To Safety by Stealth
Stealth plays an important role in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. But that catch all term “stealth” can mean so many things. Read up on what the team is doing to incorporate stealth mechanics both in terms of offense and defense, Family and Victims.
There is a distinct sense of “cat and mouse” in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Moments of tension abruptly ending with a clash of action, followed by, if the Victim is crafty enough, a return to the relative safety of being on the edge of another clash, having broken line of sight. Struggling to choke down heavy breaths within a hiding place as a Family member lurks in the next room, undoing all you have done to get away.
It’s a pretty common concept in Horror, build tension and release it. But the uncommon is found in how you build it, and how you release it. With The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, we know our Victims find themselves against all odds, in a situation with little to no resources, and seemingly all but done for. Desperation is a keyword as well as an overall tone to the game and with that, combat is not only unrealistic, it’s minimal and frantic. So what fills the gameplay in between your capture and escape or death? Stealth. But not of the variety you might find in a single player experience.
“A key point for us getting that authentic horror gameplay right was the multiplayer stealth mechanics, the biggest of which is visibility. With single player games against AI hunters, the rules on visibility are clear: you have vision cones, audio visual cues when spotted, and clear methods of resetting the hunt. These just didn't transfer fairly to a PvP setup. Hiding in the shadows from other players was something we worked hard on in the earliest of prototypes, ensuring it’s fair to both sides and without "gamey" mechanics.”
–Kelvin Moore, Design Director, Sumo Digital - Nottingham
Once the team had started to explore the mechanics of stealth that worked well for the type of environment we were building, the iteration and refinement of these mechanics began, and the true moment to moment gameplay of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre became clearer. A Family, set on letting not a single Victim free, actively working to reveal the areas of stealth leveraged by the Victims. The Victims, underequipped and outmatched, desperately trying to make it to the next room in a chain of movements that will hopefully result in freedom from the nightmare. Who will survive and what will be left of them?
“A lot of iteration took place during early prototypes to promote stealth as THE way to survive. We observed a lot of player behaviours that we wanted to embrace, one of which was "hiding in plain sight". Moving into the shadows, keeping still, and holding your nerve as a family member scours the environment is both terrifying and exhilarating.
Taking the hiding in shadows a step further, we gave players on both sides the ability to turn on or off specific lights in the environment, dynamically changing hiding opportunities. Entering a dark room and turning on a nearby lamp, you quickly see victims scatter like cockroaches. Of course, we don't want to make things too easy for the family, so the victims have some tricks up their sleeve in these scenarios.”
–Kelvin Moore, Design Director, Sumo Digital - Nottingham
This battle between the spider and the fly, the cat and the mouse plays out in every match of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. And as Kelvin noted, we have even more to show you in terms of how we equip both the Family and the Victims in their respective roles on both sides of this unique stealth equation. That all will come to light in due time.
For now, remember:
Be Silent!
Turn Off the Lights!
Stay in the Shadows!