Designing Wednesdays - A brief talk #2
Hello everyone!
In our last post, we’ve introduced you to our design process by talking about which angle we’ve chosen to tell Tim’ story. Now that things are a little bit clearer on this aspect, let’s speak about another Wednesdays' design feature.
In Wednesdays, you’ll play the majority of the time as Tim’s relatives BUT you’ll be Tim in some specific moments: when you are in Orco Park.
Orco Park is a game within a game. A sort of mise en abyme as the French say. It is a fictional park management sim that Tim played a lot in his childhood. As an adult, he’s kinda in a nostalgic mood and decides to relaunch Orco Park.
Beyond this story-driven reason, Orco Park is the key to unlock Tim’s memories. Each amusement built will allow you to access a specific souvenir that will help you to understand Tim’s past.
But something you may have noticed if you’ve played the demo is that those memories are not in a chronological order. In one scene, you may see Tim as a teenager and in the next one, as a child and after that, as a young adult.
The idea behind it is not only to create a cerebral puzzle. Above all, this choice of game design is here to reflect the traumatic amnesia often observed in victims of child sexual abuse. Memories can be hidden in some deep places of the mind and can rise again years, even decades, after. Thus, each amusement settled in Orco Park acts as a trigger, a signal that unlocks a part of Tim’s memory.
Since we’re talking about triggers, here is another game design aspect of Wednesdays.
Let’s be clear: we absolutely don’t want to shock players in a bad way by luring them into brutal scenes. This is why we didn’t put ANY scene of sexual abuse in the game.
Also, we’ve placed trigger warnings for every memory. Before you choose an amusement to be built, an icon will allow you to know if the upcoming memory is particularly tough to watch or not. Plus, you can have a short description of what to expect. And if you really want to be fully prepared, a complete description will warn you of every aspect that may be shocking depending on your own sensibilities. You can also skip a memory anytime through the Pause menu. As Orco says himself:
Orco will be your guide through Orco Park. He will tell everything you need to know to play properly and we’re sure his caring and supportive nature will make him a great companion to be with!
In our last post, we’ve introduced you to our design process by talking about which angle we’ve chosen to tell Tim’ story. Now that things are a little bit clearer on this aspect, let’s speak about another Wednesdays' design feature.
In Wednesdays, you’ll play the majority of the time as Tim’s relatives BUT you’ll be Tim in some specific moments: when you are in Orco Park.
Orco Park is a game within a game. A sort of mise en abyme as the French say. It is a fictional park management sim that Tim played a lot in his childhood. As an adult, he’s kinda in a nostalgic mood and decides to relaunch Orco Park.
Beyond this story-driven reason, Orco Park is the key to unlock Tim’s memories. Each amusement built will allow you to access a specific souvenir that will help you to understand Tim’s past.
But something you may have noticed if you’ve played the demo is that those memories are not in a chronological order. In one scene, you may see Tim as a teenager and in the next one, as a child and after that, as a young adult.
The idea behind it is not only to create a cerebral puzzle. Above all, this choice of game design is here to reflect the traumatic amnesia often observed in victims of child sexual abuse. Memories can be hidden in some deep places of the mind and can rise again years, even decades, after. Thus, each amusement settled in Orco Park acts as a trigger, a signal that unlocks a part of Tim’s memory.
Since we’re talking about triggers, here is another game design aspect of Wednesdays.
Let’s be clear: we absolutely don’t want to shock players in a bad way by luring them into brutal scenes. This is why we didn’t put ANY scene of sexual abuse in the game.
Also, we’ve placed trigger warnings for every memory. Before you choose an amusement to be built, an icon will allow you to know if the upcoming memory is particularly tough to watch or not. Plus, you can have a short description of what to expect. And if you really want to be fully prepared, a complete description will warn you of every aspect that may be shocking depending on your own sensibilities. You can also skip a memory anytime through the Pause menu. As Orco says himself:
Orco will be your guide through Orco Park. He will tell everything you need to know to play properly and we’re sure his caring and supportive nature will make him a great companion to be with!