![Item Interaction Example [Taken from Samsara_v0.1.0+x11]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/5daf821b-e0cb-4e39-bfe8-5e44ec3e4814/ItemInteractionExample.gif)
Samsara is a 2D Side-scrolling horror game, that is based on a fictional story which took place in Indonesia. The game revolve around a group of friends visiting a supposedly haunted village. Once there, they got separated, and forced to find clues on how to escape while being constantly hunted by evil spirits. But the dead is not the only thing they have to be worried about, because their reality might not be what it seems to be.
The game mainly follows a group of 5 people, with rich stories and dialogues. Some game mechanics used are inspired from similar type games such as The Coma. Users will control the player with a keyboard and can interact with the environment using a mouse. Environment are called Zone's and Objects (non-living entities) are called Item2D's. Using the mouse, the player can interact with Item2D's. For example:
Item Interaction Example [Taken from Samsara_v0.1.0+x11]
Notice how the Player have to first approach the Item2D. An Item2D can only be interacted if it's inside the Player's Interaction Area. Although this can proof to be a problem when having multiple Item2Ds inside the Player's Interaction Area, so to deal with it, only the closest Item2D will have the focus and is allowed for interaction:
![Item2D proximity check example [Taken from Samsara_v0.1.0+x11]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/2740a3d9-e1e1-4a2d-9123-cf20641c6355/ItemProximityExample.gif)
Item2D proximity check example [Taken from Samsara_v0.1.0+x11]
Item interactions can lead to monologues which will open a DialogueUI. A DialogueUI will load a Dialogue data from disk and render it to the screen. Everything that can be interacted may or may not lead to opening a dialogue. This will depend on the Entity being interacted, not just Item2Ds:
![Dialogue example [Taken from Samsara_v0.1.0+x11]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/70aa30d4-34e8-4af9-b06d-26523f16404d/ItemDialogueExample.gif)
Dialogue example [Taken from Samsara_v0.1.0+x11]
Next is a hiding mechanic to dodge from would be pursuers are essential, so these are a no brainer to implement. An example of how this would look like in game can be visualized like this:
![Hiding example [Taken from The Coma]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/323a410d-bb9f-45b2-8b89-b6056d2bb4a2/HidingExample.gif)
Hiding example [Taken from The Coma]
All of these game play mechanics are still rough drafts. It will be subjected to revision and may have additional features along the way.
The game starts in the time of Mid-Term break allowing the 5 friends of free time. One of them suggested to go on a urban exploration, but that was the biggest mistake they could ever make. After they arrived, they noticed something was strange about the the place, and after walking for a while, they found a long staircase, leading to a place of unimaginable heights. They then decide to climb up the staircase, but the stairway feels almost like it's going on forever. Once they got high enough, the sky was blocked by a thick mist, and it gets thicker after each step. After some time, the player realized that she was all alone, and everyone was missing. But before she could contemplate any further, she was assaulted with major headaches, leaving her on the ground, unable to get up. Then she blacked out. Moments later, she woke up back at her room. But the room she was in was quite different then the one's back at her dorm, realizing this, she began searching the entire place. But after she search and search, somehow the places she had looked at was now different than before. Noticing this, she was confused, but she kept searching. After each iteration, the room changes slightly, until it changed into something sinister. A dead body could be seen hanging inside the room. And there's now a knife sticking to her desk. She then began convulsing, and some visions occurred, with voices telling her make a choice; sacrifice a human heart. This later will create a choice between sacrificing her own heart or the dead body. Each answer will lead to different ending and alters the main story. After deciding for the answer, she will then woke up in her original place, in the staircase. She was still very much alone, none of her friends could be seen. And when she tries to go back down the stairs, the mist was too thick, then she could not see the staircase anymore, and it felt like going down was impossible. So the only way is the way up. Climbing up will lead the player to a Old Hotel. There, the player will explore and search for her friends. While inside, she will have life threatening encounters, and it will changed her original objective from searching for friends, to searching for a way out. Some exploration are needed to find items to unlock blocked of area, and once the player have those, she can proceed to the next zone. The demo will end once the player reach the boss room in the 3rd floor of the hotel.
Here's are all the draft made for each zones, starting from the start of the demo, till the end.
This room are used twice, first when the user starts a new game and enters the introduction, and second when she collapsed from climbing up the staircase: