The Video above is a proof of concept for a 2 player co-operative, puzzle video game that was developed and presented as part of the graduation thesis titled "Spatial Qualities of the Experiential and the Imaginary through Role Playing Games". It is the result of putting spatial theories regarding immersion to the test via experimental pen & paper role - playing sessions with volunteers. (2019)
 

In this preview level, after being shown a short cutscene introducing them to their character, both players explore two different versions of the same building (past & future) while trying to cooperate and solve puzzles in order to reach their common goal; to both reach the bottom of the building, the source of a strange  time warping signal. 

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The game relies heavily on having the players carefully observe the environment and verbally describe to one another what they see. There is heavy emphasis on antithesis, both visual and narrative, used as a tool to explore how the player communication and playstyle are affected and how this plays into their co-operative puzzle solving.

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The twist in this game concept is the fact that while the players need to cooperate to finish every level, narratively, they may have different agendas. Each player can choose to either to pursue their selfish goal or give it up for a collective positive outcome. In this way, different endings can occur depending on the players' choices.  

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PUZZLES:
 

1. Elevator:
   Starting from the Observatory, Future Player's elevator door is locked so the Past Player must change the keycard's position in the past so that the future player can grab. They both use the elevator to descend.
    

2. Statues:
   At the groung floor, at the indoor park, Past player comes across 4 beautiful garden statues holding colored jars. Future Player is foced to stop at the library floor due to a sudden power outage. At the spiral corridor, FP comes across 4 grotesque fish statues with glowing dots in their eyes (that are visible because there is complete darkness) and is also able to see the garden statues from above when going to the library. The glowing eyes signify the order of the statues in the garden so the players get an order of colors.  After getting it, they descend again reaching the aquarium.
    

3. Gems:
   Past player gets the hint about oddly colorful gems in the aquarium but can't make much else out due to the lushness of the tanks. Future Player, in the now barren environment, can make out clear numbers of  colored gems. 8 pink, 5 yellow, 9 green, 7 blue. Combining them with the order of the colors they got at the previous stage, they get the secret code that makes the elevator go down to the secret basement, thus finding the signal and finishing the first level of the game.

 

Unreal Engine 4, PC game

Music: Carpenter Brut - Turbo Killer

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