The Exposure

Description

The Exposure is a first-person survival horror game where you awaken near a lonely cabin with only a faulty VHS camera and a flashlight while trying to find a friend, Jason as something hunts you through  many areas such as a forest and cave. Plus a mirror dimension which will be the conclusion to this nightmare. Using light, limited stamina, and hiding spots, you must search for scattered fragments, stun or evade relentless monsters like GHOST and GHOUL, and piece together your broken identity before the monsters catch you and the nightmare resets.

Story

Two Sentence Pitch:

Awaken in the woods near the cabin, only with the faint glow of your camera, your memory, and the relentless pursuit of the monster that won't stop until it finds you. Scour the ever-changing environments for the broken pieces of the item you need, using your camera and flashlight to find your missing friend by unlocking secrets before running out of lives and having to start the nightmare all over again.

Two Minute Pitch:

You wake up confused, with a faulty VHS camera and memories of the night before, which caused chaos. Moving out of the cabin, you visit different places, including a forest, a cave, and a mysterious mirror dimension, where you look for the scattered pieces of a broken object, which is the only way to move to the next place.

Both the forest and cave areas are designed in a loop, where you are out to discover secrets, open hidden doors, and determine the right time to risk using your camera and flashlight, as every sound, flash, and move increases the chances of encountering the roaming monsters. As GHOST and its minion, GHOUL, stalk the map, you use the camera to reveal secret markings and threats, or to find a safe hiding place, such as the lone porta-potty.

Once you've gathered all of the fragments in one place, you go forward as the world begins to change slowly, the monster's form changes, and fresh tale hints make you wonder what's real and who the true "monster" is. You only have three deaths before being forced to restart the level and re-collect everything, making each run a frantic, rewarding sprint to master the loop, survive the search, and piece together your broken identity before the mirror dimension confines you for good.

Controls

Keyboard:

WASD - forward left backward and right

R - Pick up items such as flashlight, camera, and fragments

1-5 keys: Hotbar  

Shift: Sprint

Space: Entering Porta Potties

Mouse:

Left click: When in camera to flash to stun GHOST or flashlight to turn on and off

Right click: to take off camera

Scroll: alternative to keys for Hotbar

Post-Mortem

What went right and we are the most proud of:

What we think went right about our project is the hide-and-seek mechanics and the enemy AI, which seeks out and actively pursues the player, forcing them into risky situations in an attempt to catch the player, which we accomplished via having the porta potties as a key aspect of the hide-and-seek mechanic and the element of timing whether or not it was the right time to leave them as the enemies would be unable to see you once inside, thus creating suspense. What we are particularly proud of within this assignment is the original art, props, sound effects, and music done by our artist, Aaron. This includes the creepy cave door in the first dimension, the mysterious mirror in the final dimension, the unique porta-potties as the hiding mechanism, a dead body in the game, and even some custom music and sound effects. Additionally, one other thing that went right was our game’s item interaction and hotbar system. When the player moves close to an item in the game, it highlights to signal that it can be picked up, and it is then added to the player’s hotbar, where it becomes usable through the UI system, supporting different item behaviors and allowing players to select, use, and manage items during gameplay.

What went wrong and how we overcame those problems:

We ran into several problems during development, which we successfully overcame together. First, there was the problem of scheduling: some of our team members struggled to complete their assignments on time because they had other commitments, such as exam preparation or other academic work. Besides, technical problems emerged: asset-creation issues, merge conflicts, and even scene corruption related to our version-control system implementation practices. Specifically, our project repository on GitHub exceeded its Git LFS limit, causing some of our scenes to be corrupted because the files weren’t being downloaded from the origin properly. Diagnosing this as the cause of many of our technical issues took significant time away from development. To fix this, we had to add a payment method and increase our Git LFS budget, which uncorrupted our scenes. Additionally, to address our other issues, we decided to introduce a new workflow: all those working on the same branch would make their backups in advance, then push and merge, and ensure no more than one member is editing the branch's scene at any given time. Also, we started coordinating our schedules more efficiently and helping each other with writing scripts and designing UI elements, which enabled us to keep up with our remaining milestones and maintain check-ins. 

Major changes in Development:

The changes in the development process focused on narrative, levels, user interface, and specific assets, such as hands. The original game design had a long narrative filled with lore, including even telekinesis power as part of lore and various lore notes with pop-up text scattered around the map; however, considering balancing with the classes and timeline limitations, all these details have been cut and simplified into a simple premise about the player struggling to survive in these places while looking for her friend Jason. In relation to levels, instead of developing two separate scenes, we decided to integrate them into one scene containing two parts, the forest and cave, which work as two different levels. Finally, there is a mirror dimension scene where the player must kill the ghost. Another improvement to the user interface: instead of creating separate scenes for pausing and game over, as we originally planned, we decided to use simple instructions with the controls at the beginning of the game. In addition, we have removed a highly polished hand asset due to bugs with its items. Lastly, several sound effects couldn’t be added on time because other details had to be prioritized much more.

What we learned:

While working on "The Exposure", it became clear that it is essential to consider proper communication, realistic scope setting, and effective workflow processes when making a game as a team. For example, scheduling issues, merge problems, and corrupted scenes can hinder our process if we do not account for them early enough, especially when participating in different jams throughout the semester. But at least this time around, we were able to avoid such complications through scene duplication, clear communication about what needed to be done in each file, and supporting each other with our work. Finally, we came to understand that it is better to cut some features, plotlines, and assets than risk putting out a buggy product.

Credits, Team Roster & Roles:

Programmers: 

• Chris Fifield
• Naysan Camillo-Castillo
• Darvin

Art/Music: 

• Bryan (UI)
• Aaron (UI, Art, Music)

Level Designers:

• Daniel

Naysan Camillo-Castillo:

I am working on the enemy AIs, which will cause game overs and increase the difficulty. I’m creating enemies like GHOST and GHOUL, and giving them behaviors like roaming, detect radius, chasing, and multi-stage reactions when the player comes in contact or collects all seven fragments to progress. I’m also working on their animation and state changes to make features like jump scares, stun, and transformations from one level to another not only better implemented but also more frightening for the player. My main focus is to make the experience dynamic and responsive for the player, helping them learn to use safe spots and be aware of the consequences of being caught.

Chris Fifield:

Since I am very familiar with GitHub and project setup, I will handle setting up our Unity project on GitHub so we can all work on it. I will also help handle merge conflicts if needed. As a programmer, I will help implement the main mechanics, particularly the inventory/hotbar system, player movement, and guns or projectiles. I will also help the level designer with the terrain and props as needed. Lastly, I will help Bryan implement the UI as needed, specifically for the inventory/hotbar. If necessary, I will help the other programmers with the parts they’re implementing and with any bugs, especially from the parts I implemented.

Daniel Gonzalez: 

As a designer, I will design the various levels of the game, the puzzle game, and other gameplay systems, in accordance with our system document. Since a key part of our game is the narrative/lore, I will be focusing on environmental storytelling, where to place props and collectibles across the map, and the pacing of each level. Additionally, I will be developing a script for my voice acting friend. We will work together to develop a story with a mysterious, macabre setting. This will be used to create a much more immersive story experience.

Darvin Le: 

I worked on adding some sounds to the game and polishing effects such as the enemy roar sound, item sounds, ambience, and breathing loops. Additionally, I made the object outlines, added some voice lines, and worked on integrating the scene. I also made the key fragments, mirror fragments, shotgun, and their completed counterparts. I implemented the door animations (didn’t make them), and worked on the mirror’s functionality. I will work on the camera items' functionality and ensure the camera’s functionality is smooth for the player to use. I can also make the flashlight items and the fragmented items. I can add sounds & polish to the game as needed.

Bryan Martinez:

As the UI designer, it will be my responsibility to make the various UIs in the game. This includes creating the main menu and the in-game HUD and hotbar in a cohesive manner to ensure a smooth player experience. Also, I will be playtesting and fixing any bugs that might show up, particularly in the UI’s, as well as helping with other aspects of the game as needed.

Aaron Munoz: 

I will design the game's user interface, create sound and visual effects, and develop the narrative cutscenes. I will also model game assets like the camera, flashlights, fragments, and the mirror. Additionally, I will work on some animations for the Monster.