Friday, 14 January 2011

Concept Sketches

So apparently my resolution to do one post a day lasted all of one day. Figures.

Here have some concept sketches for various areas of the game.















Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Premise

I'm gonna try to make one post here a day, let's see how long this lasts.

I'll say this now - Sunless Hours is not a story-heavy game. Not in the traditional sense. The story itself is fairly simple and doesn't really need more than a paragraph to summarize. So I'm going to go ahead and summarize it in a paragraph.

The story is set in a world where every year the first child born on the longest day of summer upon turning ten, must set out on a pilgrimage to make sure the sun rises after the winter solstice. One year the first children born are twins. These are your playable characters. Every precaution is made, as every precaution is made every year, to make sure that they make the trip safely and successfully. Unfortunately this year their journey is sabotaged by creatures of the night who wish for the solstice, when they are at their most powerful, never to end. Without supplies, protection or much else but each other, the twins are left to finish their journey alone. So they do that.

Really, I could have summarized it further to 'The story is that two children go from point a to point b. There are obstacles.' or even 'Go this way until you win.'. Not a plot-heavy game.

Instead of the story itself, the narrative focus as well as the gameplay focus is on the young twins' reliance upon and determination to help each other. The character who you do not choose at the beginning is struck gravely ill at the start of the game, limiting his or her ability to climb as well as his/her endurance. Your character is forced to leave them behind more than they'd like to. But there are sections where their help is needed to overcome obstacles, forcing you to return for them and seek out or clear paths that they'll be able to follow.

Gameplay changes quite dramatically when night falls and your characters are dragged into the sunless world, where the spirits who aim to stop your travels live.

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

Test/Introduction

Hello! I am Francsca and I will be using this blog to show progress on my game project, Sunless Hours.

Sunless Hours is a game starring two young children who must work together to ensure that the sun rises.