Welcome to the very first developer blog post for Side Alley, a psychological horror game with demons in an office environment. They haunt and hunt you, but also get into conversations with you. Here, I'd like to describe in some detail what this game is all about.
What kind of genre is the game?
It's not a point-and-click adventure game, but it contains elements of that genre.
It's not a pure visual novel, although there are certainly dialogs and inner monologues in abundance.
It's not a 3D horror game, although it does contain segments that kind of strive for a similar experience as that genre.
If I'd sum it up, I'd describe the game as a mash-up or mix of all those three classical genres. I hope that the mechanics will blend seamlessly together to create an organic whole.
The idea behind Side Alley
For this game, I strive for the same kind of oppressive yet occasionally relaxed atmosphere as in the predecessor Psycholog. In that game, the main focus was on heavy swathes of dialogue, with the occasional exploration segment to provide some variation/relief. In Side Alley, there's more focus on exploring the surroundings, as the protagonist navigates the murky hallways of his run-down office, as well as other areas that inexplicably open up.
While Psycholog was a "killer on the loose" horror game, the horror in Side Alley is of the supernatural kind, with what amounts to demons or demi-gods luring the protagonist into their traps. These traps are mental, moral, physical and metaphysical. Yes I know, it's a handful.
Added features compared to Psycholog
While the same custom engine is used for both games, there are some features that are introduced in Side Alley. Among these are the navigational features of certain areas, where the player can move right, left and forward; this is indicated by a changing cursor when hovering over certain areas.
Another feature is that the camera zooms in and pans over the screen more frequently, as the player examines or notices certain objects.
More blog posts coming soon!