Title:
- Nightmare Nursery
- mobile platforms Android and iOS
- Tween girls (9-12 years old) who are baby goths at heart
- Nature v. Human Nature. Are Todd Reynard and Lulu Lapine children turning into animals or animals turning into children?
Story:
- summary
- Greigh Gardens is a house with a secret. Todd Reynard (Fox) and Lulu Lapine (rabbit) wake in the garden with a vague memory that things are somehow... different. Lady Arachne Greigh is a scientist with a penchant for dangerous experiments. As Todd and Lulu explore the garden, they discover that Lady Greigh's obsessive study of a strange rock from the sky has led to the mutation of the human and the death and reanimation of the animal members of the household. Lulu and Todd solve puzzles that allow them to explore the house, drawing them deeper and deeper into mystery. When they reach the attic, a giant spider, Lady Greigh herself, offers them a choice: drink a tonic to discover what they really are or continue on in ignorance. Does Lady Greigh want to be rescued or to let nature overtake the human world, one room at a time?
- Inspired by the work of Edward Gorey and Beatrix Potter, the mood is dark, eerie and adorable. A grand Victorian mansion with all of the quirks and eccentricities of it's highly intelligent owner, Greigh Gardens is equal parts mystery house and arboretum and evinces a flavour of abandoned grandeur.
- Game flow
- This is a puzzle adventure game with educational underpinnings. The player choose whether to play as Todd or Lulu. Each character moves differently and has an ability that the other lacks without the aid of a collected object. Game play begins in the gardens and then moves through the rooms of the house. The first level is set in the maze gardens and foyer. After solving puzzles, the player is given a key to enter a new room or take the stairs to the next floor of the house. The player's goal as they move from room to room is to collect clues in the form of objects that will ultimately help them solve the mystery of Greigh Gardens when they reach the attic. Players receive more experience points the longer they spend exploring the rooms and interacting with the objects, puzzles, or side characters. Victory condition is achieved when the player completes their list of goals for each level: solve the puzzle, gain a key, collect and object, "talk" to a member of the household. At attic level, the player get to choose whether to drink the tonic and reveal their true nature or return to the beginning and play again, unchanged.
Characters:
- Heroes: Todd Reynard is a fox in boy's clothing or a boy who is turning into a fox. Lulu Lapine's true nature is also ambiguous. Clues will be scattered through the house which hint that either could be the case. They could either both be children who are becoming animals, both could be animals changing into humans or one could be changing from human to animal and the other from animal to human. In single player mode, Todd or Lulu is chosen as the lead character. They can both walk, jump, crouch and handle objects but their special abilities change from level to level. On level one, Lulu can see in the dark without the benefit of the glasses that are collected in the foyer and Todd can see in colour without the benefit of those same glasses. Both want to explore Greigh Gardens, collect clues and objects and confront Lady Greigh in the attic.
- Boss: Lady Greigh's presence is felt throughout the game. In the garden maze, topiary join together to form her face. Photos and portraits of her appear throughout the house. In the foyer, a message written on the mirror delivers the first of many cryptic clues: "if I can't see you, then you can't see me." A scientist, she is prone to leave her things lying around the house and needs someone to collect and bring them to her. At the final level, Todd and Lulu discover that they're not the only ones to have been changed by the mysterious rock from space that Lady Greigh has been studying: she has been changed into a giant spider.
- Game World:
- Set in an abandoned Victorian manor that is slowly being consumed by nature, each level provides the opportunity to explore a mysterious and ornate part of life in the 19th century. Parlour, kitchen, arboretum, nursery, bedroom, library, attic and gardens are all featured. The look is dark and full of detail whether it's the wallpaper and tiled floors or the vines and trees that are growing up inside the house. The walls and roof are starting to crack apart allowing the sky, an eternal midnight with moon and stars, to peek through.
- The player is encouraged by the rewarding of experience points to spend their time exploring each room and level and completing tasks. Each successfully completed puzzle earns them a key to enter a part of the level that has been locked.
- Each room holds a clue or object that is specific to that room or the scientist Lady Greigh.
- Level map should be provided with the concept art.
Gameplay:
- · Assisted by occasional cut scenes, the player is free to wander around the environment and interact with objects until they have made all their discoveries. Each level contains a clue or message, an object to be collected, a puzzle to solve, and a key that will allow them to pass on to the next level. For example, level one starts in the topiary garden, and a cut sequence will be triggered when the players are in a position to see that the topiary have lined up to form a face. The face will deliver clues and the player will then proceed with the task: searching the hedge mazes for the doorknocker that opens the front door. Inside the foyer, the player explores and collects that level’s object, a pair of glasses that have been left in a coat on the stand by the door. Once the entire space has been explored, a task message is triggered that tells them to alphabetize the calling cards on the table. Once complete, a bell rings and the ghostly “Butler” is summoned to take their card and give them a key to the first floor rooms in exchange. The player selects the key which is stored in their Curio Box to open the door.
- Mechanics and Hazards:
- The hedges part when the player passes so they can enter the maze. A slight glow envelopes an object that needs to be collected. In level one, the Butler comes when summoned and delivers a key. The arboreal elements of the environment can be climbed on to get a better view or reach another level.
- In later levels, the mutated or dead members of the household may not be so helpful. Tree branches and vines may break or tangle the player up.
- · Objects will have a slight red glow around them and once collected will appear in the Curio Box at the bottom of the screen. The player will be curious about what goes in all of the cubbies of the Curio Box and will also achieve satisfaction for having found them all. The attic level can only be entered when the Curio Box is full.
Controller:
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| http://sites.la.utexas.edu/faculty-ipad-initiative/2012/06/03/touch-gesture-list/ |
- The player runs a finger over the touchscreen and the character follows. Double tapping an object collects it or opens/closes it. Selecting a key from the curio cabinet and then double tapping the door knob unlocks doors. Tapping the finger on elements leads the character up the stairs, to climb a tree, etc.
- The camera follows the characters and looks over their shoulder as they interact with the environment. Once an object has been selected, the camera spins around to face the characters and note their reactions. Depending upon the puzzle, the camera may go overhead and the characters disappear from view while the player solves the puzzle.
Game Experience:
- The video game should look like a children's book come to life. The player should be entertained but also able to use and learn problem solving and math and language skills commensurate with their age and experience level.
- A cinematic at the beginning of the game will show the rock from the sky's discovery and examination by Lady Arachne Greigh and some of the strange changes that follow. The player should be intrigued by what they see without the burden of too much exposition. Following this cut scene, the player chooses their player, Todd or Lulu, and begins the game. For the purposes of this exercise, Todd will be "locked" for selection but will appear from time to time.
- The player should want to explore all of the levels of the house for the fun of playing puzzles, solving a mystery, and to experience the game's aesthetic,
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