"Layers"- a color game.

[Noby Raghavan 168]

(This is a game idea I had from a dream, so it might suck. Feedback is welcome, and it really does help, so be harsh on me please! Harsh criticism helps one to grow, right? =) ) 

“Layers”Gameplay: The player has the ability to remove and put back the three primary colors into their surroundings or specific objects. The player can use this ability to solve puzzles and overcome platforming problems.  (For example, if the player has a grape, they can turn it into a cherry by removing the blue from it, or if the player is about to jump onto an slippery blue platform, they could make it not slippery by removing the blue, or slippery again to toss something across it to activate a switch by adding blue once again. Or, if the player needs an object, but that object melts as soon as it is exposed to the sun, the player could remove the yellows and reds from the environment to make it cold winter so the object won’t melt.) The player can always look at their hand to see an arrow pointing them in the direction they need to go. Played in first person POV.

Art Style: Very painterly, in a vibrant watercolor look.

Music: Very minimalistic and simple. Whenever a color is removed from the environment, a layer of sound disappears from the music, and when there is no color the music stops. 

(You play as the “Grandpa” in this game.)

Story: “You know, your grandpa went on a great adventure once before. Did I ever tell you about that story? I didn’t?

 

 Well, as you know, Dad- I mean Grandpa- was a great painter. He won many awards, received a prestigious scholarship to a top art school, and went on to become a fairly famous painter with many of his works in various museums. However, when he became old, he decided to settle down, and begin painting recreationally. His paintings then changed, and he began painting mystical landscapes, complete with brooding nymphs, beautiful elves, and majestic dragons.  Around this time, Grandma went up to heaven. Grandpa then became very sad, and he had to take many medicines to help himself. One day, he decided to paint Grandma, and he poured over a year into that painting. When he finally finished it, he decided it was his most beautiful painting. He loved it, and he placed it atop the fireplace in the family room where everyone could see it.

 

A few months after this, Grandpa was going to bed, when he decided to go into the family room. Even today, no one knows why he did. As was his custom, he went up to the painting, and he silently observed it. Suddenly, he was so moved with compassion and sadness that he kissed the painting, and suddenly, your Grandpa found himself in another world. It was vibrant and colorful, with rivers of color flowing over hills and valleys.  He immediately recognized it as one of his paintings, and he was shocked! Actually, he thought he was in a dream, and he actually pinched himself a few times before he was convinced. Grandpa didn’t know what to do, but when he looked at his hand, there was an arrow drawn on it.  No matter how he span around, the arrow continued to point in the same direction. Your Grandpa looked at it in confusion, but then decided to follow it.

 

As he followed it, he came to find that though he still looked like an old man, he had all the strength he did as a kid. Like you, you’re strong aren’t you? That’s my little girl! Anyways, so Grandpa continued travelling along the path the arrow led him on, until he came in front of a strong brown tree. Grandpa didn’t know how to keep going, but then, he felt something within him, and POOF! Suddenly all the red drained from the world, and then the yellow. The strong brown tree became blue and sad, and wilted away. Your Grandpa, bewildered, continued travelling. After he’d gone a distance, he turned around, feeling sad for the tree, when suddenly the reds and yellows burst back into the world, and the tree was strong and alive again. It was then your Grandpa realized- in this world of his paintings, he had a unique power- he could remove the three primary colors and put them back into the world.

 

Using this power, your Grandpa travelled the worlds of his paintings, over hills and valleys, through dangerous dark nights, over blue seas with mischievous mermaids, within castles with knights and kings and dangerous dragons, Grandpa travelled and travelled until he reached a home. He immediately recognized it, for it was his studio back home! I think you’ve been there once- remember it? There was paint everywhere, paintings hung here and there, and the glass sliding doors let in the sun. You don’t? I guess you were kinda small then. Well, your grandpa knew what it was right away, and he threw open the door and ran inside it. Inside, there was a woman sitting on the stool, and as he walked closer, she turned around, and it was your Grandma! She looked exactly as your grandpa had painted her. Your grandpa, filled with emotion, ran over and hugged her, and kiss- oh don’t make that face. It’s not disgusting, it’s loving! In fact, I think you need a kiss just to remember how great they are.  As your Grandpa and your Grandma talked, finally your Grandma looked your Grandpa straight in the eye. ‘You love me, don’t you?’ she asked. He nodded. She sighed, and then grasped his hand. ‘Then set me free. I don’t want to be here, but your painting is holding me here. You’ve poured so much love and affection into it, that you’ve trapped my spirit within the world of your paintings. It’s beautiful, yes, but at the same time, soon you will leave the world, and I want to be with you, up there, not stuck within a world of your creation, devoid of you. So,’ she said, leaning in close to him. ‘Will you set me free?’ She smiled, and then the world of the painting began dripping away, and no matter how much your Grandpa screamed, he couldn’t escape it. Then, your Grandpa woke up, still in the family room. He looked up at the painting, and he knew what he had to do.

 

The next day, we came home to find the painting destroyed, and your Grandpa dead on the floor, holding the crumpled remains of the canvas in his hands. Don’t cry sweetie! He was happy, because he was smiling. Now Grandpa is up there in heaven, with Grandma, and they can be together forever. One day, we’ll all go there, and it’s a happy wonderful place, so don’t cry sweetie.  Maybe they’re up there, still painting, looking down at us and waiting for us to join them. So don’t cry sweetie, because they’re happy now.  Tomorrow we have to go to his funeral, and I wanted you to know, okay? We’ll see Grandpa’s dead body, but he’s not really there, he’s up in heaven with Grandma. Are you okay? You sure? Well, good night. I promise that everything will be okay.  

Good night sweetie.”  

Edited August 10, 2013 by Noby Raghavan

[Marth 338]

Omg a video game must created of this. What caused you to think of this?

[Noby Raghavan 168]

Omg a video game must created of this. What caused you to think of this?

I was thinking of dancing, and how cool a dance would be where everybody wore grey and slowly tore of their clothing to reveal beautiful colorful clothing with glimerring sashes, and then I thought of the essence of color, and then I wondered...and I dreamed that night and this came out! =D That's how most of my ideas happen.

[Marth 338]

Ah! You're dreams must be pretty colorful.

[Noby Raghavan 168]

Ah! You're dreams must be pretty colorful.

Not really, they're just really interesting. Like I said, I get most of my ideas either by dreaming or daydreaming. =P

[SetoshiArenhariKai 4]

This is a pretty good video game idea. I don't really think that there should be a narration over the whole thing, except at the beginning and end, and perhaps the father shouldn't have been so blunt about the Grandpa's death to his daughter. A puzzle game like this tends to be really popular. It reminds me of Dear Esther with the tone of the plot, and gameplay reminds me sort-of like a more complicated version of Epic Mickey.