Brief

So I have decided to make games under the guise of Troll Purse. Eight Hours is my first game I plan on finishing all the way through. I have a WIP MVP to see if people will want to play it. I have worked on average 2 hours a week for 2 years (very slow progress). I plan on doing a soft release Oct 31, 2017, 3:33 AM. Links can be found else where. After that release continued work will move forward if several (determined by myself) modest metrics are met. These minimum metrics are:

• 7,000+ downloads

• 14,000+ total hours played within 2 months of release

So, here goes:

Eight Hours

Eight Hours is the horrifying debut game from Troll Purse. It features you as Bob Norm, a paranormal investigator. At your request, the owner has locked you in the house for the duration of the investigation. Now, it is up to you to discover the secrets of the haunting. You have eight hours - good luck and God speed.

Gameplay

Taking on the role of Bob Norm, a paranormal investigator, you will have the ability to setup equipment within a client’s “supposedly” haunted home for detecting paranormal activity. Such equipment involves infrared cameras, video cameras, EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomen) capture devices, and EVP pod detectors. As you play through the game you will experience various haunting events that may or may not harm you. The goal is to find evidence of a haunting before the night is over - a total of eight hours (real time). If you fail to do so, or any misfortunes befall you, the game is lost and you must restart from the beginning. Following the mechanics of horror games such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent and (more recently) Outlast II, the player will have no physical method of combating the entities. Rather, the player will have opportunities to detect the entity(ies) within the home for a chance to avoid it/them. Finally, you will have the ability to stay protected within lighted rooms, similar to how you may combat the ghost in Alan Wake using a torch or flare. However, the entity(ies) have the ability to reach within the physical world and alter the state of the doors and the lights, reducing chances of escape and protection.

The entity(ies) can only harm you within darkened rooms. They will also only appear after a specific time of the night. Entity(ies) can only be ‘seen’ through a telltale shadow cast by lights from other rooms or the use of EVPs. Infrared cameras will also be excellent in providing visual hints as the the whereabouts of any or an Entity (if one exists). Detection of the entity(ies) will have improved difficulty throughout the game by reducing the detection resources (EVP pod detectors, Infrared cameras, etc.)

Visual Style

Eight Hours will use a realistic style of representing the world. Drafts of the current state are shown as an example. The majority of the game will take place within a dark environment with the ability to illuminate it.

Audio Style

Eight Hours has a unique hook in regards to audio style. Apart from being devoid of music in game and only using environmental sounds, Eight Hours has another feature unseen in games. Troll Purse contacted a local Paranormal Investigation Group and secured real world EVPs for use within the game. NOTE: this may be an issue with those who are religious/superstitious/etc. as it is believed by some that the energy captured may invoke/excite energy within proximity of you. Due to the nature of the content, there is a warning issued at the startup of the game. Apart from that, various audio is in place to excite the player and entice a mood of dread.

Potential Additional Features

The following are features are what I would like to add to the game immediately after release if the milestones are reached (in no particular order)

• As you play through the game, you can also unlock the raw EVP audio files as a reward for playing the game.

• Create a full game with multiple investigations - each with a unique storyline

• Track progress by the hour as an optional feature for an ‘easy’ mode

• Significantly updated graphical and audio assets.

• Significantly updated lighting

• Real World EVPs cleaned up for gameplay

• Better Control Bindings

• Less static object placement for dynamic gameplay and better player choice

• Builds for PS4 and XBox One (low priority, more platforms = more testing)

• Improved menus, 2D assets, and fonts

Any comments or additional thoughts would be much appreciated.