Aegis: The Wounded Armour – BTD (Behind the Design) 

In this blog of game design for Aegis: The Wounded Armour, come along with me for a trip of BTD – Behind the Design for the game. I will put front all the thought process, ideation and sentiments that went behind designing the game. The game, although far from perfect, is one of the projects where I have put my gears of imagination into full throttle. It is still a work in progress and I am humbled by the amount of dedication it takes to create a game people love to play. I feel privileged to present my journey of putting this idea on paper, hope you would enjoy the same along with me.

Ideation and Thoughtflow

Taking a different perspective on the topic of ‘Impulse’, an idea was established to stretch the concept to its extreme. The result was ‘Impulse Control Disorders’ in humans. 
Many AAA games as well as indie games have targeted a variety of human conditions in different forms, giving it a ‘realism’. Although Aegis: The wounded Armour follows the same route, the twist here was to ‘materialise’ those human conditions rather than giving them a realistic approach. 

Impulse Control Disorder – ICD

Impulse Control Disorders are psychological conditions in which humans are compelled to act on a particular impulse and have no control over it. There are a wide variety of ICDs diagnosed around the world giving rise to different impulses and taking them to their extreme.

For example, Pyromania, a rare ICD that occurs when a person loses his ability to control the urge to set things ablaze. Another example is Kleptomania, where a person is unable to fight his impulses to steal things for no specific reason.

Impulsive Hallucination Disorder

A made up ICD that the game is centred on. A type of psychological disorder that makes the person suffering from it hallucinate and believe they have numerous impulsive disorders. 

The theory behind this disorder revolves around a syndrome called ‘Charles Bonnet Syndrome’ that causes hallucinations in human beings.

This ICD was established on the question: ‘What if people suffering from Charles Bonnet Syndrome start hallucinating different ICDs?’, and thus the answer was Impulsive Hallucination Disorder or IHD. 

Game Gist

‘Complex things start simple’… keeping this in mind, it was easier to set the gist of the game. On closer inspection, this is a simple game of Maze, where the protagonist is trying to find a route while solving various puzzles on his way.

The upscale is that the maze represents his own mind and consciousness that has entrapped him while the puzzles represent him solving the tangled thoughts and feelings inside him, the enemies or the inner demons are personifications of the challenge an introspection poses. 

Backstory

The theme of the story is heavily inspired by the Korean movie, Along with the Gods, where three grim reapers are trying to take a man to his afterlife while deciding his fate depending upon what he did when he was alive. The movie shows different trials a soul has to go through before it takes its fated place, whether in hell or heaven.

For the game, I thought of turning the flow around and pondered what if someone wanted to bring the soul back rather than taking it to heaven or hell.

I felt that the story of going through different trials would resonate perfectly with someone who is trying to get his life back to normal, who would go through, although not the same but similar trials to regain his self. 

The protagonist carries a rare disorder, for that to be a little realistic, I wanted to give the story a logical basis and setting. The fitting theme here was of war. Wars are capable of taking away the brightest part out of people’s lives and leave them with visible as well as  invisible scars. ‘Love’ & ‘Bonds’ as romanticised, serve as great saviour for the people engaged in the opposite, hence, giving protagonist a relationship makes sure he lives in the present and at the same time has a motive.

A great balance between brute force, faith in gods, kindness and tranquillity was something I found in the context of the Viking era and decided to take the story back to 800 CE which made it easier to give it a supernatural twist.

Game Aesthetics

While looking at the origin of the Vikings and the place they first took as their home, The Northern Isles of Shetland and Orkney stood out the most. With a beautiful setting of green landscape embroidered with a vast sheet of sea and ocean, I felt this could work as a retreat for a war hero coming home. I wanted to convey the same feel to the player visually.

I found a great selection of Viking sounds at Freesounds.org that I decided to use for various purposes including theme, enemies, etc. In order to depict the fact that the ongoing struggle is mere illusion, I decided to take the help of hallucinations.  

Gameplay

‘The Two Goals’

Designing a game that has a story driven element to it, I wanted to make sure that even the story has a goal along with the game, hence I decided to divide the game into two goals, one for the player and other for the protagonist.

While the player needs to clear the series of puzzles and defeat the boss, the protagonist, Aegis, makes a headway towards regaining himself. Every piece of mystery that he finds takes him closer to himself, freeing him from the reins of his disorder…freeing him from the hallucinations of life caused by the loss of his loved one.

‘Progressive Difficulty’

Another feature I felt like adding was of progressive difficulty. Since this game has a heavy story driven part, I wanted players to experience the game progressively where the difficulty increases as the game moves on to the next levels.

‘The Challenges’

The missions or challenges are structured in a simple manner where the player defeats a set of enemies, solves the puzzle, acquires the key element and proceeds further. Where the puzzles are riddle based and the answer to every riddle reveals a way to solve the puzzle. The riddles start taking more intrinsic form once the abilities are unlocked. They point towards the ability that needs to be used to solve the specific puzzle.

‘Collectibles’

The game features a number of collectible items that are described as the key elements that the player need to acquire in order to clear the particular level. For this I went through Viking history, learning about their belongings, their treasured items and things that held cultural value. While doing so I found few objects that I was able to connect the emotional or sentimental value with.

Few such objects were:

• Kitten – given to new brides as a good omen
• Jar of dye – depicts the mentality of colouring any difficulty in any colour that you want as well as the preparation of battle.
• Skeggøx – A Viking Axe, symbol of battle and work, I wanted it to depict that the protagonist is capable of both.
• Jade Necklace – Although famous in Chinese culture, the Vikings too used it as a portrayal of gentleness and harmony in life, even in dark times.

Characters

Although the characters are set in a Viking setting, the theme for their personalities has been taken from different cultures.

The Protagonist

’Aegis’ – meaning unbreakable shield, I wanted him to be portrayed as a ruthless and heroic warrior yet a kind and caring person. His brutality adds into realising his disorder while his caring nature adds into him sticking to his motive of bringing his wife back. Just like a shield, he has taken countless hits and the scratches are visible all over.

The Beautiful thing ever happened

‘Calista’ – meaning beautiful, is indeed the most beautiful thing that ever happened to Aegis, I wanted her to be seen as the one and only anchor that binds him to reality. She becomes the guide and the motive for the story to progress and for Aegis to regain himself. She is described as the firm believer of ‘GOD’, this setting makes it easier to transition the existence of Apate, a goddess, into the story. It also makes it easier for the protagonist to believe in Apate’s animosity.

The Antagonist

‘Apate’ – the goddess of deceit, here is the personification of the chaos and deceit that the protagonist’s mind plays on him. Her powers of illusion are a perfect fit for justifying the hallucinations that revolve around the protagonist. The antagonist, ‘Apate’, is in reality a part of Greek mythology; however, her role fit perfectly in depicting the struggle that the protagonist was going through was in fact a deceit of his own mind.

The Henchmen

‘Ra’ak’ – a word similar to an Indian term meaning ‘Ashes’, portrays the culmination of ambitions that were burnt to ashes when those having them faced the ferocious goddess. Like any other super boss, Ra’ak fit perfectly as the mindless followers for Apate. Just like a burnt corpse, I imagined them to be skinless, floating heathens that someone will only see in their nightmares… yes just like a nightmare.

Conclusion

I realised that so much goes into designing a video game. Although majorly it takes imagination into account, playing with facts is yet another essential element of a good game design. I was able to imagine and design the story, the world in which the story was set, the characters who lived the story and last but not least learn a lot about cultures that our world harbours. 

I would love to talk more about Aegis – BTD or Behind The Design thought process, discussing the levels and level design, perhaps in other parts. Stay tuned for more.