Asymmetrical Horror

Experimenting with Asymmetry

Taking inspiration from popular Virtual Reality Horror Games at the time, as well as from some asymmetrical multiplayer games, this project is an attempt at amalgamating these two genres to create a fun horror experience. I used modular assets to create the environment, in order to ensure that I had enough time to implement the mechanics that I desired.
For the mechanics and environment, I took inspiration from Resident Evil: Resistance (Capcom) as well as some VR horror games.
I used a timed point system for the Second Player that allowed them to interact with the environment and trigger animations to try and scare the Player in VR.

Genre: Horror
Engine: Unity
Development Period: Approx 9-10 weeks
Platform: PC

Art Direction

Inspiration

The initial project idea drew inspiration from the mechanics of the asymmetrical horror game Resident Evil: Resistance (Capcom), with one player monitoring cameras and interacting with the environment, to slow down the survivors team enough in order to win the game.
The Mastermind is granted points which they can then spend on cards that let them hamper the survivors, spawning in traps, zombies or upgrading cameras with gun turrets to shoot them as well as other options.


Screenshot from Resident Evil: Resistance - Mastermind Gameplay

The idea of having a points system to spend on certain interactions in the environment to scare the player was taken and adapted into the image you see below. With points gradually building up over time and each room having different interactions to try and scare the player.


Here you can see the UI for Player 2, being able to switch cameras, spend points and see how many points they have at a given time.

Looking at a selection of horror games released at the time, I spent some time wondering what the ideal location for this project could be. Listing locations and then finding relevant images of these types of locations to see what I felt would be the ideal fit.


A mix of potential inspirations for the locale of this project.

Environment

Considering I was already making 2 very model orientated projects throughout the year alongside this project and a couple of other smaller ones. I felt like having a project with a stronger focus on the coding and Unity side would be refreshing and would also ensure that my workflow didn't become too monotonous. I looked at some popular VR Horror games that were around and noticed that quite a few had Maze-Like elements and used modular assets to create large environments for the player to explore.
With the modular assets to make the environment, I was able to follow the same structure as my dissertation project and studio project in 4th year and plan potential rooms and expand or condense the project depending on time. Leaning towards a more linear experience as I didn't have the time to look at procedural generation.


Rough Sketch of a Potential Layout for the Project.

With the ideas in place and working on the implementation of the mechanics that I desired to have in the project I began to create a rough layout for the environment. Having settled on a more castle/dungeon aesthetic for the project, I planned out what potential "jumpscares" for the project could be and how I could have them implemented.


A couple more games that inspired this project.

Looking at games such as Monstrum, Amnesia, P.T and a few others, I began to notice "trends" between them all, these games typically had;

• Dimly Lit Narrow Corridors.


• Maze-Like in terms of Layout.


• Used Light as a Mechanic through Flashlights, Lanterns or Glowsticks.


• Used Doors to Divide the Envrionment to Restrict Player's Knowledge of what's ahead.

Here are some of the Modular Elements I created for this project.

Documentation

Project Purpose

For this project, our lecturer for the VR side of the course showed us multiple possible mechanics to use that would fulfill the brief of this project. The second I saw the Camera Render Textures and the possible uses for them, I knew exactly what I was going to with it. I was going to make a horror game where one player would sit at the computer, switching through different perspectives using Camera Render Textures and interact with things in the environment in order to scare the player who was in VR exploring the game.


Perspective of the player in VR

Game Design

One player has to navigate the environment going from point A to point B in VR, meanwhile the other player can flick through different cameras and spend points in order to activate jump scares near where the VR player is. The inspiration for the cameras and interacting with mechanics this way came from Resident Evil: Resistance (Capcom), an Asymmetrical Multiplayer game that came alongside Resident Evil 3 Remake (Capcom).

Unity Implementation

Made a rough blocking based upon my concept art in 3ds max, exported it over to unity and began to work on setting up everything that I would need for Player 2, who would be interacting with the environment to scare Player 1. With my intentions of having a library, boiler room and some corridors with different lighting and audio cues, I began creating any assets that I would need in order to create the desired particle effects or animations for Unity. Creating the windows and the Glass Shards, Books, Steam, Wall Torches, Doors and the Players Lantern.


External Screenshot of the environment.

Once all of these assets were created, I then began to develop the code that would activate all of these things, then link them to Player 2's controls and their points.

Self-Reflection

Areas that I believe that I did well on during the process of this project;

I feel like I had strong planning for this project, as knowing that the Unity side of the project would take up a lot of the time allocated for this project, I successfully planned my work around this and had a functioning build with all of my desired mechanics in place. As well as a decently sized environment thanks to using a Modular workflow.

This was a really good learning oppurtunity for me since the majority of my projects are focused on the modelling aspects, what I learned here helped me when it came to coding for my Dissertation Project. as I was able to apply my developed skills into that project.

I also expanded my skills with Unity's Particle System, using particles for some of the interactables and creating models for them, like the window shattering and the glass fragments landing and breaking on the floor, the books flying out of the bookshelves. While they may be quite simple, it is an area that I had only really skimmed the surface of so it was a good way for me to learn more and improve my skills in.

These are some areas that I believe I could improve upon.

Unfortunately due to certain circumstances with the pandemic, it was hard to always find good oppurtunities to be in the Studio to be able to test the VR side of the project . So for testing purposes I had to just use a simple first person controller for a lot of it and also for the footage of the game running in the background.

Since my experience with the particle system was very limited, I wasn't sure how long it would take to create each of them, so I decided on 4 that would be necessary for the project; the window, the books, the steam and also the wall torches. While they don't make for the most terrifying of scares, I feel they do the job of conveying the concept of having interactable jumpscares scattered throughout the game. Ideally I would have more complex and more scary interactions in the environment.

I would have liked to have made a few more models to help break up the environment and add more detail to it. However at the time this was not possible due to my workload, having multiple projects to work on for University at the same time as well as writing my dissertation, I had to very carefully divide my attention and balance my projects.

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