TRANSMISCOMMUNICATIONS
Project Overview
Transmiscommunications was created as part of the Global Game Jam. It was developed as part of a two-person team. The project was developed as a VR detective experience where the player had to observe simulated citizens, their routines and decipher which among them was the "spy" and stop them from achieving their objective.
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This project was developed in Unreal Engine 4.
Mechanics
RADIANT CITIZENS
Throughout each of the games environments tiny citizens were placed. Although their routines were simple, they allowed for the mechanics to be facilitated.
Jobs : Each citizen has their own routine that they attend to. Whether that be walking to work each day and sitting at the same PC or patrolling the park grounds, each NPC acts out the same routine each day. This was done to allow the player to learn which AI were performing normal tasks, and have it be made more obvious which was the Spy. This was achieved by creating points of interest throughout the level and randomly assigning them to citizens so that they would visit them throughtout the day.
Spy
As the main mechanic of the game, the player must spot the 'odd one out' in each of the levels. That odd one being the Spy.
Goal : In each of the scenarios the Spy has a defined goal. For instance, in the sample level created during the jam it was his task to infiltrate the telecommunications building and steal information from a server room. This goal of course does not match up with the usual themes of the other NPCs. Allowing the Player to identify and eventually foil the Spy's goal so that they could win the game.
PLAYER
The player acts out the role of the Detective. It's their task to figure out which NPC is the Spy. In this endeavour the player has several mechanics at their disposal.
Blueprint : For each of the levels the player is given a 'building plan'. Although concise this document does not necessarily portray the building as it currently stands. Its content may now be outdated and some intel on the much deeper sections of the building may be completely unknown.
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Peeking and Fingering : The challenge of each map comes from the awkward nature of peeking into each buildings. To get an idea of what's going on in each room, the player needs to shuffle from window to window, trying to get a good look inside. If the player gets too close then their view will become obscured, solving the issue of the player being able to use the VR headset to clip through the building.
Once the player is certain that they're spotted their man, then they need to 'finger' him, using the motion controls. The player must do this upon that NPC leaving the building that they were in. The added challenge comes from remembering who it was.
