-- Idea Brainstorming --

When coming up with the game idea we wanted to make, our team wanted to focus on Augmented Reality, as most of us had written research papers on this topic prior to ideation. While there were a number of interesting issues and concerns detailed across these papers, we opted to focus on how AR could be a form of escapism, for better or worse. 

From here we needed to focus on genre and mechanics. We decided pretty early we wanted the game's main friction to be puzzle based and wanted to have a compelling character narrative. Initially, we wanted to explore the potential idea of a 2D character escaping into a 3D world, potentially using a 2.5D art style, so we played around with perspectives but realized our concept drifted too close to Paper Mario for comfort. Ultimately, we shifted to having someone jumping in and out of AR while providing a compelling narrative in the “game” the person was playing. 

To accentuate this experience, we eventually decided on an unplug/re-plug system to power the headset. After tinkering around with some split screen options, we decided to limit it to one screen to keep the player focused and reduce potential frustration with the orthographic design. From here, we did make some changes when doing our pitch, such as changing the player to an office worker instead of a school student to better lean into a target audience of those who grew up on games like Portal and Myst, as well as committing to the game the character is playing being fantasy to lean into some of the existing preloaded knowledge. We also opted to add more mechanical complexity with obstacles and unlockable powers tied to the plug/unplug system. With that, our idea was complete and ready to be put into a presentable form. 

-- Making the Pitch --

With a focus on using a voice of speaking to a publisher, we summarized the game’s core idea of a person split between two worlds, the main gameplay features of plugging and unplugging and puzzle-based gameplay, and the target audience of fans of classic puzzle RPGs. 

When committing to an art style, we discussed a few options but eventually decided we liked something simple and colorful, using a reference point of Saturday morning cartoons and Human Fall Flat. The idea was that with this style we could create a sense of whimsy that could be connected to the disconnected mind state AR could bring. 

We included a few reference images and a mockup image showing what the game could be like. With a focus on a cartoony hologram style, some visual signifiers, and a clear visualization of the plug/unplug mechanic, we distilled the idea down to its core components to create a compelling visual of our plans. 

-- One Page Pitch Document --