Our biggest inspiration came from SOMI’s Replica, which inspired us to make SIMULACRA. While this is a new medium, we were not the first to attempt a “phone UI” game.
Using this as a base, we then needed to tune this loop into a new design space where instead of a physical space that you could move around in, everything you interacted with was through a phone UI. We started with the gameplay loop of traditional narrative-based mystery games, from point-and-click adventures to 3D “walking simulators.” Those games tend to follow a three-part process a core interactive function (mostly dialogue) for plot advancement, an exploration of space which leads to a puzzle, and solving this puzzle grants you a clue or a key item to advance the plot. As this is a relatively new medium, it was important for us to establish some sort of design language. SIMULACRA is all about unravelling a mystery about the owner of a phone. It is an extension of our being, where the idea of losing our phones or having it invaded by someone else incites a feeling of extreme discomfort and anxiety. How much can we learn about a person just by looking through their phone? We store so much information in our phones that, in theory, our lifestyle, personality, and habits can be mapped out by looking through our calendar, text history, internet browser, social media posts, and so on. What: Turning the phone user experience into game mechanics In this Deep Dive article, I will be going over the design philosophies of building the core mechanics of a “found phone mystery game” based on our experiences with the first SIMULACRA game and what we tweaked and improved moving into SIMULACRA 2.
#Simulacra 2 story how to#
I’ve always had an interest in working out how to systematically construct narrative using the given physical and abstract spaces, particularly abstract ones how does distance between characters convey tension, how do varying positions and height convey power dynamics, how does silence convey emotion, etc. I feel that my theatre experiences gave me my own unique design identity, and I’m improving its application when I approach making games.
Founded in 2017, the studio has released three games so far: SIMULACRA, SIMULACRA: Pipe Dreams, and SIMULACRA 2, all of which are “found phone horror” games.īefore becoming a full-time game designer, I was an indie theatre practitioner for over eight years as an actor, director, and producer. I am one of the three founders of Kaigan Games along with Shah, who handles the business side of things and Azmi, our technical director. Who: Jeremy Ooi, co-founder of Kaigan Games, game designer and co-writer of SIMULACRA and SIMULACRA 2 Check out earlier installments, including building an adaptive tech tree in Dawn of Man, achieving seamless branching in Watch Dogs 2 ’s Invasion of Privacy missions, and creating the intricate level design of Dishonored 2 's Clockwork Mansion.
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