2nd game concept (VR title)
Blasphemus
Better with FBT!
A murder mystery game in a world with gore, occult rituals and a demon rewarding those willing to shed the blood of others by any means necessary.
It's supposed to be the perfect paranormal slasher horror experience.
1st map (main story)
An antiques collector gets hit with a diagnosis of cancer and it is not looking good for him. Thankfully, or rather horribly, among his collection was the Book of Blasphemus, a relict of a demon bearing that same name. Upon summoning, He granted the old man power, youth and health for as long as he kept shedding blood, taking the lives of others to fuel his continued existence.
With no other option left he agreed, now the clock is ticking and thus he decides to invite a couple people under the name of a made up descendant of his from close and not too far to visit a private collection of his.
Will you fall prey to a murderer or will find a way to dispel the curse keeping the doors shut?
Can you starve the desperate man of resources so the demon takes him?
Maybe some of the relics in this home will help you, but the demon host has access to equally terrifying abominations.
Demon host:
Abilities: Demonic Presence
An unholy stamina bar that depletes when demonic presence is active. It can only recovered through successful aflliction of violence injury and harm.
While active: User's voice and presence gets distorted by a demonic aura making him impossible to identify.
You gain increased strength, easily being able to overpower a single individual during struggles and capability to choke out people faster and hitting harder with any weapon causing greater injuries.
You also gain incredibly durability against physical attacks, but blessed energies still hurt you. (aka if the group of victims decides that beating each other up might reveal the murderer amongst them, they will realize soon that this is not a good strategy for as long as hurt is being inflicted you will be able to maintain your strongest form indefinitely)
Murderous Instinct:
You gain details and knowledge of items and people's health near you.
Dissipate: You can dissolve your physical form and disappear into vents and small cracks to quickly vanish from a crime scene or escape out of a less advantageous encounter with multiple victims.
Malicious mimic: Take form of another person, seed distrust!
Devious Opposum:
Play dead (you or as someone else's body), fake injuries, cause a scene!
Relics and Weapons:
There are plenty around the mansion, blunt, sharp, poisonous or down right heretical.
Read the books find out about rituals that you previously couldn't understand with your previously mortal senses.
Sacrifice bodies to summon horrors to aid you!
Place traps, rig the environment to cause horrible disfigurement.
Tamper with medicine, lace it with toxins and watch them fall over a couple minutes later convulsing on the floor, helpless..
Time's ticking: You are on a timer! Gain more life-time through death and decay! What will happen to your soul, if you don't hold your end of the bargain...
Physical injury robs time, so don't try to put yourself in harms way, when not in your demonic form!
Victims:
A group of a couple people spawn in a maze-like mansion can randomizes in layout to an extend.
Look around, solve puzzles, read books, find magical keywords, access magical items that help keep you alive. Team up and protect each other, it's much harder to die, when you're not bleeding out on the floor by yourself. If you see an attack coming you might be able to fend the fiend off.
Gain knowledge about your options, acquire weaponry, stay alive, persist through the nightmare!
You have an inventory you can access after digging into your pockets for a second. Have a careful eye on it, everyone is able to pickpocket each other!
Combat: There is a speed limit unique to each weapon, meaning you can't Minecraft PvP your way!
You are capable of stopping an attack by grabbing the striking arm (requires stamina) or using a weapon to block a strike. This is called a struggle. Holding onto people will reduce their mobility and ability to strike effectively. It's a valid strategy to tackle the fiend and bring him to the floor forcing a retreat, before his power drains completely, but it doesn't come free, he's still dangerous. It might be more effective, when you acquire more effective weapons.
Death:
You are not quite dead yet, when you shed your mortal coil!
The Saints have their watchful eye over you and prevent your soul from being consumed by the demon after his harvest. You may return to the mortal realm, if your mortal allies find a way to resurrect you. For the time being you'll be a Soul Whisper a faint little guiding light assisting in tasks, highlighting items or other special occasions.
You can give people strength by infusing yourself to them, giving them marginal stamina increase and vitality. (Slower bleedout, less stamina consumption, increased regeneration)
Relics:
Luckily, a demonic presence implies a blessed one too. There are relics that are blessed and are inaccessible to the fiend. They might help you survive or give you effective means to combat the threat.
Example:
Voice of the departed Souls:
Dagger empowered by the spirits of the dead each Soul Whisper infused to it, makes it more powerful, being able to strike through demonic presence. Always lethal on the fiend, if stabbing in the back without demonic presence, but still deal significant damage. You will face judgement, if used to harm the innocent.
Epivitalis:
A healing plant found in the garden of the mansion, will become visible under specific circumstances. Very potent can heal critical injuries.
Prometheus' Clay: Offer a new body to a soul whisper. They will possess the new body by infusing with it, this action cannot be reverted and you become visible to the fiend through the entire mansion, cannot heal from injuries, can't be poisoned, no struggle stamina.
If slain you become a whisper once more.
And many more occult things ofc!
Health system:
Your limbs can be injured and broken, if you get pushed out of a window expect a broken ankle and diminished mobility.
Getting choked or your throat cut, makes you loose your voice!
Otherwise you have a generic health bar that limits the amount of abuse you can take.
Poisons can inflict you with blurring vision and other symptoms depending on the type, until you ultimately collapse.
You can loose your consciousness, if hit with blunt objects hard enough or from blood loss! Blacking your vision out leaving your fate up to those left with agency.