Design Document for:

Fun House
(Working title)
The pinnacle of horror
Theres nothing to fear but the Fun House itself.

Written by Christopher McCollum

Version # 1.10
Sunday, May 12, 2016

Table of Contents
FUN HOUSE
DESIGN HISTORY

VERSION 1.00
VERSION 1.1

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THE GAME

GAME OVERVIEW

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
COMMON QUESTIONS
What is the game?
Why create this game?
Where does the game take place?
What do I control?
What is the main focus?
Whats different?

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FEATURE SET

GENERAL FEATURES
GAME PLAY

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THE GAME WORLD

OVERVIEW
FUN HOUSE
WEATHER

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WORLD FEATURES
Overview: Fun house at Fair Grounds
Key Locations: Fair Grounds
Scale
Objects
Hero Assets
CAMERA
Overview:
Camera: FPV
Camera: Combat

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CHARACTERS

OVERVIEW
AVATAR: SARHA
AI: CLOWN

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USER INTERFACE

OVERVIEW
HEADS-UP DISPLAY (HUD)

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MUSICAL SCORES AND SOUND EFFECTS

OVERVIEW
MUSICAL SCORE

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3D SOUND
SOUND DESIGN

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SINGLE PLAYER GAME

OVERVIEW
OBJECTIVES
EXPLORATION
STORY

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"STORY APPENDIX"

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Design History
Please see below.

Version 1.00
Version 1.00 is the initial game design document.

Version 1.01
1.

Grammar fixes and rewrites.

Game Overview
Design Philosophy
The game is designed to put the player in the shoes of a child where all the horrors, imagined and
real, chase her through a fun house. Our goal is to avoid cheap jump scares and instead create the anxiety
and sense of impending doom that so few horror games achieve. By letting the child's imagination run wild
we can design more frightening or violent environments to explore.
As a psychological horror game, it is geared towards an adult customer base. The gameplay is
centered around some of the worst aspects of human nature and how they are perceived by the child
protagonist. To achieve our goal the child's perception will often be unreliable, colored by their fears,
leaving the player to try and figure out what is real and what is fake.

Common Questions
What is the game?
The game is a survival horror game that explores some of the psychology of horror and the
imagination, especially as it pertains to a child. You will explore a carnival Fun House that is used by a
serial killer to hunt victims. Obstacles will be overcome as you look for an exit in an attempt to reach your
brother, who is the one who locked you in the Fun House in the first place.
Why create this game?
While exploring other horror games we found very few games that explore how our perception is
colored by fear and imagination. The most frightening things are those that aren't seen, or can't be trusted,
and we want to be one of the few games to explore this.
Where does the game take place?

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It takes place in a small farming community at an abandoned carnival. It is surrounded by fields of

corn and few people live nearby. The carnival was abandoned years ago and is in a state of disrepair. It is
located in Cook County Illinois, which is infamous for being where serial killer John Wayne Gacy lived.
What do I control?
You play as a ten year old child armed with only your wit and a flashlight to navigate a maze and
escape.
What is the main focus?
The game focuses on escaping from a serial killer, a clown who begins to follow you the moment
you are left alone in the Fun House.
Whats different?
Similar games like Outlast or Slender Man take place with adults whose fears and imaginations
are relatively tame. We focus instead on a ten year old and how their perception of fear can twist and warp
the normal into the abnormal, and how their imagination can get the better of them. Our game will also mix
into the horror Carnival games and other Fun House elements that might even be considered fun under less
dire circumstances.

Feature Set
General Features
Exploring dark confined spaces
Escaping traps and pitfalls

Game play
Swapping items/Pick ups
Carnival Puzzle games
Gravity alterations
Physical Materials
Trap doors

The Game World

Overview
The game takes place inside a Fun House at a carnival that has been abandoned for a decade. The
other rides are falling apart and the carnival is surrounded by fields of corn. Strangely the only building
mostly intact is the Fun House, and your brother visits it with you and forces you inside, trapping you. The
colorful rooms and games of the Fun House have mostly survived, and there are signs someone or
something has been living inside of it.

Fun House

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It will be full of carnival games and the staples of a fun house, like a spinning hallway and room
of mirrors. The colorful decorations will have aged and there will be signs that someone has been living
inside of it.

Weather
The game takes place at night and a storm sets in shortly after the player is trapped inside.
Thunder and lightning will occasionally shed light through windows while rain pours down.

World Features
Overview
The world of the game consists of a carnival Fun House with nine rooms.
Key Locations
1.
2.
3.

Room of Mirrors
Ball Pit
Rubber bouncy room
Travel
The character will travel by walking, running, crouching, and jumping. They will be forced to
move forward by the killer clown that is chasing them. To travel to new rooms, they must succeed at
carnival games.
Scale
Real world.
Objects:
1. Cell Phone- Flashlight:
Hero Assets
1. Fortune Teller Booth
2. Clown Face Doorway

Camera
Overview
First Person Camera View with only arms and items in view.
Camera:
A cinematic will play upon capture and death.

Characters
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Overview
The only characters modeled in the game will be the protagonist and the killer clown. The brother
will push the player into the Fun House at the start as a plot device but is not seen.

Avatar
The player will be able to pick up items that will help them interact with the environment or
unlock new rooms. The player can dash, pick up items, and crouch. Their movements will be controlled by
an endurance system accompanied by panting sound effects.

Clown
The clown will be a serial killer, inspired by John Wayne Gacy. His presence will always spur the
main character to advance forward and escape.

User Interface
Overview
The User Interface will be designed for the PC but flexible enough to adapt to other consoles. It
will help the player track their stamina and the status of their flashlight, as well as any items they acquire.

Heads-Up Display (HUD)

Heath will be indicated by the screen tinting red when damage is taken. Endurance will be
conveyed by the sounds of the characters breathing becoming labored after running, with the player
slowing down more and more the further they try to run.

Musical Scores and Sound Effects

Overview
(To be decided)

Musical Score

3D Sound
Sound Design

Single-Player Game
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Overview
Fun House is solely a single player experience.

Objectives
The player is not given an objective at first. Once they discover the existence of the killer clown,
their objective is to move forward and escape the clown and the Fun House.

Exploration
The environment is very linear and straightforward for the most part so there is little to no
exploration the player needs to do. They must find their ways through each room and trap to get to the exit.

Story Appendix
The player takes the role of a little girl who visits an abandoned carnival with her brother. They
walk through the corn fields from their home to reach the amusement park, far from any other living
person. Together they walk up to the entrance of the fun house and the brother pushes her in, locking the
door behind her.
The girl must overcome her fears in order to begin looking for an exit from the fun house. She
quickly discovers she is not alone, and a killer clown begins to chase her from room to room. Each room
has its own challenges to overcome including traps, carnival games and props.

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