The goal of this project was to create a game that moves a group of guests through an interactive physical environment that is designed to convey a narrative. The game had to be engaging and enhance the storytelling experience, while still being repeatable and reliant on practical sets/props. Deliverables included a clearly defined set of game rules and a detailed layout of the environment. This was an individual project created solely by myself.
The game: sinkhole
Sinkhole takes all of the best parts of mini-golf and cornhole and merges them into an all new experience that utilizes game play to move you through an interactive physical environment while conveying a narrative.
GAME RULES
The OBJECT of the game is to score the MOST amount of points by sinking your bag into each hole within two tosses.
DEFINITION OF A TOSS: A toss must start with the player standing directly at the designated point. Every time the bag leaves the players hand, it counts as a toss, regardless where the bag lands. You receive two attempts (TWO TOSSES) at each hole to attempt to sink the bag.
HOW TO SCORE POINTS: At each hole, you will score 2 points if you LAND your bag (it lands on the surface area), but 10 points if you SINK your bag (it falls through the hole). If you land the bag on the surface area on your first toss, you can choose to toss again or keep those points. If you toss again, this will completely negate your points from the first toss, regardless of how you score on the second toss. One person in the group will be in charge of writing down the scores.
Each course will contain 20 holes, and you can have up to six players in the game. Each player will have their designated bean bag that they will use throughout the game, organized by color.
Additional Notes:
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It is acceptable for your bag to hit the surface area, slide on it, etc. As long as it ultimately ends up through the hole, it counts as sunk.
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Not every hole has to have a surface area around it. There are four different types of holes. See document.
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The holes will have to have an area where it dumps the bean bag out so that the player can retrieve it.
The STORY: VEGAS SINKHOLE
One year ago, the alien species Glozorts inhabited the Earth, wiping out most of its human population. When they arrived, their massive flying ship that is hovering above the Earth blocked all sunlight and cast a shadow over the planet, causing 24/7 darkness. The Glozorts cannot be exposed to any light, natural or artificial, with one exception: neon. The small group of remaining humans have been hiding underground in a bunker ever since and in the event that a journey above ground must be made, they rely on the glow of neon to light their way. Today is one of those cases: the group of survivors must journey across town to gather resources for their bunker, before they run dry.
The lobby area itself is the actual bunker. This area should feel lived in; they have been here for a year. It should feel almost homey, in a strange way, because the players are the survivors who live here.
Entering the course is going out into the world. It is all dark, but there have been many supply-runs in the past year, so there is a lot that has already been laid in their path for them. Neon signs, glowing paths to light the way, etc. When the players first enter the course, they will come out to a “Welcome to Las Vegas” neon sign. They are trapped in Vegas, perfect for all the neon that already exists there. There is still no sign of the aliens themselves.
Holes 1-7 are pretty isolated and "quiet." You are seeing the remnants and learning about the world.
Emerging to hole 8, players will see their first glimpse of the alien's ship. At a point on hole 10, in the junkyard, the players trigger a huge spotlight, which draws the attention of the Glozorts. This is when we first start seeing them.
Holes 11-16 will be your alien encounters. The aliens will appear as both projections and physical forms, depending on the location. As players are sinking bags, they are defeating and escaping from the Glozorts. It will bring them closer to where they started and they will start to see familiar areas again. The final hole (hole 20) will be a large hole this player's cannot miss. When the bag is sunk, it will illuminate many, neon signs that will be the entrance back to the safety of the bunker, aka the lobby.
Alternative Storyline for Sinkhole
Last year, on the last day of summer, one lucky child caught glimpse of a shooting star in the night sky. He looked up, closed his eyes, and wished that summer would never end. The next morning, instead of waking up for the first day of school, he woke up to the first day of an endless summer. After days and days of more of summer, he started to realize that endless summer kind of takes the specialness out of summer. He missed going to school with his friends and getting older, but it was too late. He is now on a mission to have the ULTIMATE last day of summer bash, the only way to break this endless loop is to really do it all.
Entrance: front yard of the house
Lobby: inside the house
Holes 1-5: summer fun, beachey vibes, perfect summer scenes
Holes 6-10: backyard patio, barbecue, scents
Holes 11-15: pool fun, water elements, pool noodles & floats
Holes 16-20: backyard, on the grass corn hole, other backyard games
Exit back to lobby: back to school!