this is the github for our game Katabasis Ian Ford Phone: (317)201-6948 Email: iford@indiana.edu Max Lancaster Phone: (847) 867-0867 Email: mllancas@indiana.edu Kyle James Phone: (812) 619-1113 Email: kyrjames@imail.iu.edu Dewayne White Phone: (317) 340-2532 Email: dewwhite@indiana.edu Nick Root Phone: (812) 361-5818 Email: ndroot@indiana.edu

Katabasis Design Document

Story As it is the story follows a young boy (nameless) of age? (I’m thinking 12-ish) trying to navigate a dark dungeon/cellar Backstory and internal dialog will be presented by text between dungeon floors Prototype text: (Prologue) A boy lost in the darkness. He may not know where he is or how he got there but with his lantern he’ll find his way. Perhaps he should look around, he may just find what it is he needs. (After 1st floor) After descending the stairs the boy finds himself again shrouded darkness. It seems he needs to find the key to each floor. How much more must he descend? No matter, he cannot stop, he must find his way. He realizes this may take some time so he steels his heart and clutches his lantern tightly. The light from it keeps him going. It gives him faith. Keeps him strong. The darkness is nauseating as it overwhelms him. Sometimes he doesn’t know if he’s strong enough. The bright light at his side flickers forcing him from his revery. He remembers now. Just like he’s descending the steps now he had descended his apartment stairs to escape from home. The pressure from the darkness is nearly tangible but his life at home was worse. The last time his father hit him he didn’t wake up til the next day. Thinking of it he can smell the alcohol in the air, or is that sulfur? This place confuses everything; his sense of smell, his sense of direction. He knows it’s changed him irrevocably. For better or for worse he doesn’t know. TENTATIVE STORY OUTLINE Game opens up with a still shot of The Boy (protagonist, perhaps 10 years old?) crying in the rain as he pulls open the cellar door, a lantern in hand. Another still shot shows the boy holding the lantern, enveloped by darkness (really hoping we could get this art). As the art fades away, text appears on the screen: “A boy lost in the dark… His memory betrays him. The light of his lantern keeps him warm, illuminates his path. He knows it will not last forever, and the only way to go is down.” I also wanted the text before the final floor to possibly give hints as to how the puzzles on that floor could be completed Finally beating the game represents the boy’s ability to escape from his depression His relationship with his mother is undecided; his dad is an abusive alcoholic The dungeon is definitely not a real place but a product of his mind; perhaps it’s this way because after he ran from home he escaped into some underground room(cellar, basement, etc…) and this is the source for the dungeon; maybe objects in this room provide a source for the lantern and other game aspects

What I came up with. The shadows dance around him. Their whispers grow louder and louder. Ringing in the Boy’s ears. Upon his awakening, his eyes meet the shadows. Darkness fills his eyes, his heart drops. The whispers are gone and the darkness responds with silence. The only sound The Boy can hear is his heart beat as it begins to rapidly increase. He begins to cry and covers his ears, and tries to remember what his sister would tell him when he cries. Except his sister’s words escape him… as well as her eyes, her hair, her smile, and her warm mother like presence yet sisterly embrace that soothed his soul when he felt disruptive. Instead of crying for the lost situation he is in, he sat trying to remember his sister. Then a flicker of light illuminated the boy. He opened his eyes to see a small lantern to his right. When he grabbed it, the whispers conversed. Startled the boy looked all around him and found a stairway leading down. The whispers ceased, the boy’s heart rate increased, and the light began to fade. I was thinking that to add to the story, he would have a sister but the reason he is in this dungeon is because his father was fired from a firm he worked at for 23 years. He came home drunk around 2 am making a large fuss and waking up the family. Their mother tried to calm him down while taking the bad news rather lightly which pissed off the father more. He pushed her down to the ground. The sister, about 15 or 17, would run to her mother calling the father a drunk and scum of the earth. The boy watching from the corner. Mother got to her feet and tried to calm the two down. Father gripped the bottle and smashed it against the mother’s head and swung it around to the daughter. The bottle broke in half against the mother’s head knocking her out, and the shards of glass that smacked the boy’s sister cut her deeply. The father walked to the boy and said, “Two birds with one stone. Now I can think in peace.” His father’s alcoholic breath like fire to the boy’s skin. Father Stumbles onto the boy and kicks him multiple times for getting in his father’s way. The boy broken and defeated at the sight of the blood pool drowning his sister and the blood creeping towards his mother. He crawls towards them. Tears welling in his eyes and his mouth hanging low. He wants to comfort them like they did for him all his life but his words become voiceless. The boy rests his head on his bleeding sister and cries. His father comes back roaring, “This is all your fault boy! We live poorly because of you, why can’t you take care of yourself? Aren’t you strong enough? Look at me when I’m talking to you! You are worthless. An idiot. Why would you….” The boy loses his sense of hearing as his father beats him. Only a ringing fills his ears as his vision begins to fade. His consciousness leaves him. Plot points He doesn’t accept his sister’s death and has tried to forget that night, so advancing to the end would be accepting her death. His sister would tell him “The strongest man believes in himself and what he can do with his words, not his weapon.” Wether the boy is dead or not could be up to interpretation or your decision. This all could be a coma like dream. Mother isn’t dead

Style The game should be lighthearted since the main character is a child but the game itself is not intended for children the game will have still have a serious tone though due to the standing metaphor of the game: depression This means a somber game world and story but interaction is simple and entertaining Gameplay A top-down puzzle game with a focus on light vs. dark Action takes place on floors in a “dungeon” to proceed from floor to floor the player must acquire a key The key will be hidden in the darkness as will with exit to each floor, represented as a staircase down The boy carries a lantern which acts as a source of light and gives the player an indication of the character’s health the light will diminish over time No perma-death, death means restarting the current floor the light will be replenished between floors, or by interacting with NPC’s in-game Puzzles: darks souls/ Indiana Jones leap of faith -> an endless chasm with a single invisible pathway across, indicated by the boy’s lantern Word puzzle involving either dragging letters or directly pressing them Confront the Dragon without any tools or help Most floors will be presented as mazes starting from simple to complex Working on the addition of more puzzles on all floors to increase user engagement so far we’ve thought of : pits, spike traps, wind tunnels, pressure plates, time-based puzzling, movable game objects Sound Moody, haunting grand piano-heavy soundtrack; mix of orchestral and dystopian synths Art Platform Android ( though iOS may become a possibility also if we can get somebody familiar with it’s distribution process) Future Additions Combat either through the light or other implements Enemies More puzzles on all floors More floors Light flicker “Flavored Floors” possibly centered around particular problems or emotions the boy is experiencing