Hey everybody! My name is Cameron Erickson, I have done and will be doing art for the game we're currently calling Gentle. This is kind of going to be a learning experience for both of us and a lot of trial and error, but we look forward to it! Below you will see a document we wrote up to better explain where we're going with the project and how it will play. We're excited to show you some great stuff in the near future and we hope you like it!
GENTLE
By Bret Hudson and Cameron Erickson
The story: You are a boy who wakes up on a small boat in the middle of the ocean, you grab your retractable telescope that is so conveniently placed in your back pocket and look into it to spot the silhouette of a curiously unique island in the distance. Interestingly enough, you know how to sail, catching the wind beautifully and speeding up toward the island. You arrive on shore, and you can’t believe your eyes. How could something so beautiful exist on the earth? It can’t, you think. But it’s no time for questions, you so eagerly wander into the forest and encounter all sorts of creatures and beautiful plants that look oddly familiar. As you continue wandering through the thick, bright red woods, something catches the corner of your eye. A huge and tall, yet thin creature stands before you, staring at you with it’s huge eye. You’re immediately stunned with fear and you’ve forgotten how to run. All you can do is wait to be eaten, but he doesn’t eat you. Instead, he waves, and greets you with, “AUUUUUUGAR”. The giant takes you to the rest of his friends (5 total giants), some even bigger and taller than he is, but at this point anything seems possible to you, so you’re not surprised. As you spend weeks with your new friends, learning from them and exploring with them, trouble occurs. You wake one day to find that all of the giants are missing. Every last one of them. A strange flying creature shows up to you and motions you to fly it’s way. It takes you to a clearing, where there are broken trees riddled with claw marks & tracks and impressions in the ground as if someone had been dragged through it. You go off to find them.
The mechanics:In the beginning of the game, you will start out only being able to use what’s around you and some conveniently placed objects to progress. Eventually, after having rescued some of your friends, you will be able to use their specific abilities to your advantage to solve puzzles and such. It will be set up as a party system similar to the Paper Mario series and probably many other games but I am just way too lazy to look up some better examples. You can bring giants around with you, but can only select one at a time. That giant follows you and helps you with tasks. Certain portions of the game may require you to pick a limited amount of giants, requiring some strategic thinking. The game will be mostly open world, allowing you to travel back to previous areas to find more paths and unlock areas that were once inaccessible.
Right, here are the giants’ names and their abilities, along with some examples of how their abilities will help you.
Styrkar - Strength. Breaking down barriers, lifting heavy objects, throwing objects, use in combat
Augar - Vision. Seeing rewards and secrets through walls or on your map, gives you the ability to pan up on your screen
Hratta - Speed. Getting across gaps and weak bridges, reaching certain secrets
Lofta - Flight/Air. Quicker transportation between areas, reaching high places previously unreachable.
Vatna - Water. Gives you the ability to swim, will be a huge help in certain areas, use in combat
Eldur - Fire. Burn down barriers and other solid objects, use in combat
Vindur - Wind. Shhhh it’s a secret
Joro - Earth. Gives you the ability to burrow underground for secrets as well as health and such, can control plants to solve puzzles
The atmosphere: Gentle is going to be very atmospheric, ambient, and strange. It will rely on music and art style to convey the feeling of strangeness and curiosity. Think a mix between Limbo and Bastion, with a little bit of Where the Wild Things Are as well. All story will be told through subtitles, written as if you were reading a storybook.
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