Project 'Room' - Character Concept #1

Hiya there!

We're back with something a little different today, of which I'll hope you enjoy!

You may or may not recall that last month I launched a small little prototype which I gave the placeholder name of 'Room'--a concise little experience in a spooky old house. And if you had yet to see it for any reason, you can find it at the following link:

https://frostworks.itch.io/room-prototype

It was essentially a small little game I built up in my spare time over the months with an artist who had a similar passion for putting it together. (Though both he and I still work full time on Quest Failed, of course~)

And while development of this prototype won't go any further until Chapter Two is finished at the very least, we still thought it might be fun to plan some character designs here and there when we have a spare moment and then share them with you all so you get a little glimpse into what might be possible in the future! To clarify--this will be a very rare feature and isn't meant to replace, or take priority over the usual dev logs you know and love! In fact, you probably won't see another concept design from this for another few months after this one. So rest assured, no resources are being taken from Quest Failed to make these bonus little posts!

Moving along to the adorable little pint-sized killer featured in the concept sheet~ I won't go over too much of her visual design, as I've annotated things on the image above covering most of that--but the visual side of her took a more 'Silent Hill' approach to the grungy clothes she wears, caked with all manner of grime.

For the 'monsters' present in this title, rather than taking from the fantasy archetypes such as slimes, dragons, etc., I wanted to tackle this game with a different mindset; taking inspiration from the monsters you may find in more traditional horror stories/movies, as I felt it may make more sense in this more modern setting.

The hockey mask probably says it all for what inspired me when creating this character, of course--along with her name, (which will probably change) the Li'l Slasher--an amalgamation of the many lumbering, nigh unstoppable monsters featured in gory, trashy slasher flicks that were so prominent back in the day.

Her role in the game is similar to that of the many stalkers found in horror games such as Clock Tower, or perhaps that of Nemesis from Resident Evil 3; appearing periodically throughout the mansion and serving as an incredibly ruthless obstacle of which you'll have to hide from until she loses interest and passes by.

Unlike other monsters in the mansion, she can't be reasoned with, she can't be bargained with--and any attempts made to incapacitate her will just make her angrier. Despite her seemingly indestructible state, though, there may be but one way to beat her...

For this character in particular I want to put a heavy emphasis on audio cues, so that the player may know in advance for when she may be about to enter a room, allowing you time to hide. Due to the large mask obscuring her face, this hinders her ability to breathe, causing her to let out very heavy breaths that will sound out deep into the dark depths of the mansion. Coupled with the large knife she drags along with her, scraping the ground, she has a very distinct presence of which is both unsettling and a blessing to be able to hear from a distance, knowing that you have a chance to hide.

If you fail to hide in time however, you still have a slight chance to escape her, assuming you maneuver yourself around her  (which may be more difficult the tighter the corridor or room is) and dash for the nearest door. If you get caught by her--that's it. The end. All it takes is one swift slash of her knife to tear you asunder and you become but another blood splatter added to her blade.

Like many slasher monsters, her origins are incredibly vague--and nobody knows if she's perhaps just a twisted little girl that suffered a very traumatic childhood that warped her this way, or if something far more sinister lurks under the cracked, chipped surface of her mask, given the immense amount of strength she seems to possess. One thing is for certain--you're not going to get the truth from out of her directly, as beyond her muffled breaths, she says very little beyond angry, unintelligible noises that could be either be taken as frustration, or rage. While it's possible to make friends with many of the inhabitants of the mansion, this masked killer may be one foe you're incapable of turning.

And that about wraps it up for this character concept post! I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about what could potentially be in store after Quest Failed! Let me know what you think in the comments as always. Do you like her design/role in the game? Is there anything you would change?

And on a more general note--would you like to see more of these posts in the future, not necessarily relating to Quest Failed--or shall I keep it strictly QF related in the future?

Until next time~