Thesis

Poolrooms: The Deep End is a non-linear horror puzzle game that explores an alternative approach to horror game design. Instead of guiding players through a single path, the game encourages exploration, discovery, and player choice. The goal is to create a more immersive experience where the fear of the unknown and the freedom to explore are central to the gameplay.

What are the Backrooms?

؜

1. Fictional horror universe that originated from an internet post in 2019
2. Endless maze of unsettling spaces outside of reality
3. Entered by accidentally "noclipping" through the world
4. Focuses on isolation, exploration, and fear of the unknown
5. Expanded by an online community into hundreds of unique levels
6. Inspired games, videos, stories, and films
7. The Poolrooms are one of the most popular Backrooms environments, featuring endless pools and dreamlike architecture

Why the Backrooms?

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1. Large and active online community with millions of fans
2. Popular setting for horror games due to its mysterious atmosphere
3. Encourages exploration and environmental storytelling
4. The Poolrooms provide a unique mix of beauty, mystery, and unease
5. Open environments support my goal of non-linear gameplay
6. Allows players to feel lost and discover clues on their own
7. Chosen because it offers a different type of horror that relies on atmosphere rather than constant jump scares
8. Recent media and film adaptations have increased interest in the Backrooms concept

Design goals

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1. Non-Linear Exploration
2. Allow players to choose their own path
3. Encourage discovery instead of following a set route
4. Make exploration a core part of gameplay
5. Atmospheric Horror
6. Create tension through environment, lighting, and sound
7. Focus on unease and isolation rather than constant jump scares
8. Make players feel lost in an unfamiliar world
9. Player-Driven Puzzle Solving
10. Let players uncover clues naturally
11. Reward observation and exploration
12. Provide multiple areas to investigate instead of a single objective path

Precedents

The Stanley Parable:

Technical Precendent

؜Subliminal:

Visual Precedent

Story Board

؜Start in the office and find the elevator after playing a VHS tape

Elevator takes you down to the subway where you find a mysterious orb

You noclip through the ground as you go to examine the orb

Land in the Poolrooms and solve puzzles to try and escape

Sketches

Prototypes

Movement & Camera

Door & Keypad

Lighting & Textures

Technical Diagram

Interactables

Input

Output

Testing & Iterations

Iteration

؜User Report

؜Lever and light exploding

؜"Felt eerie and suprising"

؜Audio, inventory, doors, and movement

؜"A little unintuitive but creepy"

؜Gameplay, features, story, quests

؜"Story & mechanics slightly confusing"

Sketches Option 1

Compile all sketches in one slide (delete this)

Final Photos