From the moment the idea was born to the first full-fledged concept, our vision for Mother of All Secrets changed numerous times. The project's setting and visual style went through countless iterations, and only recently have we finally realized what we want the project to become.
Mother of All Secrets WIP
We currently work on finalizing the game's overall visual concept and stylistic elements, formalizing a complete set of gameplay mechanics and the role-playing system. In other words, the framework is ready, and it now needs to be filled with delicious content.
What lies ahead is a long streak of content creation: developing scenes and storylines, writing dialogues, drawing maps, locations, character animations, and so on.
Needless to say, we dive deeper into the non-linear plot every day, making our way towards its multiple endings
Mystical narrative canvas
Unlike our previous project, Mother of All Secrets will have a completely different setting — we decided to move away from fantasy in favor of mysticism. Rife in horrors and intrigue, it shall provide players with the experience of journeying into the unknown.
As one of the young wards of a mysterious orphanage, you will have to abide by the consequences of your actions every step of the way. We aim to encourage players to create their own deeply personal stories by spending days at the asylum alongside their characters.
Mother of All Secrets WIP
While working out the game's concept, we drew inspiration from a multitude of mystical traditions: from the studies of Mircea Eliade and Karl Young to occult treatises and pagan rituals of ancient Greece.
Since the game is set at the start of the XX century, the appearance of its characters, locations, and general atmosphere are all influenced by contemporary art and literature.
Our own scary and weird experiences served as another source of ideas for the project. Everyone goes through mysterious, fantastic, or irrational events at some point in their life. That’s how we started to define the title’s genre as a “mystical role-playing game.”
Characters and “outcomes”
Aside from the protagonist, players will meet other inhabitants of the orphanage (generally referred to as "NPCs"), each with their own agenda, desires, and opinions on recent in-game events. These characters don't just appear whenever the plot demands it, but actually live their very own lives that you can follow, partake, or influence in a variety of ways.
We don't want our secondary characters to be part of the backdrop but see them as equal actors in the game's story.
The narrative will be based around “outcomes," i.e. certain events and consequences that don't rely solely on player choice but take NPC behavior into account as well. Once the requirements for certain outcomes are met, they will take effect, propelling the story forward.
Influence NPCs to achieve favorable outcomes, but keep in mind that others will also be able to interfere with your plans. Unlike many games based around suspense, intrigue lies at the very heart of Mother of All Secrets. Players will have to be mindful of how their actions alter the plans and even the personality traits of certain characters.
Text VS graphics
We decided to build the narrative of Mother of All Secrets differently from how we did in our previous project, The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante. The story will be told not only through text but also the visuals. The game will take place at the same location — the enigmatic orphanage with many rooms and corridors. The main screen will display a sectional view of the House, where character figurines can move around and perform various actions.
The writing will now be paired with visual representation, closer to classic RPGs. Nonetheless, it will still play a vital role, and we go to great lengths to ensure the proper artistic level of quality for both dialogues and descriptions. Alas, players still won't be able to hastily click through the text without missing out on plot detail
Game mechanics in a nutshell
The mechanics of Mother of All Secrets are designed for a continuous gaming experience: from the moment your character arrives at the orphanage until the story ends 14 in-game days later.
Mother of All Secrets game mechanics scheme
Technically you can’t lose — the story will continue no matter what happens. For example, you may decide to lie to another character or secretly break into a restricted area. Whether you succeed or fail, your actions will lead towards an outcome that, in turn, may depend on many other factors.
The game won’t judge you, and the story shall progress either way. Players won’t have to calculate every little detail to achieve the desired ending — simply take dramatic action at the right time and observe how your choices affect the orphanage and its inhabitants. Although Mother of All Secrets will offer plenty of challenges, the game will be of interest to hardcore RPG lovers and laid-back narrative-oriented players as well.
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If Mother of All Secrets has piqued your interest and you want to keep abreast of future news and project updates — be sure to add the game to your wishlist. We plan to post new dev diaries on a monthly basis and will try to answer any questions you might have!
