What is REM?
REM is an x-ray horror / runner game with psychological elements that brings themes of tragedy, PTSD, and survivors guilt into focus for the player. Set in a burning high-rise office building in 1996, your goal is to find survivors and escape. Survive both reflex-based and cerebral challenges to navigate safely to the end-- all while combating the effects of a psychosis that blurs nightmare and reality.
As a Player, you will be tasked with navigating puzzles that span variable numbers of floors, which may require you to backtrack in the face of ever-encroaching flames and collapsing floors from above. These puzzles will usually involve obtaining one or more key items to clear gates that block your path, but not always. In such an ever-changing environment, you must employ careful fore-thought before rushing to the gate within the time remaining. Otherwise, the people you're trying to save may not make it out alive.
This does not stop the narrative, however. After all, the choices you make are final. Just be sure you are willing to live with the consequences.
Feature Goals
-
X-ray building perspective
-
Glitch retro look and feel
-
Survival running while vaulting, & sliding
-
Multi-floor puzzles
-
Procedurally generated floors
-
2D movement in a 3D environment
-
Depth floors and secret rooms
-
Emotionally impactful gameplay
-
Alternate story routes, with one true ending
Gameplay & Pacing
Our aim for REM is to blend two very different types of games with drastically different pacing styles. This is done to increase the tension and also emphasize impactful moments. We want to command the player's attention by providing them with varying levels of action from moment to moment.
REM is primarily an endless runner, which means that players will find themselves in situations where they must run for their lives against the clock, ducking and vaulting past numerous obstacles and threats along the way.
While a recurring part of the game will feel like an endless runner, the slower, more puzzle-based elements will add a different kind of experience- one that is more based in time or complexity rather than reaction time. This will provide breaks in intense action, and will also threaten negative outcomes that would require fast reaction times and more intense survivalist gameplay. Thus, though the player will experience periodic lulls in the action, the tension will always be present.
Examples of puzzles include having to backtrack multiple floors for specific items without triggering a collapse or finding the right item or combination to get past a door.
The ideal gamer experience should be one that fosters empathy for the player character, and also those involved in the game's narrative. The psychological nature of the game demands that we not handle the subject matter heavy-handedly, and we want to provide an experience that respects those who suffer from PTSD and survivors guilt. We wish to shine a light on those types of issues while providing a compelling experience for the player.
N Dimensional Games L.L.C.
