Snowbound level 4 plan

Goals

As the player I dont want to be handed the answer to the puzzle so that my cognative ability is challenges, so I feel rewarded from solvin it

As the player I want all the clues on how to solve the puzzle to be in the environment so that I am given all the information I need to solve the puzzle.

As the designer I want to use the puzzle as an environmental storytelling tool so that I can teach the player more about the narrative without dialoge in a way which leaves room for personal interpretation.

Beats

After the player puts all of the picture together they will briefly be shown the perfect version of the city (Tsurakow?) before this version of the picture is shattered/glitches and is swapped out with a picture of the gritty/heavily controlled version of the city.

Confirm to the player that Tsurakow is not the bustyling utopia the government is painting it out to be

If not in spider level, player can find a passport of a political prisoner - narrative beat

Sequence

Player enters level from storage 2

MAYBE - camera zooms out to show the whole painting? - on screen text saying "this painting... it looks, familiar somehow..."

Player clearly sees the big picture in the centre of the room but it is missing several pieces

Player must look around the room to find the remaining pieces (4-5 pieces with one already on it)

Once the picture is complete, the player is briefly shown the perfect version of Tsurakow before this version of the picutre "glitches" and is swappend out with a picure of the real city

After the real picture is revealed, a cutscene pans to the door to show that it is open + door texture changed to the glowing tex.

Resources

Lounge Car Props (untextured)

Seating car props

Questions

In storage 2 the bellboy is leaving and rentering the room - if level 4 is directly after storage 2 that would that mean the bellboy is walking into that room? How can I justify this?

Will the gameplay be too boring or repetative?

How can I make finding the pieces not feel as repetative? - make it harder for the player to move around (crouch under things, move around things)

Considerations

Will have to justify why Bellboy isnt in the level

if solving the puzzle isnt challenging enough I could have the bellboy as the rat patrolling the room? - this would then explain where he is going from storage 2 + imply that the rat is also the bellboy.

Can ask lewis to make the animation for the picture glitching