Title: 2 MinKo

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux

Age rating: 16+

Target audience: Players of horror puzzles, escape rooms and players who enjoy small indie horrors.

Genre: Survival Horror

Overview

Horror escape game, leaning more into complex puzzles that should be solved in the presence of monsters roaming the map

Gameplay loop

Plot

Player is an agent (code name Vernis) of an in-game SCP Foundation equivalent called Insup. Vernis is sent to retrieve an important item from the house, which is called simply "The Gem" in the story. Due to the specifics of an anomaly in the house, the protagonist is designated for a solo mission. During the game an Overseer from Insup named Tol will communicate with Vernis and provide hints/help.

Setting

Game setting is an unsettling home; It does not exactly aim to scare the player, but to keep them in a state of anxiety while they solve the puzzles. Visuals will be aimed at the style of Half-Life 2, with contrasting lighting and a yellowish palette (for further info check References part)

Gameplay

Player will start the game at the entrance of the house (Map), with 5 lives and an initial goal of retrieving "The Gem" (The Gem?)
Player is able to carry Items in their hand, only one at a time. Dropping items will cause Noise, which interacts with monsters.
Player has the ability to either drop items at their feet, or throw them with force (useful for physical interactions)
Items generally spawn at the predefined spots on the map, randomized between them (with a distribution system making sure the player won't get softlocked due to stupid spawns)
Some items always spawn at the same spots (e.g., The Gem? or Crowbar)
As soon as the player gets the crystal, they will gain an extra life and exits of the house will close, as well as the map itself will change noticeably, adding new puzzles, making monsters harder to evade (refer to Mechanics#The Wish of Asagi (Event))
Actions of the player will directly decide which Ending they will achieve, depending on what exit they choose to use, if they are accepted by characters and other factors (refer to Story#Endings).
No save option, I see one walkthrough taking maybe 30-40 minutes, and want the player to complete the game in one session
Notepad at the pause menu - I hope this allows me to create more complex puzzles, as ones requiring them to memorize something, deciphering, etc., with player being able to conveniently record information without getting killed

Map

The map is designed with a goal of not providing the player with safe spots, causing them to always be anxious
A door on Floor 1 can be used to leave the house until a certain point in the story
The main place of action is a house, consisting of 3 floors and a huge basement
The map contains 2 monsters, one roaming in the basement, and the other above it, they cannot enter the other monster's area
The map will feature multiple spots to escape, as well as plenty of puzzles, which are the main part of the game

Monsters

Monsters are the main threat for the player, as they have an insta-kill, so the player must do all they can to evade them.
Monsters have a Gaze mechanic, which acts like sorta "Awareness" meter. Player's actions increase the gaze, which in turn will change behavior of the monsters. Filling the gaze up to 100% will trigger a chase and quickly deplete the gaze back to 0%
In short, Gaze makes monsters more aware of surroundings, and enables some of their abilities (for example at low gaze they will only hear loud sounds, but at high may detect player's footsteps)
The player will have to distract monsters using the Gaze mechanic, allowing them to have time to solve puzzles
Monster in the house is called SI and one in the basement is AAI (likely will change)

Story & Characters

Story will feature two characters: Zuyue and Hyulwa, who are siblings guarding the house from the non-material plane.
Zuyue and Hyulwa do not physically appear in game, they rather act like voices inside the player's head.
Zuyue and Hyulwa have a mechanic called Acceptance (separate for each character) which guarantees an extra life when filled to the end.
Acceptance is filled differently for each character, like solving optional puzzles, offering some items, completing little missions. For example: Hyulwa will provide the player with means to stagger a monster, doing this successfully will increase his acceptance
Gaining the complete trust of both of them is required to get the "True" ending