IO - GGJ 2019

About IO:

Calling it a game might be an overstatement. It is, however, a self contained, playable “thing”, revolving around spatial exploration. It borrows the mechanics of a typical third person game and combines them with an abstract spatial representation and an unclear overall goal, bringing it quite close to a “walking simulator”.

Controls:

• Move: W, A, S, D
• Crouch: C
• Run: L-Shift
• Look around: Mouse
• Quit Game: Esc

GGJ 2019 theme: “What home means to you”

IO came up within the context of 2019’s Global Game Jam.  I took part in the event while in Malta, in the premises of the Institute of Digital Games (which locally hosted the event). This year’s theme was “What home means to you”. Initially, the theme did not really appeal to me. I was looking forward to something less abstract, that could be interpreted directly as a specific gameplay typology. However, since themes are quite open to interpretation, that did not turn out to be such a big issue, after all.

Concept:

IO‘s concept was formed as a vague interpretation of the game jam’s theme (“What home means to you”). It revolves around the notions of Insideand Outside, where the former represents a space of isolation and peace and the latter represents a space of exploration and danger.

The main idea is that neither one of these states is acceptable for too long. After staying inside or outside for a specific amount of time, the environment starts changing and becomes gradually more “unbearable”. An annoying sound effect starts to increase in volume and the environment starts to become more colorful and bright. The purpose of this transition is to urge the player to escape their temporary state and keep moving, in a perpetual, interchanging quest for shelter (which turns into a prison), or freedom (which turns into danger).