Taking the Risks Further: Double-Edged Sword of Venatrix

VenatrixEven on paper, it sounded ambitious.  As indie developers, we are always accustomed to be cautious of anything deemed “ambitious”.

We always wanted to give the freedom of experiencing the story from two different main characters’ perspective and given the Venatrix’sThe background is Victorian times, laying down the structure of two main protagonists. One “Matthew, no-nonsense brave investigator who relies on his gun tactics and sharp wit” and another, “Della, seemingly Victorian tea-room lady on the surface but a social-norm challenger inside”, proved to be difficult yet fruitful.

As a result, we had to develop two “playing styles” since we really wanted to remain faithful to the background-lore we have created.

Matthew discovers a gun right after the first chapter. This is to prepare him for the dangers that lie ahead. Matthew grabs his pistol, as if it was exactly the moment that he had been waiting for. He is also already asking for more ammunition.

When played the same level, this time from Della’s perspective, she sees the same pistol, in the exact same spot where Matthew picked it up, she wisely comments “What’s the point of a gun, if you can’t shoot the monsters in your head?” and leaves the gun there.

Matthew was our action-hero while Della was the stealth-vixen. This is a polar opposite of what we had in mind for our narrative structure. Venatrix.

Thus, we realized our challenge would go deeper than the usual matrix of a “game design document”.

Matthew’s gameplay will ring more familiar bells with the horror-gaming crowd. Grab your gun, search for clues, ammo and puzzles, and then survive. However, we wanted to stay true to the spirit of Della’s character, when we wanted to design the gameplay from her point of view. Having released a few “stealth-horror” titles in the past and that genre being our favorite as a gamer, it was a no brainer for us to pinpoint Della’s gameplay features as “first-person psychological game with stealth mechanics.”

The challenge was to balance the game. The players would have the opportunity to pick either character at the beginning each chapter, allowing them to make a bold attempt to alter the direction of their progress. And since players have a choice of going full-action-blast with Matthew, we wanted to design the Della’s “stealth mechanics” in the old-school way, as much possible. This is what we believe is the true risk we were taking since most of the modern stealth games always have a “hold the gamer’s hand“ approach.  

In fact, the majority of people do not know how to use a wheelchair. Venatrix’s Della sphere, pure-old-fashioned stealth is the only game play catharsis you would get. This will allow gamers to focus more on the duality of our story design. The entire narrative can be seen from different perspectives when switching characters.

We are always proud to take the road less travelled, as we consider ourselves true indie developers from a business perspective and a daily practice aspect. However, we may be taking a higher risk threshold than usual. Perhaps, many gamers who would appreciate playing as Matthew would get bored after trying one or two chapters from Della’s point of view, thus leaving and crossing off the game without the full experience. Maybe a game like Venatrix is the perfect example to introduce “pure stealth gameplay” to the “action-horror fans” and it is a bit of a burden on our shoulders as indie-developers-self-publishers to take such risks.

We feel fortunate to be able to offer ID@XBOX, a platform that welcomes a diverse range of independent games.

The only way to know if VenatrixIt is hard to say whether it will be well received by the masses, but there’s no doubt that this horror game is unique. Test your skills on Xbox by trying both of the approaches.

Venatrix Game

Playstige Interactive

☆☆☆☆☆
2

★★★★★

$14.99

Venatrix is an action-packed horror hybrid that blends stealth and violence. You can choose whether to take on the role of Matthew Kolth, a paranormal investigator obsessed with the occult, and enter nightmarish settings to battle ominous monsters. Or, you can play as Della Hartfort as she sneaks around to avoid those same monsters Matthew shoots at.

Take a ride with either Mr. Kolth, or Mrs. Hartfort on a hellish journey that will take them to the depths and then back out of their own mind.

Live through their difference of reality-gaze which merges fiction and ethereal dream sequences and go on to fight against evil in this dimension…and the next.

Matthew Kolth, a paranormal researcher at the turn-of-the century, takes on a case at Hartford Mansion. Della is a wealthy woman who thinks her house has been haunted. She has visions of beasts from other dimensions and demons.

The player has two choices. He can choose either Matthew or Della. Both options offer different gameplay and adventure styles.

Matthew will travel through the halls filled with horror and dreamlike scenes of the Hartford Mansion, before he heads to Carcosa Asylum where Della is located. The game requires you to guide Matthew from the savage depths of his psyche back to stability, while fighting horrifying monsters and solving mind-bending puzzles.

Matthew has to fight against enemies in outer space and other dimensions as well as from within his soul. Only then can he win this blood-curdling and mysterious case. Matthew must overcome his inner demons in a story that twists and turns as you must follow your instincts to find evidence – whether this evidence tells more about the case or about Matthew himself, is to be found out.

Alternately, you can choose to play as Della. She will befriend shadows. Her journey will be the same as Matthew’s, but she only has her stealthy skills at her disposal to avoid or confront those monsters. Inevitably, her version of this dangerous undertaking will also trigger her soul to face her own inner demons as well, but perhaps she has a different spectrum of opinions on the same worldly matters of which Matthew has a “male-gaze” upon, her own interpretation, as an audacious Victorian-lady…