Haunting / Guardianship

The idea for this game is in many ways similar to what inspired the ideas for Never Forget, particularly finding a way to make a compelling emotional game without drawing the player into the emotional situation (from which a lot of problems develop in terms of how to deal with all the myriad possible responses and indeed how to understand the players emotional state. However that kind of maping might be a powerful tool in another context). The idea with haunting would be to create a ghost character who is somehow tied to a person in the world (who has no idea of the ghost’s existence). The ghost character has some minor means of interacting: moving objects around, locking doors, maybe reading and changing peoples minds. The ghost character also is made aware of dangerous situations to the player prior to them happening. However the ghost doesn’t have a particular investment in either the happiness or sadness of the main character, as a simulator the poles would be something like benevolent/sadistic. The ghost character may or may not have their own issues to deal with in the ghost realm. Some of the motivating tensions for the game would be

- A question of what the meaning of fate would be if it existed (does it merely become the free choice of another agent, in this case the ghost)

-The tension between the characters’s and the ghost’s interests

-A question of why this particular ghost has been singled out, and why to this particular person

There would be a voyeristic pleasure in the game, and a certain kind of omnipotence which would be a satisfaction to a childish fantasy.