1. Favorite aspect: I liked that you mixed the recursion theme with horror. It fits really well and gives you the chance to create a really cool atmosphere. I also liked your inspirations and the idea of adding small anomaly changes in each loop to make the player feel uneasy (last semester we did a very similar concept as well!).
2. Least favorite aspect: You mentioned that the center idea could be a mix of the three options, but I think choosing one main direction would work better. Mixing too many ideas might make the core idea less focused and harder to deliver in the final game.
3. Suggested improvement: If you notice during prototyping that it’s hard to create "the fun feeling" with “one recursive room with small anomaly changes” using an FPS controller system, I’d suggest going for something more controlled, like a "Five Nights at Freddy’s" type setup. The player could stay in one room with a 3D camera and use point-and-click style interactions, moving between a few fixed camera positions/orientations and can do actions by clicking/pressing keys. It would still give that tense, creepy atmosphere, but in a way that’s easier to design and balance. Also, it might be more fitting for a finding anomaly in 1 recursive room type of game.
+ I really like the descending into madness idea, if realized well I think it has great potential and I think it can match the game mechanic of the room repeating itself. I also like the solving a murder idea and I would say that would be related to the black mirror episode where the character is stuck in “purgatory” and the day keeps repeating itself and he has to find out who murdered someone.
-I am not sure how the puzzles are going to work. Are you going to have to solve them in order to escape the rooms and get to the next ones?
1 change: I like the idea of evolving the room over the course of the game but it might be hard to keep it entertaining for the players so I would focus on this aspect while developing the game.
What is your favorite aspect of the proposed game?Entering rooms, that have already been entered with small changes, requiring the player to solve riddles in one room to proceed.
What is your least favorite aspect?Only relying on solving riddles as basic mechanic: given the idea and ambience you aim for.
Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?Adding more horrorish elements, like jump-scares, etc. which should be intertwined with the style of the player (if the player does fail too often → punish the player with effective use of jumpscares or distorted image/tension etc.).
I like the horror genre and the game idea with the recurring room
Every horror game I developed failed to create a horror game atmosphere because of bad visuals and audio, so I think you need to put some priority into design
I love the idea of descending into the madness. Many smart and intriguing puzzles combined with this recursion mechanic can emerge, which will most likely keep the player engaged.
- least favorite aspect and the suggestion combined:
Having one static environment with only interactable objects (if that is the intention) might make the content a little bit less fulfilling for a horror game (of course, in my opinion, it could also be enough). I would suggest adding a dynamic factor, such as having an entity (could be anything) lurking behind, which would keep the player on their toes all the time (to keep the tension or to increase the tension from time to time).
The game concept may not be very original, but I believe you can easily pull this off! It sounds like an interesting game. + Good thinking about the concept of the game, the puzzles will be interesting I believe. I like the horror genre in this setting. - For my taste, this concept is too repeating. Multiple games have done the same mechanic (turning crazier every iteration and trying to spot anomalies). However I think that if you come up with some cool and original puzzles, it can stand out easily!
I like it that someone is tackling horror. I also find it interesting how you combine it with time travel and spotting anomalies. My biggest concern however is exactly this, delivering an experience that doesn't feel repetitive and is actually scary. I can imagine scenarios in which the player feels like they are doing the same stuff over and over again but I trust that your team can make a game to keep us on our toes.
I really like the idea of the game and the goal to make the horror aspect ambience-based and not jump-scare-based. Out of your three scenarios, I enjoyed the murderer and the locked-in-a-room scenarios the most. If you decide to go with the asylum-escape scenario, I would suggest being mindful about ableist tropes that are often part of this concept.
Something you haven't mentioned yet is a losing condition which I think is critical for a horror game, so I would suggest focussing on that and making sure that it really adds to the horror and the pressure on the player (i.e. being noticeable and not too easy to avoid etc. etc.)
Personally I think that making a horror game is very difficult because you need a good atmosphere and sound together with a good narrative that sucks you into the game. The concept of repetition within the same environment is nice and can make for a nice gameplay. If I had to focus in one of your ideas I would go with the murder mystery, maybe you as a detective can unravel a piece (dialogue, notes, playing as another character right before the crime) of a murder in a small mansion every time you find a clue (or a small indication that can lead you to the next clue), that way step by step maybe you can obtain different perspectives of the mystery. I think that the idea of descend into madness can get a bit repetitive specially if the room is not very big. The escape from asylum seems a bit more friendly in my opinion for having different puzzles.
Doing a horror game is a hard challenge. You didn't mention them here but I'm interested in how much of a focus you want to put on audio. From ambiance, sound effects and music, usually audio is a crucial component in the horror feeling and I want to see how you plan to tackle it.
Also, as other people have mentioned, this idea lacks the source of the danger, of the tension. The setting and general mood can do a lot, but if there's nothing concrete behind it, players usually quickly figure it out. It doesn't necessarily need to be a physical adversary, but there needs to be something to drive the player other than "solve the murder". Otherwise it's just a thriller.
Favorite aspect: I find the concept of recursion in a horror game very fitting, as it was already mentioned in the presentation. Check out the Silent Hill P.T. Demo, you might get inspired.
Least favorite aspect: I think solving a murder matches the horror ambience least, but escaping the asylum and no way out are great concepts
Suggested improvement: I think combining an FPS view with good music, heavy breathing sounds, camera breathing motion, and good lighting can portray the scary theme really well.
13 Kommentare
Daniel Abert sagt:
22. Oktober 2025(maybe edit the "Home" website and link to this site here, so others don't have to use the side-hierarchy to find your project.)
Baran Gürsoy sagt:
23. Oktober 20251. Favorite aspect:
I liked that you mixed the recursion theme with horror. It fits really well and gives you the chance to create a really cool atmosphere. I also liked your inspirations and the idea of adding small anomaly changes in each loop to make the player feel uneasy (last semester we did a very similar concept as well!).
2. Least favorite aspect:
You mentioned that the center idea could be a mix of the three options, but I think choosing one main direction would work better. Mixing too many ideas might make the core idea less focused and harder to deliver in the final game.
3. Suggested improvement:
If you notice during prototyping that it’s hard to create "the fun feeling" with “one recursive room with small anomaly changes” using an FPS controller system, I’d suggest going for something more controlled, like a "Five Nights at Freddy’s" type setup. The player could stay in one room with a 3D camera and use point-and-click style interactions, moving between a few fixed camera positions/orientations and can do actions by clicking/pressing keys. It would still give that tense, creepy atmosphere, but in a way that’s easier to design and balance. Also, it might be more fitting for a finding anomaly in 1 recursive room type of game.
Overall, really cool concept!! Good job!!
Alexandra Colf sagt:
23. Oktober 2025+ I really like the descending into madness idea, if realized well I think it has great potential and I think it can match the game mechanic of the room repeating itself. I also like the solving a murder idea and I would say that would be related to the black mirror episode where the character is stuck in “purgatory” and the day keeps repeating itself and he has to find out who murdered someone.
-I am not sure how the puzzles are going to work. Are you going to have to solve them in order to escape the rooms and get to the next ones?
1 change: I like the idea of evolving the room over the course of the game but it might be hard to keep it entertaining for the players so I would focus on this aspect while developing the game.
Daniel Abert sagt:
gestern um 10:22+: the ideas have potential. the "no way out" might be cool.
-: I don't have a clear pitcure yet, of what the game is.
1 change: "the room where you have to find the differences to before" already exists. maybe add something new to it.
Christian Barbu sagt:
gestern um 17:39Anian Kalb sagt:
gestern um 17:59Efe Berke Erkeskin sagt:
gestern um 18:18+ definitely keep:
I love the idea of descending into the madness. Many smart and intriguing puzzles combined with this recursion mechanic can emerge, which will most likely keep the player engaged.
- least favorite aspect and the suggestion combined:
Having one static environment with only interactable objects (if that is the intention) might make the content a little bit less fulfilling for a horror game (of course, in my opinion, it could also be enough). I would suggest adding a dynamic factor, such as having an entity (could be anything) lurking behind, which would keep the player on their toes all the time (to keep the tension or to increase the tension from time to time).
Julie Vondráčková sagt:
gestern um 22:24The game concept may not be very original, but I believe you can easily pull this off! It sounds like an interesting game.
+ Good thinking about the concept of the game, the puzzles will be interesting I believe. I like the horror genre in this setting.
- For my taste, this concept is too repeating. Multiple games have done the same mechanic (turning crazier every iteration and trying to spot anomalies). However I think that if you come up with some cool and original puzzles, it can stand out easily!
Nikolaos Christodoulou sagt:
gestern um 23:14I like it that someone is tackling horror. I also find it interesting how you combine it with time travel and spotting anomalies. My biggest concern however is exactly this, delivering an experience that doesn't feel repetitive and is actually scary. I can imagine scenarios in which the player feels like they are doing the same stuff over and over again but I trust that your team can make a game to keep us on our toes.
Katharina Benke sagt:
gestern um 23:52I really like the idea of the game and the goal to make the horror aspect ambience-based and not jump-scare-based.
Out of your three scenarios, I enjoyed the murderer and the locked-in-a-room scenarios the most. If you decide to go with the asylum-escape scenario, I would suggest being mindful about ableist tropes that are often part of this concept.
Something you haven't mentioned yet is a losing condition which I think is critical for a horror game, so I would suggest focussing on that and making sure that it really adds to the horror and the pressure on the player (i.e. being noticeable and not too easy to avoid etc. etc.)
Miguel Trasobares Baselga sagt:
gestern um 23:57Personally I think that making a horror game is very difficult because you need a good atmosphere and sound together with a good narrative that sucks you into the game. The concept of repetition within the same environment is nice and can make for a nice gameplay. If I had to focus in one of your ideas I would go with the murder mystery, maybe you as a detective can unravel a piece (dialogue, notes, playing as another character right before the crime) of a murder in a small mansion every time you find a clue (or a small indication that can lead you to the next clue), that way step by step maybe you can obtain different perspectives of the mystery. I think that the idea of descend into madness can get a bit repetitive specially if the room is not very big. The escape from asylum seems a bit more friendly in my opinion for having different puzzles.
Davide Mongera sagt:
vor etwa 17 StundenDoing a horror game is a hard challenge. You didn't mention them here but I'm interested in how much of a focus you want to put on audio. From ambiance, sound effects and music, usually audio is a crucial component in the horror feeling and I want to see how you plan to tackle it.
Also, as other people have mentioned, this idea lacks the source of the danger, of the tension. The setting and general mood can do a lot, but if there's nothing concrete behind it, players usually quickly figure it out. It doesn't necessarily need to be a physical adversary, but there needs to be something to drive the player other than "solve the murder". Otherwise it's just a thriller.
Mahdis Sabzevarzadeh sagt:
vor etwa 10 StundenFavorite aspect: I find the concept of recursion in a horror game very fitting, as it was already mentioned in the presentation. Check out the Silent Hill P.T. Demo, you might get inspired.
Least favorite aspect: I think solving a murder matches the horror ambience least, but escaping the asylum and no way out are great concepts
Suggested improvement: I think combining an FPS view with good music, heavy breathing sounds, camera breathing motion, and good lighting can portray the scary theme really well.