Bones

Intro: 

“Bones” is a short computer game with an absurd pixel art style. The purpose of the game is to use simple game mechanics to encourage players to challenge traditional ideology about ghosts. The name of this project, “Bones”, reveals not only the key mechanics of the game, which is finding bones, but also indicates that the game requires focus and courage.

 

 Control:

 ad/←→ keys to move;

Left click mouse to move and interact.

 

Game Story:

      The story of “Bones” is the background story of teenager Ms. Zhang. Ms. Zhang, one of “Shan”, received a mission to clear “Huiqi” in a haunted apartment. In the apartment, besides “Huiqi”, which was formed by the previous owner’s obsession with growing flowers, Ms. Zhang also found a dog abandoned here too. The story is about Goudan and Ms. Zhang’s first met. 

 

Game Mechanics:

-         Simple Puzzle Game: The key mechanics is finding bones and feeding them to Goudan. The player makes the character move and interact with game objects by left-clicking the mouse.

 

-         Two endings: There are two endings in this game, a dead ending and a happy ending. To achieve the happy ending, the player needs to find the first three bones in correct order. And there is a prerequisite needed in order to gather the last two bones. There is an escalating difficulty in mechanics, so the game mechanics is not boring, and not too difficult to adjust to.

 

-         Accumulative Memory Practice: The first three bones are easier to find without any prerequisites. But after feeding the first three bones, the player needs to place the flowerpot in front of Goudan to collect his saliva so the flower will grow. The flower is the prerequisite for player to interact with ghosts. Otherwise, the player will trigger dead ending. There will be a trial-and-error process, but not too hard to find out the correct prerequisite, because there is a dialog box above the ghost and directly hint the flower prerequisite.  The trial-and-error process is helpful in practicing memory and thinking techniques.

 

-         Think Outside of Box: Few mechanics and prerequisites need players to think outside of box. For example, the dialog box above ghost directly hints at the flower prerequisite. But in order to achieve it, the player needs to observe and think about what game objects can make flowers grow. The dog’s saliva is the answer. Also, the wall-painting canvas can be damaged by bones. This mechanics is absurd and requires players to try every other game object until they get it. There is a gradual escalating process in mechanics, a shift from simple to absurd, from direct to indirect.

Behind the Game:

               When designing the game, my intention was to make it suitable for players of all ages. I designed the art style to be simple yet fun. Despite the dark color palette and the presence of ghosts, both the art style and the gameplay feature childish fun. The gameplay is straightforward - players click the mouse to find bones, occasionally making mistakes that can lead to a dead end. However, both adults and children can easily remember which elements to avoid clicking on, memorize the sequence of clicks and successfully trigger a perfect ending. The whole game takes no more than 5 minutes. This game provides simple entertainment for adults seeking to pass the time, and memory training for children. For children, it can also serve as a simple early learning game.

              Moreover, this small game is an abbreviation of the big world view of another project I made called "Half of July". Despite the dark color palette and the presence of ghosts, the game becomes quite heartwarming as the player progresses. Simply making a potted plant bloom brings joy to the ghost. This is consistent with what I found in my research: ghosts don't necessarily have to be frightening or engage in frightening activities. In a culture like China's, where belief in ghosts and spirits is widespread, ghosts could represent our deceased loved ones, unrequited lovers or human attachments. In this dark world, discovering small bright spots and warmth is the essence of the game and the message I want to convey. I hope that even when people are tired or afraid of setbacks in the real world, they can face these fears and find small bright spots hidden in ordinary life.