Week 5 - Testimonies and The Beat Sheet

We started today off by looking at testimonies (real life quotes). In our case, me and my team mate had a look through the steam reviews of games and picked out reviews most relevant to us.

Backrooms

We've decided to looked at Backrooms, a game with a similar atmosphere we wish to recreate in our own game. Below we listed Steam reviews of the game which feature exactly the feelings we wish to capture within our project.

"I've played lots of horror games throughout my life... this is a special game. I've heard about the Backrooms for years and years, in the form of creepypastas and video game essays, but this is the was my first time being lost in the amazing world that is the Backrooms. The sheer atmosphere of the Backrooms weighs on the imagination in the horror lover in the most beautiful way. There were a few moments where I lost my surroundings in the real world because I was so immersed in the endless expanse before me. Checking your watch every 30 seconds making sure your still sane proved to be more than just hitting a couple of keys on the keyboard. There were a few times when I forgot to check and I literally thought something was wrong with my computer when the carpet and wallpaper started to move. I haven't even mentioned the thing that's hunting you....I'll let you see that for yourself! This game is Awesome!! I look forward to checking out more Backrooms Games!"

"Average day in Britain"

"You walk around in a maze of rooms with muted yellow walls, moisty tan carpet and a dirty stained ceiling with blinding lights which you hear buzzing constantly. You feel a dark presence chasing you, you feel it getting closer, the noises get louder, your vision becomes blurry... Keep on going is all you can do, hoping to find an exit, hoping the dark presence won't get to you. As you go more and more insane the walls and floor start moving while you hear distorted sounds, crying and footsteps. Where the hell is that exit?! The atmosphere is good but what gets me the most are the sounds effects, they gave me chills. The constant feeling of getting chased makes for a truly unsettling experience. I was terrified and I wasn't even sure why! For the feeling alone that the developer accomplished to give me, it made me want to recommend the game."

"This game is an exercise in atmosphere in horror. Using subtle visual and creative audio design, the atmosphere from The Backrooms successfully conveys tension, desperation, and nausea. It boasts a procedurally generated map that visually attempts to assault the psyche with its repetitive, mono-chromatic maze. As you become more insane, the walls and floors will shift all around you, your vision will shrink, and you will hear distorted screaming, crying, and animal roars. Early warning signs include static noises, knocks on wood, distant footsteps and voices, and shattered light bulbs."

What is a Beat Sheet?

After we were done with the testimonies, we moved onto where the real fun begins - the beat sheet. But first, what is a beat sheet? Well, A beat sheet is almost like the bullet point outline of a screenplay. It breaks up the act structures of the script and identifies the important moments (beats) in an episode, feature film, or in this instance a videogame. Once a beat sheet is created, it can be expand on in detail to create the screenplay outline with specific scenes, details, and even dialogue. Now that we got that out of the way, lets have a look at our beat sheet. Here's a great video from Film Courage that explores Paul Chitlik's view on the Beat Sheets and their importance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAic1zKQPiM

Our Beat Sheet

Act 1

• Main character wakes up from their sleep, their room is dark and messy.

• The atmosphere is heavy, dark, all the windows are shut with the blinds closed, the room is filled with items that don't feel quite right.

• The player is left to explore the empty house, filled with unopened letters and emails from concerned family members, alongside some items that have been neglected and left to collect dust.

• Eventually, the protagonist stumbles across a strange mirror and looks into it, shortly after, strange anomalies start occurring.

• Protagonist begins feeling anxious and unsure.

Act 2

• Protagonist starts looking for answers to explain these weird anomalies, hoping it would cure his rising anxiety.

• The protagonist discovers that there are a few doors locked and he gets the feeling that whatever he needs to solve this mystery is behind those doors. These doors representing, different stages of grief - in each room there is a different entity representing each stage.

• The main character starts seeing other bizarre entities although they don't seem harmful, in fact they have stories to tell and things to share.

Act 3

• After finding a key, the protagonist opens one of the locked rooms. There, the protagonist stumbles across someone familiar. Suddenly the overwhelming anxiety goes away, its the love of his life isn't it? As they talk sharing a warm moment, the mood suddenly shifts. "But you do remember that... I am dead, don't you?" - suddenly that moment doesn't feel so warm anymore.

• The protagonist gets reminded of the project he worked on with his wife. As he makes his way back all the way to his room, all the hallucinations and anomalies fade away slowly. He logs onto his computer. He has two choices, continue working on the game, or completely delete it.