Difficulty Levels
Unspeakablewill feature four difficulty levels: Demented (Easy), Disturbed (Medium),
Schizophrenic (Difficult), and Stark Raving Mad (Impossible). These difficulty levels
will have a dramatic effect on the difficulty of the gameplay. On the Easy setting, even
non-gamers will be able to play all the way through the game with only minor challenge.
At the Impossible setting, even the most hard-core players (such as members of the
development team) will have a hard time making it through the game. The difficulty
level will affect vitality, accuracy, and damage-inflicting abilities of the enemies, but at
the easiest level there will be fewer creatures for the player to engage with, with fewer
enemies in each battle. Ammo and health pack placement will also be varied. Further-
more, the difficulty of the puzzles will also be made easier or harder depending on the
difficulty level, with more hints provided at the Easy difficulty, and more challenging
solutions necessary at the Impossible setting.
In-Game Help
Unspeakablewill not feature a tutorial level. Instead the player will be introduced to the
game’s mechanics through the gameplay itself. As the player plays and comes to new
areas that require him to perform new actions, help text will appear on the screen
explaining how different mechanics work. For instance, when the player picks up a
weapon for the first time, the text might say “Press SQUARE to Attack.” Once the
player picks up a second weapon, the help text might explain how the inventory system
works. Once the player’s Insanity Meter fills up for the first time, and the player is in
Aimed Weapon Mode, the help text would say “Press TRIANGLE while holding down
R1 to enter Insanity Mode.” After the text has been on the screen long enough for the
player to read it, or the player successfully accomplishes the action he is being
instructed about, the text will fade away. Help text can be turned off by a setting in the
options screen, so that the player will not need to see again it if they replay the game.
In-Game HUD
There will be a number of in-game heads up displays (HUDs), which will appear as
needed to communicate information to the player about the state of the game-world.
Typically, these HUDs will only show up when that information will be useful to the
player. For instance, the health meter will only show up when the player has recently
lost health or when in Aimed Weapon Mode. In this way, the screen will not be cluttered
up by HUD graphics when they are not needed, helping the player achieve a greater
sense of immersion in the game-world. HUD elements will “slide” onto the screen
when they are needed, similar to games such asJak & Daxter.
Some items will appear in certain situations, regardless of what mode the player is
in.
- Flashlight Charge: This small indicator will show up on the screen when the
player’s Flashlight is on. A bar will indicate charge remaining on the Flashlight, and
will turn to a different color once the Flashlight starts losing strength. A small
number will be displayed next to the Flashlight, indicating how many batteries the
player has.
Appendix B: Sample Design Document:The Suffering 589