Enoch's Razor

Artist's Statement

A draft concept for my project, “Enoch’s Razor”. A combination of Occam’s Razor as a narrative device and an exploration of cosmic horror; a sub-genre of horror that has themes of existentialism and fear of the unknown. The closer to the truth, the more unsettling reality becomes. In the context of ludonarratives, this might mean that playing the game could put the player in the mind of the character literally. The player experiences the world with the character’s running thoughts; deliberately using second person pronouns to address them. Further, the player’s inaction can itself be a mechanic of the game. For example, a phone rings in a game. In a linear ludonarrative, the phone will keep ringing until the player picks it up or a cut scene starts. In an immersive ludonarrative, the phone is an affordance and will stop ringing; which in itself is a choice the player makes that affects later choices. As a draft concept, it is intended to explore immersive cosmic horror game design and a step towards fleshing out the vision. The exact ending for the project is undecided, however as this is largely an exploration of mechanics and experimenting with writing style, there was no intention for there to be fleshed out endings. Currently, text is altered depending on the choices made so far meaning that although his fate is the same, things happen differently. Additionally, this has helped me learn how to use twine as a drafting tool and perhaps a medium for future IDN projects.