I think that the sanity system seems interesting. The only part that didn't look so clear to me was the enemies and their connection to the sanity system. I think that solving puzzles to progress in the story while you are being haunted by ghosts or some monsters could be cool. Maybe your sanity could be linked to viewing or being in proximity to these monsters and they disappear partially or for some time when you take the drug or do something similar (e.g. smoke a cigarette, drink some liquor, use some inhaler, self-harm, some lovecraftian spell, ...) that way every time you go back to the "normal" state the monsters could become more aggressive, do jumpscares and finally attack you in real life. Maybe you could think of something like in "Alien Convenant" where a ghost/monster follows you inadvertently and sneaks ready to jump on your back. Maybe some objects that guide your quest can help you regain some health/sanity (e.g. a photograph, some toy you remember or some music that is played in an old gramophone). Another option I can think of is that the game is very dark and you see the ghosts very dimly creeping towards you, but they disappear when you use a torchlight on them, giving you some extra time, maybe then the sanity is linked to moving in darkness for too much time.

The injection system is so extendable, I love it in regards to using postproccessing or different shaders!! It reminds me a lot of ADAM in Bioshock and also and equipment in RIsk of Rain 2 where using the equipment will give you a giant boost but has a chance of giving you a permanent hangover. Focus on getting that gruesome feeling for the injection with good animations and particles of juices and blood coming out.

What I really like:

• Cool word plays
•  Systems and Mechanics seem simple and engaging enough to have a great effect on players.
• Putting a pin in a mechanical lock was so funny, I laughed for a few minutes straight. If you actually implement it, I think a lot of player will have that balance between scary and funny. Cool idea.
• The gameplay looks linear and simple in terms of explorable areas and environment, which means you can focus on other things while also making the environment cool and scary. (so players can focus on other aspects of the game)
• I really like the story. It's detailed, it's thorough, and it's interesting. I would gladly see how you show all this within the game.

What I can suggest:

• It is a little vague, if using a serum a lot brings you to the dark path, is it known? Does a player understand the consequences of his actions, or is that hidden? I guess the visual and audio cues should be enough, but not fully convinced.
• Creating a horror game is one of the hardest genres to make, especially psychological horror games. There needs to be a big balance between scare and suspense. Systems and mechanics seem to be nicely aligned with this. However, what makes it really scary is the atmosphere, so it makes people scared not only with mechanics, but rather with pure atmosphere. Make sure to capture it. (Silent Hill, Resident Evil)
• You definitely need to do a lot for this and try not to overreach. (Make fewer environments but more detailed), (make less enemy mechanics, more atmosphere). You will see a genuine difference in your players' emotions when they see a more detailed atmosphere.
• You might have your audience wrong. Last of Us players are not the ones that play psychological horror games, they enjoy the suspense, but its mostly story and action. You are aiming for peak Silent Hill players, Resident Evil 4 players. The ones that do not play the games for adventure, but for being scared to move an inch. (maybe also look at Dark Picture Anthology Games).

Conclusion:

Psychological horrors are absolutely amazing games if done right. And I definitely see the potential to have an actual adrenaline kick in when you take too much of the serum. Cool idea, always looking forward to more horror games (even though I am scared to death and cannot play them )

Reading the document I didn't really understand a couple of things:

• Combat? You mention the serum, that helps you defeat nightmares, and gives you stat boosts. But how do you use those stats? IS there combat? And is it an FPS (Your images don't seem to show off any guns) is it a melee brawler? Or like just dodge and have enemies fall into traps?
• The endings, how do you achieve them? This relates to combat in the end but like, is it more of a COD zombies ending where you solve puzzles (An equivalent to zombies' easter eggs) or maybe it's more like The Forest where you literally survive and explore and then through environmental stuff at a certain point you hit an end screen?

I really like the fact that you took the "Road to Nowhere" theme literally and included a place called Nowhere. I also really liked the story of your game and how detailed it is. 

While reading the documentation, I was unsure whether the player is supposed to know that using the serum is going to lead to their doom. Will it become instantly clear to them through changes in visuals and audio after trying it or will they know even before trying it? Or is it something they’ll only discover by trying multiple times?

You also mentioned a certain threshold for how many times the serum must be used to trigger the bad ending. Will there be a UI element showing this, or will it be handled entirely by the backend?

I really like the hallucination system and I think it is going to enhance the experience of the player a lot. Given the time constraints, I would suggest focusing on the puzzles, story and the hallucination system before working on the combat mechanics, although it depends on what you want to emphasize in your game.

I really liked the injection system idea and how it's balanced between reward and punishment. Having multiple endings depending on how much you use it is smart and gives solid replayability.

The sanity level and how it affects the world is also a great addition, great minds think alike!! Our game has a sanity system too. The only thing that concerns me a bit is that, from what I saw in previous semesters, when people did FPS survival/horror games, the mechanics often felt a bit unpolished, probably due to 2 months timeframe. I’d definitely divide the workload accordingly and focus on making the gameplay feel really polished and responsive. Even if the playable area ends up being smaller than you imagined, I think players will enjoy it more if everything in gameplay part feels solid.

Overall, a really cool idea with strong mechanics and a great bit of wordplay in the title too!

I was also going to ask how will you tell the player that using the "Injection" has consequences, but you already explained it and I think like you said environmental clues are the best way to go as well.

Good luck and looking forward to play your game at the end!!!

Interesting idea, the sanity concept reminds me of Eternal Darkness.

Do the negative effects decrease if you spend some time not taking the injection or do you basically have a fixed number of uses before you hit the threshold. Maybe add another dimension to it, where the time between each use affects how high the boost is (i.e. when you take it more often the positive effects are decreased. 

Developing a story-driven game in such a short time will be hard, and you have multiple systems at play here (sanity, combat, puzzles), I would personally prioritize everything over combat as FPS combat is typically hard to make fun and engaging. It's not clear whether you are unable to fight enemies without the injection (like Amnesia) or does it just get easier once you take it. I could see the concept working with the first option, and it would make things simpler for you.

Looking forward to playing it!

Feedback Pitch:

- Injection system is a great idea

- Technical achievements tie well into the overall design

- Far overscoped. You'll probably have to cut back on a lot of content

    -> mentioned story seems quite long

    -> How are you going to get assets?

    -> How will you find the time to build content after already doing so many cool systems?

This in my opinion is one of the more interesting interpretations of the theme, the injection system sounds amazing and unique.

The hallucination system is also one of the more creative ideas (I'll be using the injection just to check it out).

My only comment is in regards to the injection system concept graph in the presentation, making it more dynamic and time-frame related instead of set values of player state would be fun, for example using the injection over spaced out intervals shouldn't have the same effect as using it twice in a row.

Looking forward to playtest and solve the puzzles :) 

I personally like the game idea, especially with the sanity bar. The injection system is really cool, and I think it adds much challenge and dilemma for the player, whether to use the injection or not. How the game wiill progress seems a little vague from my understanding. I am not sure where you will be taking the story to, but I hope that everything pans out right. Overall, I think the concept is great, the mechanics have a lot of great potential, and the story would be very interesting. Good luck and I hope to play your game very soon!

Great game concept !

What I Really Like:

• The risk vs. reward aspect of the injections.

Challenges:

• Capturing the horror atmosphere effectively + getting all the desired game mechanics right in time will be challenging. 

Question:

• The injections give the player boosted stats for combat but do they also affect the puzzle gameplay ?

I like the aesthetics of the game and the game mechanics and story seem very interesting. One question I have is what would happen if the player refuses to use the injection? Are they forced to use it by the game or are they allowed to ignore it, and what would the consequences of ignoring the injection be and how would that tie into the theme?

- Liked the idea of the invisible threshold for bad ending combined with the visual effects. Makes the player carefully observe how the shaders change which would maybe go unnoticed in other situations.
- Did not fully understand what the Sanity Bar is used for if the threshold for a bad ending should be invisible.
- Liked the Doodle style. Is this there to stay or just as a mock up? I think it fits the crazy theme.

Props for having a pun like "Knowwhere" in the title.

The injection mechanism sounds really interesting. The player will need to know the game well to understand when it's best to use it. Could be a stretch but it reminds me of a way simpler mechanic like a double-jump in platformers such as Crash Bandicoot 4 in which a good speedrunner knows that while double jumping helps gain height, it makes it harder to cover a bigger distance horizontally so it's not just a mindless button to press. The whole atmosphere sounds cool too.

At the same time, this injection mechanism could backfire if not implemented well. It's good that it's advertised as the "core mechanic" because it did sound like the main attribute that hooked me for the game, but if not polished and done well, it would damage the whole experience. I believe time is plenty for polishing and the fact that you also include different endings based on the injection usage could punish "bad" gameplay and really make me take care when playing.

Cool concept overall and looking forward to try it!

Really strong game concept. I especially like the risk vs. reward mechanic tied to the injection system. It adds real weight to player choices and fits the psychological horror theme very well.

That said, capturing the right horror atmosphere while also delivering multiple complex systems like combat, sanity, and puzzles within the timeframe sounds like a real challenge. 

One thing I was curious about: since the injection boosts combat stats, does it also affect puzzle-solving or exploration in any way? For example, clearer vision, faster movement, or altered perception that could help or hinder progress?

Cool idea! I like the concept of the stims having a payoff, but adding extra risk — it could make the combat and exploration feel more tense. The overall vibe and aesthetic fit the game well, kind of like a twist on a Bioshock-style world, which sounds interesting.

There’s quite a bit to get right for the game to really work, especially the combat system. Making combat feel enjoyable will probably take a lot of tweaking and balancing.

I think putting effort into meaningful puzzles would pay off — they could be the most engaging part of the game if done well, even though they might take some time to design properly.

Looking forward to playing it!