Hey there. This post is mainly to shed some light on the gameplay systems and my overall creative process. This posts main purpose is to dive into what you can expect while playing! Let's not waste any time and get straight into it:

So currently, I'm designing the gameplay carefully, I have a idea already in mind for it its main gameplay theme, that being the game is

FAIR, BALANCED, FUN, AND CHALLENGING.

Of course, this is to give the player a challenging experience, without being unfair, unfun or just straight unplayable.

To do this, I have designed a basic outline of the gameplay structure and made the characters in game help with making the tools given useful.

Some things I will quickly confirm about the game:

The nights last 7 minutes and 15 seconds.

You don't have overcomplicated tools, said tools are the CCTV panel and access to Building Footage and Airduct Systems.

These tools are made to be used in-game and I have thought of several uses I could implement for them so nothing is dead weight. If I had everyone interact with the Building Footage, the game becomes less dynamic and the Airducts become useless. And vice versa, the systems balance eachother because even if more characters utilize one tool, the weight the other has balances it. I also have characters interact with the Office so there's action in your safe haven too.

Believe it or not, but originally I was going to add a "CCTV power" that'd be like power for the cams.

However this was scrapped because the Power is already a VERY VERY VERY crucial point to the game. And adding another power system makes the balance feel janky.

Now, onto the animatronics. The meat of the article.

The animatronics all test/require a certain things from you. And they all of course are varied threats that don't act the same at all but do not make the game unfair.

With how they work, it's like a balancing act, you must master the rules of the game in order to get good at doing the act, if you aren't understanding or learning something correctly, the run can fall apart.

Here's a skill tree that showcases what each character would EXPECT from you.

Skill Breakdown — of Nightshift Duties at Denny’s

Denny the Kangaroo → Reflexes + Interpreting Cues

Samantha the Kitty → Resource Management + Maintenance

Jimbo the Dog → Timing + Nerve Control

Antonio the Axolotl→ Multitasking + Crisis Management

Glenn the Ant→ Awareness + Rapid Micro-Reactions

Cranky the Crow → Balancing/Goldilocks style + Anti-Tunnel Vision

Denny 1.0 → Stealth Tracking + Hyper-Awareness

??? → Game Mastery + Endurance

??? → Overload (Pain, BASTARD BALLS)

With how each of these co-exist. They make the gameplay dynamic and really hard but it isn't unfair. Each characters role is simply to add something too manage.

Not all characters require you to use the CCTV panel, not everyone requires the ducts, or the doors.

Nobody overshadows the other, and nobody is background noise. That's the main idea I had for the gameplay, a game where nobody is irrelevant, and everyone can make things difficult.

Each tool WILL need to be used because the constant barage from the cast. And thats why they exist.

The game expects you to pick up on these skills in order to do better later down the line when more threats start popping up.

With this in-mind. The gameplay will be carefully designed in a way specifically thought of both being difficult but fair.

The gameplay will feel like multiple characters testing your skillset, all the while you have to make ends meet accordingly. However nobody is mirrored/utter trash. So gameplay feels fresh!

That's kinda the end of my lil rant/thought process, it you read all this then you're a W! Thanks! :D