- Joined
- Feb 14, 2014
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 26
- First Language
- English
- Primarily Uses
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."
-William Shakespeare
Genre: Horror/Adventure
Age Rating: 16+ (Disturbing themes, violence, gore.)
Demo: None atm
Devblog: http://dolls-of-rozenheim.tumblr.com
You play as Kyrielle Lockewood, a polite yet awkward girl who finds herself at the doorstep of the Rozenheim Manor after fleeing from a sadistic father and an arranged marriage. Though she had heard many stories about the alleged ghosts of the manor, she found herself drawn into it. It was only when she tried to leave that she realized she couldn’t — All paths led back to the manor. Had she been spirited away by the ghosts, just like the stories said? Trapped, she must now find a way to uncover the truth of the Rozenheim Curse, less she too end up a vengeful spirit, trapped in the Manor.
F e a t u r e sT h i n g s:
Courage: Kyrielle earns courage by exploring, finding things, and accomplishing achievements given to her by Persephone. Certain areas in Rozenheim cannot be explored or entered without enough courage. Certain events can lower kyrielle's current amount of courage, and if it reaches zero, she will enter panic attack mode, in which any violent ghost can kill her with one touch.
Spirit: Acts as Kyrielle's "Life Meter". Getting grabbed by ghosts, injured, drinking things left under the sink...all of these can deplete Kyrielle's Spirit Meter. When it reaches zero, it's gameover.
Save points: Save your game with them, derpderp. However, there are different kinds of save points in Rozenheim, identifiable by their color. You have your basic save point (Save your game to a file), and then you have your healing save point (Restores Spirit upon save) and then you have your super healing save point (restores spirit and courage) and theeeen, you have your super awesome amazing savepoint, which heals everything, and lets you teleport back to the doll room. In order to get these special save points, you have to collect certain items to feed to the fire and upgrade them.
Persephone's Requests: Persephone dwells in the Doll Room, and is responsible for the save points you find around the house. She'll often ask favors of you -- do this, or bring me that. She seems to love strange and unusual things, or delicious things. Doing her requests will put you in her good graces, and she will give you a present.
Heart Shards: These strange things are left behind by ghosts, and upon use, their memories are revealed to Kyrielle. Most you can collect by default through the story, but some you can only find through secret or optional means, which means extra story for those who care to find them. The stories played through these may be images, text, and possibly movie files, for the more interesting ones. The amount of heart shards you collect also decide the ending you get. Get them all for the perfect ending <3
Courage: Kyrielle earns courage by exploring, finding things, and accomplishing achievements given to her by Persephone. Certain areas in Rozenheim cannot be explored or entered without enough courage. Certain events can lower kyrielle's current amount of courage, and if it reaches zero, she will enter panic attack mode, in which any violent ghost can kill her with one touch.
Spirit: Acts as Kyrielle's "Life Meter". Getting grabbed by ghosts, injured, drinking things left under the sink...all of these can deplete Kyrielle's Spirit Meter. When it reaches zero, it's gameover.
Save points: Save your game with them, derpderp. However, there are different kinds of save points in Rozenheim, identifiable by their color. You have your basic save point (Save your game to a file), and then you have your healing save point (Restores Spirit upon save) and then you have your super healing save point (restores spirit and courage) and theeeen, you have your super awesome amazing savepoint, which heals everything, and lets you teleport back to the doll room. In order to get these special save points, you have to collect certain items to feed to the fire and upgrade them.
Persephone's Requests: Persephone dwells in the Doll Room, and is responsible for the save points you find around the house. She'll often ask favors of you -- do this, or bring me that. She seems to love strange and unusual things, or delicious things. Doing her requests will put you in her good graces, and she will give you a present.
Heart Shards: These strange things are left behind by ghosts, and upon use, their memories are revealed to Kyrielle. Most you can collect by default through the story, but some you can only find through secret or optional means, which means extra story for those who care to find them. The stories played through these may be images, text, and possibly movie files, for the more interesting ones. The amount of heart shards you collect also decide the ending you get. Get them all for the perfect ending <3
Grimoire: Kyrielle's precious journal. She keeps track of all the information she's discovered about the ghosts in here. Completing information on a ghost may net you a heart shard, too.
B a t t l e:
Kyrielle is not the fighting type. (Not that punching a ghost would actually do anything, mind you.) Though she is interested in the morose and macabre, she knows well enough what they could do should they get their grabby hands on her delicate little throat. There are a few ways in which Kyrielle can avoid ghosts:
Hiding: Through out the manor are various dark or enclosed spaces in which Kyrielle can crawl into and hide until a violent ghost has passed. Are these places actually safe, though?
Distracting: Knocking over certain things, or triggering certain sounds may distract ghosts long enough for Kyrielle to make an escape.
Break Things! Certain ghosts have items they are very attached to or bound to. Finding said item and breaking it is a surefire way to get them off your tail and weaken them substantially.
Weaknesses: The more information you can find about a ghost, the more power you have over it. One ghost may detest the sound of a bell, so if Kyrielle possesses one, simply ringing it will drive the ghost away. However, not all ghosts have weaknesses to take advantage of.
T y p e s of G h o s t s:
Neutral - Theses ghosts generally harbor no ill-intentions, and will often offer some small shred of help to Kyrielle, or hints about where things may be hidden.
Angry - Theses ghosts are aggressive, and want to share their anger or pain through destructive means. They will attack Kyrielle if they see her. Kyrielle can generally survive about 4 attacks from these ghosts.
Vengeful- Theses ghosts are stronger than the Angry Ghosts, and generally require a more specific means to get rid of. Kyrielle can survive about 3 attacks from these ghosts.
Wrathful- Theses ghosts will kill you if they can touch you, even once. They are considered like “bosses”, and can only be defeated in specific ways.
C r e a t i n g:
Through out the manor are several small 'workstations' in which Kyrielle can take objects she found to create something new, either to help her get into places she otherwise couldn’t, items to use against certain ghosts, etc. These workstations are really just individual places that already house supplies Kyrielle otherwise couldn't take with her, such as the kitchen stove, a water well, and so on. Persephone may also ask for certain items which can only be created in these ways. However, getting back and forth to these places can be a little dangerous, given the right time.
E x p l o r i n g:
There are many areas to the Rozenheim Manor, both indoor and outdoor. Some areas may seem like you cannot get into them, but there will usually be ways in which you can find your way in. Exploring and investigating uncovers hints and truths about what really went on in the Rozenheim Manor. Make sure to examine nooks and crannies, because you never know what you might find~
B a t t l e:
Kyrielle is not the fighting type. (Not that punching a ghost would actually do anything, mind you.) Though she is interested in the morose and macabre, she knows well enough what they could do should they get their grabby hands on her delicate little throat. There are a few ways in which Kyrielle can avoid ghosts:
Hiding: Through out the manor are various dark or enclosed spaces in which Kyrielle can crawl into and hide until a violent ghost has passed. Are these places actually safe, though?
Distracting: Knocking over certain things, or triggering certain sounds may distract ghosts long enough for Kyrielle to make an escape.
Break Things! Certain ghosts have items they are very attached to or bound to. Finding said item and breaking it is a surefire way to get them off your tail and weaken them substantially.
Weaknesses: The more information you can find about a ghost, the more power you have over it. One ghost may detest the sound of a bell, so if Kyrielle possesses one, simply ringing it will drive the ghost away. However, not all ghosts have weaknesses to take advantage of.
T y p e s of G h o s t s:
Neutral - Theses ghosts generally harbor no ill-intentions, and will often offer some small shred of help to Kyrielle, or hints about where things may be hidden.
Angry - Theses ghosts are aggressive, and want to share their anger or pain through destructive means. They will attack Kyrielle if they see her. Kyrielle can generally survive about 4 attacks from these ghosts.
Vengeful- Theses ghosts are stronger than the Angry Ghosts, and generally require a more specific means to get rid of. Kyrielle can survive about 3 attacks from these ghosts.
Wrathful- Theses ghosts will kill you if they can touch you, even once. They are considered like “bosses”, and can only be defeated in specific ways.
C r e a t i n g:
Through out the manor are several small 'workstations' in which Kyrielle can take objects she found to create something new, either to help her get into places she otherwise couldn’t, items to use against certain ghosts, etc. These workstations are really just individual places that already house supplies Kyrielle otherwise couldn't take with her, such as the kitchen stove, a water well, and so on. Persephone may also ask for certain items which can only be created in these ways. However, getting back and forth to these places can be a little dangerous, given the right time.
E x p l o r i n g:
There are many areas to the Rozenheim Manor, both indoor and outdoor. Some areas may seem like you cannot get into them, but there will usually be ways in which you can find your way in. Exploring and investigating uncovers hints and truths about what really went on in the Rozenheim Manor. Make sure to examine nooks and crannies, because you never know what you might find~
C h a r a c t e r s
"Every story is beautiful, even the ones with unhappy endings."
Kyrielle Lockewood is a kind, albeit somewhat awkward and morose young woman. She is of proper upbringing, but her hobby of hunting ghosts and fairy tales has her often stray away from ladylike behavior. Everything she learns or finds, she writes down in a leather-bound journal she is rarely seen without.
"I want…everything…to suffer."
Rozenia was the last sacrifice in the Doll Ritual. All she has left in her is vengeful anger, and is often seen wandering around the manor, laughing sadistically and delighting in the death and destruction she caused. Though human in life, she currently is seen with a ball-jointed body of a doll, with black, thorny vines protruding from her blackened eye sockets.
"Poor creature. Is it painful? Is it unbearable? Are you suffering?"
Not much is known about the young woman who calls herself ‘Persephone’. She acts as a guide to Kyrielle, giving her access to The Doll Room and speaking riddle-filled hints. There are certain things in the manor she may request, and will give Kyrielle courage-boosting items or other gifts in return for them. However benign her outward attentions may be, Persephone seems to enjoy watching Kyrielle go through her struggles in Rozenheim, and the other ghosts do not even notice her. Just who is she, really?
O t h e r G h o s t s:
There are quite a number of ghosts to encounter in Rozenheim Manor, but the three characters above are the ones you will see the most of.
A r e a s & L o r e
Rozenheim: F1
Most of the exploration done will be inside the Rozenheim Manor, but there are a few parts of the game that take place outdoors. There is only one safe haven inside the Manor, called "The Doll Room", where previous sacrifices of the Doll Ritual were kept before they were killed.
History of the Manor:
The Rozenheim family dates back roughly 200 years, before the mysterious disappearance of all the family and those employed by the household. All that remains of the building are charred ruins, moss-eaten stones, and eerie rumors. One mustn't ever venture there, they say, for you may be spirited away. Not much is truly known about the mysterious, yet esteemed family who lived there for generations, or why many who went there never returned.
The Doll Ritual:
It is written that the Doll Ritual was put in place to alleviate the angered spirit of Lucietta Rozenheim, who was tragically killed and become a disgruntled, violent spirit. At first, only dolls were offered into the Ritual, and though they tried to seal her angry spirit into the most beautiful of dolls, she remained spiteful and violent. It was then that the Rozenheims took on a pair of brothers who were famed for their beautiful artistry in creating realistic, beautiful dolls, even life-size ones. These dolls proved to be better vessels for Lucietta, but they still could not contain her for long. Eventually, the brothers had an idea -- why not use the remains of an actual human to create a beautiful doll? And so, they did. The experiment worked wonderfully. It was then that the dark tradition began. The heads of the house would offer their own children, if they had one to spare, to be raised as a beautiful doll for the ritual. Had they no spare children to offer, they would adopt or kidnap one from the town.
Their doll had to be raised with care, and had to be kept beautiful, so that when they would inevitably be made into a true doll, they would be the most beautiful for Lucietta's soul.
At least, that's what was written.
S c r e e n s h o t s :
A b o u t:
I started this project as more of a means as a portolio piece. I don't script or code -- I focus on design, art, writing, experience, and creation. It's quite a challenge for me to make work-arounds or adapt things to do or be something not-intended, but I get by! I wanted this game to be something memorable and visually/psychologically interesting. Every ghost, no matter how insignificant, has a purpose and a part of the story, and leaves behind a trace of their existence. Yes, even the ghost of the clucking chicken about to have its head cut off so it can be dinner. This is my first game I'm actually going through with. I had a couple RPG-esque ideas in the past, but they sort of just fell-through. Bored, I guess? I mean, I love RPG, but I felt like a lot of the stories I wanted to convey were better off as literally a story, or comic, perhaps. However, with Rozenheim, I felt delighted to start working on it. I love horror, and am extremely inspired by Fatal Frame/Project Zero, history and myth of human sacrifice rituals, and just ghost stories and tragic happenings in general. I wanted something straightforward, yet full of unusual twists and turns.
I intend this game to be free to play, however, if it is successful enough, I want to make a 'grimoire' to go along with it, sort of like a mix of a player's guide and story/lore/art book. I have considered doing a kickstarter to help fund it (because hnnngh I want to commission scripts something fierce, and I also, you know, want to eat, and live D: ) Regardless if I do the kickstarter or not, though, it will definitely be free to play in the end <3 I welcome any comments, critique, questions, plushies, gargantuan quantities of chocolate pudding, and anything else you have to send my way. Even the hate, I will give you so much karate, but I am prepared for the haters, as long as they are prepared for the karate. <3
Last edited by a moderator:
haha other then that, I bow to you. Wonderful work. I may promote your work in the future.
