Psychological Horror Escape
Terminal Silence
Design Overview
Summary:
This is a first-person psychological horror level. The core focus is "simultaneity," meaning players must search for clues while simultaneously remaining vigilant against surrounding threats.
Scenario:
The player wakes up in an underground train car at a terminal station, only to find out that everyone around them has turned into motionless mannequins. However, from just beyond their field of vision, the sounds of footsteps and shuffling can be heard. A killer appears to be hunting the player, who must survive and escape the underground station in this uncanny environment.
Level Map
Phase 1: The Opening
Level Walkthrough:
-
[Cutscene] The player wakes up inside the train car and finds that the train has arrived at the final station. Static crackles through the announcements, and the displays show distorted text and strange symbols.
-
The player discovers that all the passengers have become clothing-store mannequins. They do not move. However, when the player looks away and then resumes, those mannequins are teleported a few steps forward to where they're facing. As if they only move when the player is not looking at them.
-
When the player leaves the car, they shall see a poster on the board that reads: "Beware of the killer, watch your surroundings."
-
At the stairs leading to the upper concourse, two mannequins in police uniforms are staring at the remains of a mannequin broken into pieces on the ground, with a broken crowbar on the ground. Meanwhile, one of the police officers has a crowbar in his hand, which the player can take it.
-
The escalator entrance is piled with clutter and blocked by "Under Maintenance" barriers, giving the player no choice but to take the stairs to go up.
Design Point:
-
Players learn about the mannequins and their movement patterns.
-
The existence of the killer mannequin and the warnings.
-
Mannequins can be defeated using a crowbar.
-
Crowbars are available for pickup within the station.
-
-
The stairs are the only path to the upper concourse (forcing the player to pass through the police area so the player will not miss the tutorial).
Phase 2: Finding the Keycard
Level Walkthrough:
-
After ascending the stairs, the player sees the ticket gates; the objective of this level is to exit through them. To pass through, the player must find and scan a keycard.
-
If the player attempts to climb over the gates, a short cutscene triggers: a mannequin’s hand grabs the player’s shoulder, the camera spins around, and a station staff mannequin kills the player with a baton.
-
-
When passing the locker area, the player finds graffiti on one of the lockers: ●▲◼. This represents a three-digit code.
-
The player must search the crowd of mannequins to find those wearing clothing with ●▲◼ patterns. The number of shapes found on the clothing determines the corresponding digit. Those mannequins will walk in a pattern, so it's easy to spot. These specific mannequins never leave the station. They each follow their fixed, circular patrol routes (e.g., indicated by the red line in the image above).
-
Example: If a mannequin’s dress has a ▲ pattern and there are five triangles in total on her dress, the ▲ digit of the code is 5.
-
-
After the player enters the three-digit code, the locker opens to reveal a keycard.
Design Point:
-
Narrative Integration: Rather than placing invisible walls at the gates, the restriction is woven into the story. Using the staff mannequin to catch the player serves as a thematic punishment.
-
Forced Observation: Background mannequins wander the station to create environmental unease and force the player to observe them at close range to solve the puzzle.
-
If the player attacks any of these mannequins, an identical one will respawn outside the player's field of vision. Making sure the player can still solve the puzzle.
Phase 3: The Great Escape
Level Walkthrough:
-
[Cutscene] Once the player picks up the keycard, the station lights shift to a deep red, accompanied by garbled, distorted announcements. As the camera pans back, the mannequins, who had been minding their own business, are now all facing the player with menacing expressions.
-
From this point, the mannequins begin to slowly surround the player. Their objective is not to attack, but to trap the player. The player must navigate from the locker area back to the ticket gates.
-
There are six rows of lights between the locker area and the gates.
-
The lights flicker irregularly, starting from the first row, then flicker rapidly, and finally extinguish completely.
-
If the lights in a row go out while the player is still in that zone, the player dies instantly.
-
The player must use line-of-sight manipulation (turning away) to trigger mannequin movement, creating gaps to escape.
-
-
Upon reaching the gates, the player uses the keycard to exit the station. All lights then cut out for three seconds before returning to their original color. All mannequins within the station vanish, and the level concludes.
Design Point:
-
Escalating the emotional arc from suppressed dread to a high-tension, frantic escape.
-
Once the player moves from one light zone to the next, the previous zone’s lights extinguish immediately, regardless of their current state. This ensures a persistent sense of urgency even if the player finds the optimal route quickly.
Mannequin Specifications
Common Mannequins
-
Movement Rules:
-
Phases 1 & 2: Mannequins typically appear in states of standing, walking, using phones, or other idling behaviors. They remain completely motionless while within the player’s line of sight. Once they are out of view and looked at again, they instantly teleport to a new location or shift into a different pose. Think of it as a game of "Red Light, Green Light," but with everyone performing different actions.
-
Phase 3: Mannequins will slowly close in on the player whenever they are outside the player's field of vision.
-
-
Dead bodies: If attacked, a mannequin leaves fragments on the ground. These remains disappear once they are no longer in the player’s line of sight, and a new mannequin will randomly spawn elsewhere in the station to ensure the population count does not decrease.
Killer Mannequin
-
Movement Rules:
-
A killer mannequin is hidden among the general crowd.
-
If the killer is not within the player's line of sight, it will gradually approach the player.
-
The killer's walking speed is identical to the player’s walking speed.
-
If the killer is adjacent to the player and out of their field of vision, the player will suddenly be blindfolded by a mannequin hand and killed.
-
-
Quantity:
-
Only one killer moves through the station at a time. If the player successfully kills it, they gain 120 seconds of absolute safety. Once the time is up, a random mannequin at least 10 meters away from the player will become the new killer.
-
The first killer appears the moment the player first ascends the stairs to B1.
-
These mechanical details are hidden from the player. To maintain tension, the player is never told whether the mannequin they just struck was the killer or how many killers are active.
-
-
Identification:
-
Appearance: Identical to common mannequins; they cannot be distinguished by appearance alone.
-
Sound: Although the station is filled with mannequins, the player will hear ambient whispers, footsteps, and shuffling. When the killer is nearby, the player can hear a specific noise, which is similar to plastic teeth grinding.
-
Anomalies: When a player looks back at mannequins that were previously out of sight, if one specific figure is consistently facing the player, that individual is likely the killer.
-
Attacking
-
There are five crowbars in total to be found within the level. A crowbar will break after attacking a single mannequin.
-
The player must practice careful resource management and timing to ensure they are using their limited strikes on the actual killer.
Difficulty Adjustment
Various parameters and designs in the game can be tuned to balance the level’s difficulty:
-
Phase Two:
-
Killer Quantity: Change from "Infinite Respawn" to a "Fixed Number."
-
This lowers difficulty, but tension also decreases once the player is certain the killer is dead.
-
-
Locker Password: All three digits are randomised. The key identifying feature is randomised each time, both the numbers and the location (shirt, coat, dress, hat, etc.). Additionally, multiple patrol paths can be set, with one chosen at random per playthrough.
-
-
Phase Three:
-
Light Flicker Duration: The time before a row of lights extinguishes can be adjusted. Extending this duration lowers difficulty.
-
Mannequin Enclosure Speed: The movement speed of surrounding mannequins can be adjusted—or varied between individuals—to lower difficulty.
-
Other Notes
-
The level difficulty is highly flexible; parameters can be adjusted based on playtesting or in-game difficulty settings.
-
Because the overall gameplay involves few steps, most time is spent on non-linear clue-hunting. If a player is killed and respawns within the same phase, they do not need to repeat completed tasks.
-
(Example: Once a player knows the ▲ digit, they don’t need to find it again, even if the player dies and respawns from the last checkpoint, as the password is "acquired information" rather than a "physical item.")
-
-
Technically, if a player pays very close attention to their surroundings, it is possible to clear the level without ever attacking a mannequin.