I really liked the discussion Matt and Arthur had about escort mission on a theme reveal stream. So I started to explore ideas of how to make an escort mission into something more original and unique. It clicked quite quickly, and I ended up with a puzzle game where you, as an AI overseing an underground lab, need to TAKE CARE of a little girl and guide her to the exit, having only a limited control over that lab.
https://oneir0mancer.itch.io/cold-light
Also, I tried to incorporate the idea that āTake careā can stand for a farewell to someone, but itās kinda only at the end of the game.
I didnāt really try to meet any challenges except for one of them that I really liked.
Although I think I also naturally met Extra Distance challenge: There is only one character besides you, the player, and you are separated with a screen of your computer, as well as thousands of meters of concrete and steel. In fact, you canāt even communicate directly, and need to come up with some inventive method of communication.
The challenge I purposefully went for was Extra Translation: Since you canāt communicate directly and the only things you can control are the lights of this underground lab, you have to invent a whole new language to communicate by blinking those lights. Well, rather you need to assign a particular sequence of lights to a particular action, but Iād still say itās coming up with a language.
All in all, I really tried to achieve the feeling that even if you really try to take care of someone, you are never really in control of their actions.