These are the design goals I came up with at the beginning of the project and they're still active, just updated along the way for more clarity.
1. Imagination
Let the player be part of creating this fictional world. Give him/her food for his/her imagination. Show things and explain some of them, but only hint at many other things. Art, narrative, dialogue, descriptions and audio should all be part of this.
2. Freedom
Let the player keep his/her freedom. Most important in the controls: Don't take them away unless absolutely needed. Make key moments in the story interactable / walkable. No cutscenes. The game should work with multiple control schemes and screen situations. Go to great lengths to give the player comfort options like pausing anywhere and changing of controls anytime.
3. Choices
Give the player things to do. Prepare a world, a setting, and then let him/her loose on that. Present different possibilities for handling problems. Let the world react on player actions. This does not mean total lack of hints: Show the player what he/she can do.
4. Contrast
With all of the above in mind, make sure the game has characters, moments and art that stand out from the rest. Give contrast to this world by funneling attention and highlighting. The noise should be backdrop, not center.
Thank you for following the progress of the game and for all your support!
If you haven't already, make sure to wishlist the game:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/941460/Death_Trash/
- Stephan (@talecrafter)