[U9] - Norman's Novels

Step In Norman's novels, characters relive endless tragic deaths. As they struggle to escape, Norman must keep them bound to their fates, or risk losing his fame and success...

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Inspiration

This XR detective horror game unfolds across three chapters, each inspired by infamous true crime stories or iconic film directors.

  • Chapter One: *Nightingale's Last Dance*: Delves into the eerie, unsolved mystery of the Black Dahlia murder, immersing the player in a world of dark intrigue and horror.
  • Chapter Two: *The Crimson Sunflower's Whisper*: Echoes the Coen brothers' dark humor and violent absurdity, presenting a narrative steeped in tragic yet sharp-edged twists.
  • Chapter Three: *The Vanishing Echoes of the Lonesome Library*: Draws from the surreal and unsettling visions of David Lynch, filled with disturbing atmospheres and dreamlike realities.

Additionally, the game incorporates mechanics inspired by the childhood game Red Light, Green Light. In our version, the lights control the flow of time—when the light is on, time stops, and when it goes off, time resumes. This introduces tension and strategy as the player (Norman) must make crucial decisions while the lights are on.

Narrative

Norman is a young, ambitious novelist whose rising fame feeds an insatiable hunger for success. But behind his extraordinary talent lurks a dark secret: his novels don't just tell stories; they blur the line between fiction and reality. Readers become unwitting witnesses to the murders within his books, trapping the characters in an endless cycle of death. The more readers Norman attracts, the more these characters are forced to relive their gruesome fates, desperately seeking a way out.

This twisted phenomenon is the source of Norman's success, but it comes at a steep cost. To maintain his fame, he must keep the characters bound to their stories. If the characters manage to take their murder weapons and break free, Norman risks losing everything—his career, reputation, and the unique allure of his novels. Worse, the novels themselves will become a prison, trapping Norman in a nightmarish world of his own creation.

The player's challenge is to navigate these dark worlds, solve word puzzles, and find the right weapon that killed each character to rewrite the novel's ending. By doing so, they can trap the characters back in the story, ensuring Norman’s fame remains intact—while keeping him from being consumed by his own creation.

What It Does

Norman's Novels is an XR detective horror game that uses doors to connect the real world and the fictional worlds within Norman’s novels. Players, as Norman, must investigate and solve mysteries in each chapter, ensuring that the characters remain trapped in their cycle of death while managing unfolding events. The game immerses players in disturbing and atmospheric worlds, drawing inspiration from real-life mysteries and cinematic styles.

The gameplay takes inspiration from Red Light, Green Light:

  • When the lights are on, time stops, allowing the player to investigate and manipulate the environment.
  • When the lights are off, time resumes, and the environment returns to its chaotic, unpredictable state. The player must find the right clues and objects (such as murder weapons) during the pauses in time to progress in the story.

This stop-and-go mechanic adds tension to the gameplay, as players need to act quickly and strategically when the lights are on to ensure that the narrative remains intact and Norman's creations stay trapped within their doomed fate.

In Chapter One, Nightingale's Last Dance, for example, players manipulate the environment to uncover the correct murder weapon while the lights are on, ensuring the story remains intact. The game combines interactive puzzles with horror elements, utilizing physical movement and passthrough environments to create an immersive experience. Doors act as portals, transporting players between the real world and Norman's novel, blending reality and fiction seamlessly. els is an XR detective horror game that uses doors to connect the real world and the fictional worlds within Norman’s novels. Players, as Norman, must investigate and solve mysteries in each chapter, ensuring that the characters remain trapped in their cycle of death while managing unfolding events. The game immerses players in disturbing and atmospheric worlds, drawing inspiration from real-life mysteries and cinematic styles.

How We Built It

  1. Ideation: Created a narrative character map using mind maps.
  2. Prototype: Used ShapesXR to build a prototype, ensuring cohesive storytelling and smooth UI/UX flow.
  3. Design: Used Rhino3D to model unique and cohesive clue items. Refined UI in Figma to guide users, and adjusted narrative visuals based on demo feedback.
  4. Development:
    • Built Norman's Novels in Unity3D, utilizing Meta Interaction SDK for Quest 3.
    • Integrated passthrough from Meta Building Blocks for seamless transitions between the player’s room and Norman’s fictional world.
    • Implemented ray interaction for user interaction with in-game objects and clues.
    • Added Audio SDK for immersive soundscapes and enhanced game atmosphere.
    • Leveraged AI capabilities for voice generation and dynamic sound environments, enabling deeper interaction with the game world.
  5. Test: Ran playtests to identify bugs, refine gameplay, and optimize the user experience based on feedback.
  6. Collaboration: Unified visuals, scenes, and models using Unity Bridge for consistent integration and debugging.

Challenges We Ran Into

  • Real-Time Testing on Quest 3: Ensuring seamless transitions between the real and fictional worlds required extensive testing to optimize performance and maintain immersion.
  • Stylizing Passthrough: Creating a visually distinct passthrough environment that complemented the horror atmosphere without compromising functionality posed a unique challenge.
  • Portal Mechanics: Designing the doors to act as physical portals demanded precise calibration to align the player's real-world movements with their virtual environment.

Accomplishments That We're Proud Of

  • Seamless Integration: Successfully blending the real world with fictional environments using intuitive portal-based mechanics.
  • Atmospheric World-Building: Each chapter’s atmosphere accurately reflects the dark, eerie tone of its real-life and cinematic inspirations.
  • Engaging Narrative: The unique concept of characters trying to escape their predetermined fates while Norman struggles to maintain control adds depth and emotional complexity to the gameplay.

What We Learned

  • Advanced XR Techniques: We learned how to integrate real-world interactions with virtual environments effectively, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with passthrough technology.
  • Performance Optimization: Through extensive testing, we gained insights into balancing performance with high-quality visuals in real-time XR environments.
  • Narrative-Driven Design: Crafting a story-centric game taught us how to effectively intertwine narrative with gameplay, creating an immersive experience for players.

What's Next for SigNull: Norman's Novels

  • Expanding Chapters: We plan to add more chapters inspired by true crime and cinema, expanding the immersive narrative experience.
  • Multiplayer Mode: Introducing a multiplayer mode where one player controls Norman while another plays as a character trying to break free from the novel.
  • Future XR Platforms: We plan to develop future XR platforms that leverage virtual reality technology, incorporating full-body tracking, immersive visuals, and rich audio effects. These platforms will enable AI-driven interactions within the virtual world, providing dynamic dialogues with characters and enhancing the depth and engagement of storytelling experiences.

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