BREAKING POINT“A SHORT GAME ABOUT DEPRESSION”

Game Brief

BREAKING POINT• BREAKING POINT is a game about the life of a Depression/Anxiety sufferer.

• It will be played in the first person perspective.

• The story and the feelings that are associated with depression will be told via the inner monologue of the player controlled character.

• BREAKING POINT will be a very short game, clocking in at 2 hours play time.

• BREAKING POINT takes place over the course of a few months, from the players house, to the players job in a call centre, and the players counselling sessions.

• BREAKING POINT progresses when you complete the tasks that the game sets out, these aren’t difficult tasks, they will be things such as “cook dinner” “use shower” “go to work” “go to counselling” etc, once each act is completed there will be a time hop to the next pivotal moment in the characters life.

• BREAKING POINT will feature minimal pick ups to flesh out the character, items in his/her house for example that show the type of person that they are, be it a DVD you can pick up, food on a plate, bottles of alcohol, etc.

• BREAKING POINT will also make use of dialogue trees to give players a sense of involvement in the story, as a lot of “walking simulators” tend to be a story that unravels as you move

• BREAKING POINT’s art style will be stylised realism, eg. Gone Home, Fallout 4, Ether One, Dear Esther.

• BREAKING POINT will be black and white, and gradually turn to colour once the player experiences the character seeking help

• BREAKING POINT is being created to raise awareness of the effects of depression and anxiety to help remove the stigma of mental illness.

• BREAKING POINT will be released on PC, distributed via Steam.

BREAKING POINT

“image from Mass Effect”

“image from gone home”

“image from the beginners guide”

Dialogue Trees

Dialogue trees in Breaking Point will be used to give the player a sense of involvement in the characters life.Dialogue trees will be prominent in Breaking Point during the characters counselling sessions and job at a call centre.The images that you see on the right here give a good example of a dialogue tree and how it can be used to add a layer of depth to a character by giving the player numerous responses to a situation.

An example of dialogue treesIn Breaking Point will be in theCounselling sessions when theCounsellor will ask you howyou’re feeling.

“How are you feeling today?”1. Not great2. How do you think?3. ...

As you can see, 3 very different responses which will result ina different response from the counsellor

Another example of the use of dialogueTrees will be when the character is at work.Whenever anyone rings the call centre andYou answer, you can choose to respond from a number of given responses, and if the customer is particularly aggressive on the phone you can choose to stay calm or lose your temper.

Example:

“I’d like to speak to your manager!”1. Okay sir, let me get the manager for you2. Go fuck yourself (slams phone)3. Okay.

“image from gone home”

Pick Ups

BREAKING POINT will feature interactive objects through out the characters house and work place.The images you see on the left are from the game Gone Home, which uses the premise of interactive pick ups to an expert level of fleshing out it’s world and characters, pick ups in Breaking Point will be there for the exact same reason.Although the main story and character feelings in Breaking Point will be told through the characters inner monologue, the player can still find out more about the character by looking around his/her house.See a scrumpled piece of paper? Well you can pick up that paper to see what the character has written on it; See a bottle of alcohol? You can pick that up too, check it’s brand to see that the character likes a specific brand of alcohol or doesn’t care about the brand, as long as it gets them drunk.There will be numerous items for the player to discover around the characters house that will flesh out how much the characters depression is consuming them, and I hope who ever plays it will be observant/curious enough to want to find them all.

BREAKING POINT – PC CONTROL SCHEME

W.A.S.D for movement

shift-key to zoom in

move mouse for camera control, mouse control

when dialogue options appear.

left-click to interact with objects/choose dialogue option.

Right click when

holding an object to

view it, move mouse

with right mouse

button clicked to rotate

the object

BREAKING POINT – ART STYLE MOODBOARD

Research

Depression/Anxiety

BREAKING POINT – DEPRESSION/ANXIETY“Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days”

Depression and Anxiety are illnesses that I personally have suffered with

since I was 18 years old. I have went through the thoughts of feeling like

there is no end in sight, suicidal thoughts, self deprecation and also actions

of self harm. Breaking Point is about those emotions and actions, as once

they take hold of you they don’t leave you, no matter where you are, be it at

home, at work, or even with friends.

Although Depression is a pretty common illness, it still has a

taboo/misunderstanding around it, people who know of someone with

depression often ask such questions as “What have you got to be depressed

about?” or offer advice such as “Pull yourself together”, which although

intentions are probably good, it doesn’t help the depressed.

What I want to try and convey with Breaking Point is to reach to two types of

players/people, those who suffer with depression and those who have a

misunderstanding of depression, I aim to show those with depression that

they are not alone in how they feel and that there is help out there, and I

intend to maybe open the eyes to the uninformed so that they themselves

may one day help someone with depression.

Narrative Focused Games

Gone Home, released in 2013, was potentially the game that brought

about the term “walking simulator”. Receiving universal acclaim from

critics for it’s story, which is told through narration by the main

characters sister.

Gone Home starts with the character, Kaitlin, returning home after a

long time away, to find that no body is home. Your aim is to find out

what has happened.

Gone Home has very minimalistic gameplay, the (main) story is told

through narration from letters you find by your sister, but there are

hidden stories throughout the house that paint a bigger picture, and to

find and piece these stories together you have to interact with

numerous objects.

Gone Home’s story unravels seamlessly, whilst also giving the player

the feeling of dread you often feel when you home alone on a dark and

stormy night, even when there is nothing to fear.

I looked at Gone Home as almost a template for Breaking Point, Gone

Home is the most famous walking simulator created, and what it does it

does with expert detail and care.

The Beginners Guide is a game by the creator of The Stanley Parable. It

is a work of fiction that is told as fact. It is told through narration by the

games creator, Davey Wreden, and the player is tasked with playing a

bunch of abstract games by a man named only as “Coda” a “friend” of

Davey’s.

Throughout the game we delve more and more in Coda’s and Davey’s

minds, both as analytic creators, and creators who create for the sake

of it. It is a very personal story about artistry and what we are willing to

take at face value. Is there something more to it, or as a line in the

beginners guide says, “maybe he just liked creating prisons”.

I chose to look at the beginners guide due to its extremely short game

length (1 hour and a half) and the way it tells a personal story in a very

different, abstract manner whilst also, again, using narration to get it’s

story across.

Actual Sunlight is the most personal game that I have looked at/played

during my research for Breaking Point. The reason I looked at Actual

Sunlight is because it is the most “real” game on the list, Will O Neil has

described it as “almost 100 percent auto-biographical”, which goes to shiw

that games can be an outlet not just for players, but for creators.

In Actual Sunlight you play as Evan Winter who is essentially just a

character that acts out the actual feelings/events of writer/creator Will

O’Neil’s struggle with depression.

The game is heavily text based while we play out this very bleak outlook of

life, which many have stated when playing the game that they can see

themselves in Evan, realising this, mid-game writer/creator breaks the

fourth wall and talks to the player as Will, not Evan, to which he states

“The fact that you are young means in and of itself that you still have a lot

of time to change things. That doesn’t mean you’re going to get everything

you want, but I promise that you can do a lot better than you will if you give

yourself over to despair. Don’t you fucking dare” An olive branch to the

player who is maybe struggling with depression and not seeing a way out.

The Static Speaks My Name is a free, 10 – 15 minute experience

that’s available on Steam. It tells the story of a mans (Jacob

Ernholtz) obsession with a painting and is an insight into

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder coupled with Depression.

The gameplay is very minimalistic consisting of 6 missions and a

bit of optional exploring, the final objective being to commit

suicide.

The reason I’ve looked at The Static Speaks My Name is because

of the story that it manages to tell, the atmosphere it conveys and

the emotional impact of the ending, all in 10 minutes of gameplay.

The Static Speaks My Name is proof that you don’t need to pad

your game out if you can say what you intend to say in a short

time.

To the Moon, released in 2011, is one of the few games where

gameplay is very minimal, which has received critical acclaim

from both journalists and gamers alike, I believe this is due to it’s

rather fantastical nature in the way that it approaches memories,

loss, love, loneliness and death.

You play as two scientists who are tasked with piecing together

the memories of a dying man, to do this you enter his thoughts

and find the memories for him so that his dying wish of seeing

his wife again can be fulfilled.

To The Moon was made with RPGMaker on a very minimal budget

and had runaway success, it shows that you can tell a very

touching story, without being to real whilst also being relatable.

Never-ending Nightmares is a game about the developer Matt

Gilgenbach’s personal struggle with OCD and Depression.

I took a look at Never-ending Nightmares for how a story can be

conveyed without traditional means, how a developer can use

games to tell a very personal story, and how a community can react

once delve deep into this extraordinarily unique game. There is no

mention of OCD or Depression in this entire game, it’s very David

Lynch-esque in its approach to it’s meaning, but many players have

resonated with it’s message that is hidden under the horrific

imagery and even contacted the developer themselves to personally

thank them for making them feel like they’re not alone.

And that’s exactly what I intend to do with breaking point, make

something that people can resonate with to let them know that there

are plenty of people out there that are just like them.

Gameplay is again very minimalistic, mainly focusing on story, from

a gameplay perspective it consists of running and hiding.

Sales: 22k, grossed 250k

Game Production

BUDGET

SCHEDULEMAY 1ST 2015 – BEGIN DEVELOPMENT

JULY 1st 2015 – HAVE BASIC STRUCTURE OF ENVIRONMENTS WHITE BOXED. BUG TEST

AUGUST 1st 2015 – BUGS TESTED. ARTIST BEGINS BUILDING UPON WHITE BOX

October 1st 2015 – ARITST FINISHES FLESHING OUT WHITE BOX. BEGINS CREATING NPC (Counsellor)

October 15 2015 – DESIGNER BEGINS WRITING DIALOGUE FOR GAME

November 1st 2015 – PROGRAMMER PROGRAMS DIALOGUE TREE OF INTERACTION BETWEEN PLAYER AND COUNSELLOR

December 1st – BUGS TESTED. ANIMATOR BEGINS ANIMATING COUNSELLOR

December 15th 2015 – COUNSELLOR ANIMATED. ARIST BEGINS CREATION OF PLAYER INTERACTION (HANDS, WHAT THE PLAYER CAN PICK UP, ETC)

January 1st 2016 – PROGRAMMER IMPLEMENTS PICK UPS. ANIMATOR ANIMATES FIRST PERSON INTERACTION (HOW THE CHARACTER PICKS UP ITEMS)

January 7th 2016 – DESIGNER BEGINS WRITING INTTER MONOLOGUE OF PLAYER

February 15th 2016 – INNER MONOLOGUE COMPLETED. BUGS TESTED

March 1st 2016 – GAME OUTSOURCED TO EXTERNAL AUDIO ENGINEER FOR ALL NECESSARY SOUND EFFECTS AND VOICE RECORDING

March 20th 2016 – AUDIO IMPLEMENTED

March 31st 2016 – BUGS TESTED

April 1st 2016 – CRUNCH TIME

April 15th 2016 – GAME POLISHED. POSTERS SENT TO PUBLICATIONS. DOMAIN NAME OF WEBSITE REGISTERED

April 30th 2016 – HAVE GAME READY TO GO ON STEAM ON RELEASE DATE THE MOMENT COUNTDOWN ENDS ON WEBSITE

May 1st 2016 – BEGIN COUNTDOWN OF GAME ON BREAKINGPOINT.ORG

May 6th 2016 – RELEASE GAME

MARKETING RESEARCH

SHOCKVERTISINGShockvertising is a form of advertising that companies use to get their point across in the most thought provoking and evocative way possible.Shockvertising deliberately sets out to shock and offend those who see it, rather than some advertising campaigns that inadvertently shock.The point of Shockvertising is to stir up debate, social commentary and of course, outrage. Shockvertising is at it’s most effective when it’s using shock for the sake of shock, for example an advert depicting what looks like a murder and a suicide is used to sell knives and a toaster, it gives no indication if the products are good for what they are intended for, but it’s an advert that will cause discussion and get the brand out there.Another good use of shockvertising is to just be blatant in your approach when trying to get across the potential damaging affects of (as the pictures to the left show) excessive drinking, or not wearing your helmet. Images of death or injury tend to stay with us and are used in a very blunt manner indicating that this could happen to the viewer.Shockvertising in terms of games is a great way to garner free publicity from media outlets and get people talking about your game, considering the gaming community is often extremely vocal this is a very cost effective way of promoting your game. Hatred used this superbly, prior to it’s release it was one of the most talked about games due to it’s trailer depicting the protagonist slaughtering countless civillians. Upon release the game was critically panned due to it’s intense mediocrity, but that didn’t stop a lot of it’s sales coming from morbid curiosity from a very effective use of shockvertising.

MARKETING

• Use of shock imagery.

• Posters will be sent to media outlets.

• Posters will depict suicides/self harm.

• The posters will have suicide hotline numbers on them.

• The posters will have the release date of the game at the bottom.

• There will be no mentioning of the game, or what it is, or even if it is a game.

• A website will be created on May the 1st 2016, with a countdown leading to May the 6th.

• The website will be breakingpoint.org.

• It will feature a count-down timer and a different suicide hotline number on a grey background

for each day.

• Once the countdown is over, the game will be released for free via Steam.

• A trailer will also be released at the end of the countdown, letting the viewer know the game is

out and is free.

(the following slide contains example posters, some viewers may find the images disturbing)

MARKETING

0191 232 7272

06.05.16 06.05.16 06.05.16

0808 802 58 58 01642 342277

RationaleProfit?

I believe that Breaking Point will at the very least be profitable, even if the profits are small. The reason I believe this is because Breaking Point won’t cost much to develop due to its independent and

extremely short nature.

The games I have researched have all managed to turn a profit, all received acclaim, from universal to average acclaim, and are often still discussed to this day (particularly Gone Home and To The

Moon)

Another reason I expect Breaking Point to be profitable is because I intend to make the game free, with a “donations” button, these donations can be any amount the player see’s fit, and 30 percent of

whatever the player donates will go towards one of three mental health charities of their choice. (MIND, Samaritans and Together for Mental Wellbeing)

Sales Projection?

Due to the free to play nature of the game it is rather difficult to depict a sales projection considering literally anyone can try if they want to.

The game will be making its profits purely on donations.

At most I aim to have at least 250,000 unique players of our game by the end of December, but the profits from that depends on what the players donate, if the game resonates with them enough for

them to do so.

Why Is It Fun?

Breaking Point isn’t fun in the traditional sense, however what is deemed fun is purely subjective especially in the way that the games industry is evolving. Breaking Point is fun in the sense that it

inform or resonate with the player, it’s fun in terms of emotional depth, and fun in the fact that it be completed in a short space of time. I personally have had much more fun playing short experiences

recently rather than 500 hour epics.

The options that the player chooses are also fun as they flesh out the character and the feelings they are feeling, for example there’ll be numerous dialogue options when talking to your counsellor,

depending on what you choose warrants a different response and a different approach of help from the counsellor.

How Is It Different from other “Walking Simulators”?

Breaking Point uses the foundation of a walking simulator but the choice systems (dialogue trees) of an rpg when you are talking to your counsellor, trying to get out of bed, or go to work, these

choices add a feeling of making the game feel like the players own personal story rather than a story told to them as usually walking simulators are used as, frankly, books with an environment to

walk in while the book is read to you.

An example of a dialogue choice is at the beginning of the game, the characters alarm goes off and you can choose to get out of bed or sleep for a bit longer, the alarm goes off again if you choose to

sleep a bit longer and you are again given the choice to sleep for just a bit more or get out of bed, after the alarm goes off, your only choices become “stay in bed”