Overview

Paradox Reflection is a 3D First Person Adventure Horror game made for PC. The game is set in an old mansion with the player’s objective being to find useful items and solve puzzles while under the threat of an evil mannequin girl.

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Gameplay

The player will be spawned into the game in foyer of the mansion located roughly in the southern end, each level will be known as “Rooms”. The player’s overarching objective will be to progress their way through to the end of the mansion.

 

To accomplish this the player makes their way through the mansion by solving puzzles between two dimensions (labeled as Dimension A and Dimension B) in a room, the player starts in Dimension A where the sole purpose is to activate the “Dimensional Mirror”, this is done by collecting items and using it on a corresponding object in the room. Upon activating the mirror the player would then need to enter it to warp to Dimension B.

 

In Dimension B, the player will be collecting items and using them on corresponding objects like in A but the player also needs to solve a puzzle which upon solving they will obtain an item to use on a door or a corresponding object, or eliminate an obstacle that stands in the way of the player’s progress which then the player will progress to the next room. The player will be unable to return to Dimension A until the puzzle in Dimension B has been completed.  

 

However whilst in Dimension B the player will be in danger from a monster which will take the form of a mannequin. After completing a puzzle, the mannequin will begin to randomly teleport to places within the level whist a sinister music box plays in the background, often appearing out of nowhere to scare the player.

 

Both dimensions are accompanied by riddles and/or clues that will both help the player progress and give them a general idea on what to do in that area.

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Features

• Dimensional Mirror: The player can travel between dimensions via a “Dimensional Mirror” which will transport them to an alternate version of the level, the player can travel between “Dimension A” and “Dimension B” through the Dimensional Mirror as much as they like. The player must use the mirrors in order to solve puzzles within that dimension to progress.

• Object/World Interaction:

  • Interact: The player can interact with different things in the world.

  • Obtain Item: The player can obtain different items in a level which are added to the inventory, these carryable objects (like keys) are usually beneficial to solving the puzzle of the level.

  • Use Item: After equipping an item, the player can use the item on the corresponding object (e.g. piano keys on piano, keys to doors).

• Inventory System: When a player picks up an item or note; it will get stored in the inventory.

Equip Item: The player can equip an item on hand in order to use them on compatible objects to solve puzzles. To have an item equipped, the item must be on the first box in the Items Section, equipped items will show on the bottom right of the screen.

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Retrospective

Paradox Reflection is a team based project created during Proof of Concept (3 Weeks) and then into Major Production (14 Weeks). There were 3 Artists, 2 Designer and 1 Programmer, together we banded as a team of 6. Before we delved into dimensions and whatnot, Paradox Reflection was just a puzzle game and horror was just an aesthetic.

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During beta, we decided to make a pivot and enhance the horror aesthetic into the genre of our game, by doing so we added a mannequin girl into the game which began to teleport around the mansion (often or not, in front of the player). We also took on more of an adventure approach to the game as we took more emphasis on exploration and interaction. By gold, our game was complete and contained what we desired.

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During production, I worked on the sound design and narrative design (the riddles). I assisted my fellow designer with the puzzle design, which I had more involvement on the first puzzle's design than the second (though I made the sound effects for it). The first puzzle was expanded upon during beta and almost had a complete overhaul, but ultimately we kept the original concept but with a lot of additions.