. From there, the player can decide to cross-reference clue information wherever they see a connection. While this is one way to reveal important story information, cross-referencing can also reveal additional lore and hidden extras, rewarding the player's curiosity with optional content.
Survival:
When an enemy is encountered, players can choose the aggressiveness with which they fight their foe. By using the insight gained from their investigations, players can empathise with spirits to help them move on at the expense of repeat encounters. Alternatively, players can use their abilities to apply greater damage to a spirit. This action makes spirits more aggressive but will ultimately weaken them, allowing the player to vanquish them sooner rather than later.
When an enemy is encountered, players can choose the aggressiveness with which they fight their foe. By using the insight gained from their investigations, players can empathise with spirits to help them move on at the expense of repeat encounters. Alternatively, players can use their abilities to apply greater damage to a spirit. This action makes spirits more aggressive but will ultimately weaken them, allowing the player to vanquish them sooner rather than later.
How can we provide an engaging and immersive horror experience, while also telling a unique story that does not overly rely on common horror tropes?
Horror tropes are used by developers for a reason - they help the player draw connections and expectations from other media without the game spending extra time establishing these themes and concepts. However, subverting these tropes and experimenting with new ideas can keep gameplay fresh and the experience less predictable. Woodside pushes the boundaries of what we have come to expect from horror media with cinematic, narrative and player-focused techniques.
Additionally, Woodside is a game with a focus on character. Who Grace is, her fears and motivations, are vital to the story being told. To encourage a connection between Grace and the player and keep players immersed in the game's world, the character is fully-voiced with relatable dialogue and believable reactions to her surroundings.
What will make Woodside's setting distinctly British and how will the player experience this?
The village of Woodside is designed and developed by team members with experience residing in or around the British countryside. Every detail of the village's design (with the exception of the more fantastical) references elements from real-world locations researched by the team. Realistic Foley sound design is used to capture and implement a believable soundscape to accompany the player during exploration.
Woodside's player camera adapts to environment, story and the needs of the player. The game's default third-person camera switches between over-the-shoulder and fixed perspective depending on the atmosphere and desired focal points in the current environment, as well as the pacing of narrative progression. While exploring Woodside, the player can also inspect their environment more closely by switching to a first-person 'Focus' perspective.
The development of characters and lore in the world of Woodside can be explored at the level of depth preferred by each player. This is achieved through a combination of environmental storytelling, readable items and optional content discovered by cross-referencing clues.
Concept Design
Grace - Protagonist - Franshawn Langley, Artist
Supernatural Creatures - Lauren Watkins, Artist
Concept Prototypes
