Screams In The Deep | Liam Peachey

Screams From The Deep is a game jam game created for the Brackey's game jam with the theme Diving Deeper. In this game the player must travel through a submarine while evading the monsters that now plague the submarine. The player must escape the submarine if they hope to survive!

This game jam was a week long and I worked as the designer on the team designing the game and mechanics and then afterwards as the level designer. I mapped out the level, created a block out and implemented the mechanics. I iterated and tested it closely with the programmers to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Unfortunately for this game jam over scoping caused a few issues with delivering the game on time to the level we had hoped for. Therefore further time was spent on the project afterwards to polish it up to a level with which we could showcase the work we had put in.

Off the back of the last game jam we wanted to lean into the idea of horror again. We initially brainstormed some ideas of what Diving deeper could mean and settled on the idea of a submarine that had delved too deep and encountered monsters.

The inspiration for this game was games like Alien isolation and The Dark Picture Anthology games. The idea of being stalked by a creature and ramping up tension of completing tasks under constant pressure was something we were keen to explore.

The pillars of the game were horror, stealth and exploration.

For the player mechanics I threw around the idea of using oxygen as a mechanic requiring the player to hook up to certain oxygen points around the submarine. This would force the player to not stay still for too long and force them into some spaces that might make them uncomfortable or unsafe. Ultimately due to the time restrictions of the game jam it was deemed out of scope.

Instead we focused on the core stealth mechanics, allowing the player to crouch or crawl under objects, or climb into lockers to avoid the enemies.

Interaction mechanics include collecting objects found in the level to fix doors so they can be opened. Also skill checks for things like utilizing computers and opening vents were added, this was so we could create a mechanic where if the player failed it would create noise alerting the monster to their where abouts. Likewise having things like vents which would take a certain amount of time to open would require the player to make sure the monster couldn't find them before they had it open and up the tension as they did so incase it turned up at any moment.

The monster mechanics were simple in design, they would stalk the player and react to noise around the level. If they caught the player then the player would die and respawn at the last checkpoint.

When initially designing the level I played around with some sketches to get a rough idea in my head of how it would flow and then broke it down into a flow diagram. Using color coding I broke it down into four main beats. Playable space, Non playable space, Mechanics and Enemy Room. This allows me to see at a glance the pacing of the game and make changes where appropriate to maintain the flow and ramp up the tension where appropriate.

This first section of the game is about building tension, there are no enemies to encounter but the lighting, mood and audio are all designed to make it feel like there could be at any moment.

The first door can be seen by players from the get go and is marked with a yellow light. As the game progresses the player will learn that there are three colors. Red means the door cannot be opened, yellow is that it can be opened but locked and green means it is open. This gives the player hints as to where they can or can't go and what might be expected of them in a given area.

Since the first door is locked the players must look for an alternate route and can descend into a different part of the submarine. Here they are introduced to computers, they must locate a fuse to power it back on and then complete a skill check to turn it on and restore power. Not only does this teach the player some important mechanics in an area without enemies but also unlocks that first door they needed to get through!

In the second room we are introduced to a monster for the first time, as the player enters the room they will step on shards of glass and create a noise, this spawns the monster through the vent in the ceiling and the player must immediately take cover. Across from the player is another yellow light locked door, this tells the player that they are looking for a way to unlock it similar to before but now with the added pressure. The player must traverse the space and find the items required to get through the door to escape the monster.

In this area we also introduce the player to the vents, this requires a player to repeatedly press a button to pull it off the wall and get inside. Not only does this create noise to alert the monster but they must make sure they have enough time to complete the action before the monster catches them.

The second section of the level finds the player in the med bay. This area initially seems safe and the player can see a long corridor of glass heading straight through to the other side. If the player choses to go this way they will find themselves a locked door.

However if they proceed to turn right into a room they will inadvertently spawn a monster. However to progress towards the item required to move on the player must force the monster to chase them into another area of the map then slip past them to get back into the original room and prise a grate off the wall to get to the decompression pills to move forward.

Once the monster has spawned if the player does try to sprint down the main corridor it will alert the monster and the player will be caught before they can get to the other end.

The next room the engine room is the largest so far and has multiple doors, most of which are locked. The player must collect fuses to activate the computer and open the door towards the diving room. To elevate the tension in this area there are two monsters, as well as lots of big objects that block them from view. This makes it much harder to track where they are, increasing the chances of ending up face to face with a monster.

The player will also notice that there are two doors to be opened in this area, once completing the computer skill check the door furthest can be seen to light up green towards the diving room.

The diving room is a safe space and gives the player time to collect their thoughts and acquire the scuba gear, however the diving pool door is broken and the players cannot escape the submarine this way anymore so they must head towards the torpedo room to escape instead.

They pick up a fuse and head back to the engine room to unlock the other door they have noticed previously.

With the next section of the level the player must navigate through the Submarines bridge to get to the torpedo room. They must contend with another monster and sneak into the vents in order to navigate around a permanent locked door.

The vent section is free of monsters giving the players a small break from the monsters, however when the player completes this section and drops down out of the vents they land on glass triggering a monster spawn. With no where to hide this requires the player to sprint to the other end of the corridor and get through the door before the monster catches them!

The final room I wanted to plan something special, there was a sequence in A plague Tale Requiem where the player must open a gate while being stalked, but in doing so it draws over the stalker. Therefore the player must time it so that the stalker is far away to get as much time on the gate winch before running away, hiding and repeating.

So after navigating the torpedo room to the computer the player must complete skill checks to open the torpedo hatches and escape, however in doing so the player also attracts the monster to their location. They must run and hide and repeat this step until they can open the torpedo hatch and swim out of the submarine to safety.