3. Gameplay Pillars

1. Content

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1.1 Exploration and Grounded Puzzles

Exploration of the mansion and the facility's surface and explorable levels should be mechanically substantial, not a walking simulator. Physical evidence, secure doors, access codes, machinery, inventory objects, environmental clues, research documents, and practical problems drive progress. Worldbuilding is delivered through space and interaction as well as dialogue.

1.2 Stealth-First Survival

The intended normal completion route uses zero gunshots. Combat is possible but not the default solution. Weapons are scarce and found in plausible locations; for example, a revolver might be found in a desk drawer with only five or six rounds. Soldiers can be alarmed and dispatched to investigate. If defeated, they may drop firearms such as an MP5 or FAL, which the player can then use. Gunfire is highly lethal, including to the protagonist; robots are difficult to destroy, and monsters may also kill soldiers. Hiding, evasion, distraction, observation, and avoidance dominate the experience.

See: Systems › Pacifist Play

1.3 Information as a Gameplay Hazard

The player gathers documents to reconstruct the truth. Certain combinations or levels of comprehension can expose the protagonist to catastrophic psychological consequences if encountered before appropriate preparation. Gameplay should give meaningful warnings and fair causal feedback, so ordinary curiosity is not punished unpredictably. Premature use of the Skull Device, and the balancing still required: See: Canon › Open Questions.

The Skull Device itself can be used prematurely, with a disastrous result.

See: Systems › Information Hazard

1.4 Narrative Cooperation

The protagonist explores physically while his sister and the butler interpret findings, prepare resources, and communicate with him by radio. The butler's progressive exposure changes these communications and eventually the stakes of the story.

See: Systems › Companions