Synaesthesia
TraillerSynaesthesia
SCRIPT PITCH
You play the role of Blanche, a synesthetic painter whose mind associates colours with emotions. Her mother's death in a bombing during the war traumatised her. From then on, she could no longer feel her own emotions and could no longer paint. Lost in her tortured and enigmatic mind, she has to find a way to heal. She reviews the memories of traumatic events in her life, starting with the day her mother died, full of anger. Then she recalls the difficult times spent working in a factory under the orders of a misogynist foreman from the Vichy regime, consumed by depression. Finally, she reconnects with joy during a nostalgic introspection in which she rekindles her passion for painting and recalls the good times she spent with her mother. She has turned the page of her life and finds herself faced with a blank canvas, ready to paint the first work of her new life.
GAME PITCH
Synaesthesia is a first-person puzzle game in which you play as Blanche. The puzzles are slow-paced, giving the player plenty of time to think about the solution. The aim of the game is to heal Blanche's traumas, with each room corresponding to a trauma. The player must therefore cross a room by solving the riddles that stand in his way to cure one of Blanche's traumas, which gives him access to a new colour. He then returns to the hub, a central room whose appearance reflects Blanche's psychological state. The game's main mechanic is the Chroma Gun, a weapon that changes the colour of objects and will be an indispensable tool for solving each of the puzzles. Changing the colour of an object with the Chroma Gun modifies its properties, making it possible to solve puzzles and progress through the game. The objects that can be changed are white and include platforms, painter's canvases, conveyor belts and crates.
MY ROLE
Synaesthesia was my final year project, which I completed with a complete team, including 6 Game Designers, 4 3D Artists and 2 Sound Designers. During this project, my role was that of Lead Level Designer. I laid the foundations for the Level Design intentions in order to have a guideline throughout the project. I also ensured consistency between the different levels. During this project, I produced the top-view plan of the central hub. I also designed rooms 2 and 3 and their puzzles. I also took care of the UI/UX part on a smaller scale, laying out the 3Cs as well as the joystick and keyboard controls, along with the screen diagram and interface sketches.
LEVEL 02: THE FACTORY
During the Second World War, after the bombing that cost her her parents, Blanche works in a metal factory to survive. Under the pressure of hard work and her boss's misogynistic remarks, she decides to leave the factory, marking the beginning of her recovery. The factory is depicted as a chaotic place of machinery, sheet metal and pillars in rusty grey hues. It is divided into several areas, offering a mix of puzzles, platforming and exploration, where Blanche is constantly reminded of her boss. The player uses colours such as red for anger and blue for sadness, reflecting Blanche's emotional state. Game elements include cubes, platforms, colour detectors, memory fragments and conveyor belts.
LEVEL 03: THE STUDIO
The third room evokes Blanche's attempt to rediscover her passion for painting after the war. It is an abandoned studio, overflowing with paintings, some hidden or unfinished. Despite its austere, surreal atmosphere, with colourful geometric shapes rising from the paintings, the dominant emotion is joy, symbolised by the colour yellow. The player moves vertically thanks to the bouncing properties of this colour. The level offers vast spaces for the player's mobility, while retaining a linear aspect with furniture used as platforms. The soul fragments tell Blanche's story of painting, from her mother's apprenticeship to the day she stopped, while the vinyl records evoke post-war France.
UI/UX
For the UX component, I was responsible for developing the controls for the joysticks and keyboard in order to reach as wide an audience as possible. I aimed to create simple, effective controls that were accessible to everyone. I've also made improvements by adjusting the movement speed and introducing air control, which makes the overall experience more pleasant. As far as the UI is concerned, I've designed the controls for the joysticks and keyboard, as well as initiating the use of logos to inform players of the colours used, which are presented in a similar way to a weapon wheel. Finally, I was responsible for creating the screen diagram to complete the package. And finally, I was in charge of the OPC marketing.
