The main theme of the game is to escape. My interpretation of escape is the feeling of being trapped and isolated. Escape requires movement of course, so the player should be able to navigate the play area. The atmosphere should inspire the feeling of isolation by outnumbering the player by unpredictable threats. Threats should be scattered evenly to minimize the safe zones to the player, providing the ultimate danger zone. This atmosphere should offer at least one way out so that the player can escape rather than stay and survive. This escape zone could be an area designated at the beginning of the game. To make the escape even more realistic, the player actions should have immediate consequences that cannot be taken back. The actions should trigger results that modify the play area so more effort goes into planning them. Player movement is the only possible action in the game so the player’s movement could be used to achieve such a modification. The feeling of being trapped should be obvious to the player once the game starts. The player should be completely sure that the designated escape zone is the only way out. The mentioned aspects are constant throughout the game however the game should not end once the escape is achieved. The randomness of the scenario should be adopted to not bore the player with the same threats while still keeping the necessary elements in place to not give the impression the rules are different. The game objects have to be simple geometric shapes so my plan is to construct everything via rectangles, differentiating the different elements through the use of color and size, and possibly feedback to actions.

Highlighting the play area was done by setting walls around the space. Walls shape the strategy of the player by limiting the plan of action to the game space while also conveying the aforementioned feeling of being trapped. The player movement should occur on the keyboard and be consisted of traditional movement, up and sides. However, the player should not be able to move back to make the game more realistic and force the player to face the consequence of moving forward without thinking. Consequences are the few enemies scattered to the space moving towards the player, chasing him. If the player does not move, everything stays in place and no chase occurs. This was done to make the escape more puzzle-like rather than forcing quick action since most of the time the result of a bad move is being caught. The enemies move faster than the player so the player does not just run to the escape zone. The game area has random walls to prevent the enemies from catching the player easily. Smart moves in the game are done by taking advantage of these walls to block the movement of the enemies. The game restarts if the escape is achieved or if the player got caught with a completely randomized set of game elements, except the position of the escape and respawn zones, and the walls surrounding the map.

Playtesting with multiple people gave me the chance to observe whether I managed to reach my objectives. The common comment was about the artistic nature of the game. People said they liked the design and the minimalism of the game because it was colorful and consisted of similar shapes. I observed people panic when they make a mistake, which proved the feeling of being trapped was achieved. The common trend of players was to play the game slower after they get caught a few times. The technique of escaping was clear to people after approximately ten minutes of play time after they found the pattern of movement of the enemies. A couple of the players complained about not being able to move backward, they thought it made the game harder. Overall, the feedback was positive but even though a new scenario is produced at every game, the game got boring after 10-15 minutes. New levels could be added in the future, introducing a different pattern of escape with more unpredictable characters, maybe ones that do not care if the player moves or not.

The game could be an artifact because it represents the escape theme in an unnatural manner. The escape that happens in the game could not be observed in nature in any way. The representation of this theme in the game is biased towards human experience and such a scenario could only occur digitally. It is obvious the experience of the game is a human-made one so this makes it an artifact.

The game link: Evade the Chaser