Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly as a game.

Corvus has given us another opportunity to delve into some game design without all of the real world limitations that actual design would entail. I’m sticking with science fiction again this time around, though I have a feeling more people have read A Scanner Darkly than Dhalgren (or at least have seen the horrible, in my opinion,  film adaptation). Philip K. Dick has been one of my favorite authors longer than anyone else I’ve read. I’m fascinated by the way his life is intertwined in his fiction, the way reading his biography is almost like reading one of his novels. His ability to create mind-blowing worlds and situations with relatively simple prose inspired me to become a writer. I think a game based on a novel that explores identity has numerous opportunities to play with crossing the fourth wall, but for this post I’ve decided to stick with  more subtle implications.

I’ll also stay much closer to the plot for this idea, so some details of the story will be spoiled, however, the novel is much more than a fancy “mind-fuck,” so I would encourage everyone to read it. The central novum of the novel is known to the reader early on, so the plot summary that follows spoils little. The main character, Bob Arctor, is a narc, but even his employers are unaware of his identity. He wears a “scramble suit,” which hides any distinguishing details. Bob takes a drug called Substance D on a regular basis, and as the story progresses, it causes a schizm between Bob, the civilian, and Fred, the law enforcement agent. Fred is assigned by his superiors to monitor Bob, much to his initial dismay, who they suspect is a big-time drug dealer, but as the split between the main character’s identities widens, Bob becomes suspicious of himself.

The game interface is “scanner” themed, after the video surveillance device Bob/Fred use to watch the inhabitants of the house he dwells in with a few friends. A perspective similar to The Sims is used, except the camera would be fixed in each of the house’s rooms. Outside, a birds-eye view is utilized, like a shot being filmed by a helicopter circling overhead. The view will rotate and shift, but the motion is slow and subtle, so the player isn’t distracted.

The gameplay evolves over the course of the game as Bob’s mental state changes. At the beginning, when Bob realizes he is Fred, the player’s goal is to keep Bob’s friends and officers unaware of his true identity. The player controls Bob, and must consider that anything seen through the scanner may be viewed by his superiors, so the player must position Bob out of the scanner’s view for any actions that may be suspicious. The player must also consider Bob’s friends, so keeping them occupied is important. This segment of the game will pass in realtime, and player’s can make suggestions to distract or get rid of their friends. If some of the characters are working on a car in the driveway, the player can hide a tool, or remove the car’s brake to send it barreling down the driveway when it shifts.

If Bob is caught by either his friends or the scanner, suspicion will cause their relationship “score” to lower. The player has to balance the levels of suspicion between Bob’s friends and the police by considering what the scanner sees and what his friends see. The player can also take action to lower the suspicion bars by talking to the characters (the conversations are one of my favorite parts of the novel), doing drugs with them, or helping with whatever task they’re involved in. The player can lower the police’s suspicion by taking Substance D, which the police consider something a big-time dealer wouldn’t do.

As the game progresses, and Bob takes more Substance D, the gameplay changes. The player starts to lose control of Bob and can interact directly with the world while Fred has control of the character. Fred’s thoughts will be revealed as an interior monologue that plays over the game. Other characters’ speech will be displayed as text during these portions, denoting their assumed inferiority to Fred. The player must keep Fred from finding out information about Bob or his friends by manipulating objects in the house or outside.

The player will regain control of the character whenever Bob is dominant (in control of the character’s mind). Bob is becoming increasingly paranoid, and believes that Barris, one of his roommates, is trying to kill him. The player will help Bob investigate Barris, but is also able to set up situations to thwart Fred during this time.

Developing relationships between Bob and his friends is an important aspect of the game because inevitably Fred will discover that Bob is himself and mental breakdown will follow. The player puts this off as long as possible, but the strength of the relationships the player develops determines whether Bob will be taken care of after his breakdown. Relationships are raised by spending time with friends and lowered by suspicious activity and Fred’s actions, so the player is constantly trying to balance the relationships with progressing the narrative.

The status of the relationships at the time of mental breakdown will result in a variety of endings based on which character the player chose to spend the most time with. If the player fails the game before developing a relationship successfully, they get the bad ending, death by overdose, but the other endings aren’t necessarily “good”.