UI - Beginning A Visual Motif

All great puzzle games have undeniable motifs that keep players grounded as they try to solve the problem in front of them.

Anyone who's played games like Portal knows the value of discovering one of those heart-covered boxes, knowing exactly what the corresponding pressure plate needed.

Screenshot from Portal by Valve

For our game, we know that we need some indication as to what puzzle elements you can solve, especially with the integral Possession system dictating so much possibility.

So, I mocked up an early design to help players learn that visual language.

Using simple, stylized icons, players will be able to track and learn exactly what abilities are available at any given time, and where.

Here are a few early examples:

By attaching these to a progress bar, we have a rough framework to guide players (at least during this initial playtest) to solve some of these puzzles.

See below for an example on how some of this is used in gameplay, along with a few cool effects I implemented alongside them.

Notice how each indication on the Possession Meter is tied to an event in-game.

• Reaching the X allows for walls to disappear and boxes to be lifted.

• Reaching the Eye outlines enemy statues and quest items.

Players will need to balance their possession bars to access skills' availability.

However, they need to be careful because reaching 100% means game over. (And, as you can already see at the beginning of this video, getting spotted by statues can shoot that value up pretty fast!)