In 2022, Gun Interactive took an unusual step for an established AAA studio: it released a free game on Itch.io. Titled Petalsthe title was actually a prequel wrapped in a minigame, a means to tell more Don't open that door the story as it would later appear in the 2023 game of the same name.
The purpose of Petals was to preface Maria Flores’ story through snapshots from her camera, which lead to the events of the game. Providing insight into this is Gun Interactive President and CEO Wes Keltner, who is joined by Executive Producer Ismael Vicens, to explain their thought process behind designing this minigame and why they wanted to deliver a narrative in this specific way.
Game Developer: What were your design goals in adding a photo mode to the game?
Dr. Wes Keltner: We knew our game would take place a few months before the 1974 movie. To provide as much story as possible while still making a multiplayer-only game, we started toying with the idea of an ARG. We wanted to tell Maria's story, why she was in Texas, and what happened to her. The answers to those questions would kick off our multiplayer game. It was the story before the story.
Our creative director, Ronnie Hobbs, had already written in Maria’s bio that she was a photographer. She went to this area of Texas to take pictures of lupines and other spring flowers. We were also interested in reconnecting the camera that Hitchhiker uses in the movie to our game. Where did he get that camera? This was our chance to do something interesting. So we created this smaller, PC-only experience that allowed players to use that same camera to take pictures of flowers. But with each photo, they got closer and closer to their demise.
Why use photography to tell a story?
Keltner: If you're making a game or a smaller experience, you need to start thinking about keeping the systems and mechanics pretty simple. This isn't a fully explored game, but a smaller, almost demo-like experience. Focusing on the camera was a great mechanic that was easy enough to implement, while still giving players something to focus on. It allows them to look at things more closely, with intent. And honestly, it slowed them down. And as horror game makers, if I can make you slow down, I got you! I can scare you when you slow down.
What features of the camera or photography did you consider essential and which did you leave in the editing room?
Ismael Vicens:When we started arguing Petalssomething we thought was useful to implement was the idea of keeping the look of the photographer behind the camera. When other games go into photography mode, they let players move the camera and position it pretty much where they want it. We have a few photographers in the office and we understand the feeling of planting your feet and finding the shot, of walking and suddenly spotting something in that moment that you want to capture. So we wanted to make sure that was present in Petalsto really put the player in Maria's shoes, so to speak. With The Museum, given the scope and scale of the levels, and the way they recreated an iconic location from the movie, we gave the player a little bit more freedom.
In both cases, we decided to go with a very stripped-down feature set, because ultimately when you're walking around and shooting, you're thinking more about what you're aiming for, how you want to highlight it, and how you're going to compose the shot. So we mostly just changed the focal length and adjusted the focus. That way, players are thinking about the same things that someone would be thinking about in that moment and approaching their photos in the same way.
It seems like a lot of the photo modes are just a modification of the natural camera view that players use in the game, but with additional tools. What was the technical implementation process like?
Vicente: In addition to the natural in-game camera, there are additional technical hurdles you as a developer have to worry about when implementing a photo mode. You have to make sure the camera doesn't pass over solid objects or expose an area of the game world that may not have been intended to be seen. This increases the testing burden for integrating such a mode, which is why you don't see it with every title.
The process of changing the depth of field is pretty simple. As a developer, you are constantly manipulating it throughout the process of creating a game as you experiment with what will look best during gameplay, so those controls are already there. Capturing or freezing a moment on the screen is also easy – these are things that are already built into a game. So most of the technical process comes down to the additional features you add and how much freedom you give the user.
Are photo modes just a matter of clever UI?
Vicente: I think it can vary a lot, depending on the specifics of the mode and the intention of the mode's placement in a title. In some titles, the photography mode exposes huge amounts of controls to the player: the ability to spawn and manipulate objects or dramatically change the light sources in a scene, etc. This is obviously much more than a clever UI; it allows a user to create content for themselves or others that can tell a story.
For us, you could definitely say maybe it's just a clever UI, but just layering the UI creates a different feeling for the player. It allows us to do some things that support the story we want to tell or the emotions we want to evoke. As a rough example, the moment the shutter closes, we have the ability to suddenly change what you see through the camera, letting us surprise the player in that moment. And because we've created specific photos as lenses, we have the benefit of knowing what the player is looking at, making it even more effective. These are tools that we don't have in the seamless gameplay: they rely on having that UI, that tool, and those lenses for the player.
Can photography in video games teach us about photography in real life?
Vicente: I think there could definitely be a time and place where game photography could teach someone about real-life photography—there are a lot of “simulator” style games on the market, and that area is ripe for teaching users some of the basics. We’ve primarily focused on photography as a design tool to convey a narrative to the player or to solve puzzles. However, in the Museum Mode that we have, we encourage users to really dive into the details, no matter how small, of the world we’ve created. In that, perhaps, we can remind someone that a photo doesn’t often have to be about the big subject or the perfect moment, but about the small details that make up our world and how they layer on top of each other to create our perceptions and deepen our appreciation of the world around us. Every layer: the beauty, the horror, the textures, and more.
How is our representation of photography limited or enhanced by the medium itself?
Vicente: For us, the representation of the photographer in the moment is exalted in Petalsthe short experience where you play as Maria. Through the combination of art, sound, music and linear narration, you go from a character appreciating and experiencing the beauty of her surroundings through the lens of a camera to being disturbed, frightened and finally terrified as she captures images. So for us it was less about representing a real photography experience and more about putting the player in the mindset of that photographer.
What design features can help us achieve an authentic experience?
Vicente: “Authentic experience” is a tricky thing to define, because we have to define what authenticity means in the specific experience being created. Are we trying to replicate the authentic experience of taking a photo? Or are we trying to let players create and capture a moment that replicates the authentic feeling of playing a game, even if it’s in a still image? If the former, is the game live and in the moment in the same way we take photos in real life, or is it still authentic if we pause the game and let the player manipulate the camera, as so many titles do?
The best we can do as developers is to think about the experience we want our players to have with each feature, what emotion we want to evoke, what reaction we want to receive, and design for that, while knowing that what a player does is ultimately out of our control. In our case, we wanted to achieve a few things with photography in Petals and later in The Museum. We wanted to put you in the shoes and mindset of a special character in our game. Then we wanted to use confinement and the action of lining up and taking pictures to unnerve the player and start telling a story. In The Museum, we wanted the player to appreciate the effort we put into replicating the iconic locations from the films, while also encouraging them to solve puzzles and yes, scare them again!
Should authenticity be the goal?
Keltner: Authenticity is always our goal. In fact, it’s critical to our games for two very important reasons. We’ve been entrusted with a world-renowned intellectual property, and we don’t take that lightly. It’s a huge responsibility, and we want to make sure we treat it with the respect it deserves. A big part of that respect is being authentic to the movie. Making sure it looks, sounds, and feels like that 1974 movie. And I think we’ve achieved that. The second reason is more of a horror design philosophy, and that’s immersion. It’s our job to keep you in the moment. If something pulls you out because it’s wrong or inauthentic, it’s very hard for us to bring you back in. It’s much harder for me to scream “boo” and scare you if you’re not truly present in the game. And authenticity keeps you present and allows you to feel a little lost in the world.