Light inside you
Light inside you is a minimalistic puzzle platformer that helps players overcome loneliness. The game starts under the premise of being a single player game. It takes place in a dark, colorless world, where the only light is a small lamp in the players hands. But they have to lose it in order to solve puzzles in which they place a light crystal on a pillar. Midway through the game the game reveals that it is a coop game and that the next levels can only be solved by two players working together, so the first player has to find a coop partner.
Genre: Puzzle platformer
Year: 2021
Players: 2
My part: Full scope
Goal: Helping players deal with loneliness
Design process
Dealing with a complex mental health problem requires a lot of care and a deep understanding of the subject. So, a big part of development went into research. I read a lot of articles and talked to people that were suffering under loneliness. The three most important findings out of the research were:
1. The player needs to acknowledge, that loneliness affects them, in order to be able to relate the treatments shown in the game to themselves
2. The player has to decide themselves, that they want to talk to people, so that the behavioural change is not forced, but learned and in doing so find a long-term solution against loneliness.
3. The player wants to be immersed by the game, have fun and have a generally pleasing experience from the beginning until the end, so that it feels like playing a game instead of like therapy.
Design requirements were formulated out of these findings and a first concept was made.
The purpose of the first part of the game is to get the player in a mood where they can embrace loneliness. For this purpose the game uses darkness, spacing and narrating texts. It suggests that something is missing and the gameplay represents said missing thing, as the player can only carry one thing at a time but needs light as well as a crystal to progress.
The second player is introduced as a surprise mechanic and has the player get out of his cocoon (comfort zone) and interact with people. This makes the game act as an incentive to talk to others. Solving puzzles together helps connecting on a deeper level than through other tasks and helps bring the players together.
The game was made in the Godot engine, as it exceeds in small 2D games that do not needs complex features. It also helped speed the development process up.