Believe Or

This game is aimed to fulfill players' horror demands and curiosity about an unknown danger in a more realistic way. In Believe Or, we try to mix horror elements and stories into a real-world context. Players will experience those horror stories as they are having their normal life. We try to bring players a horror experience without too much limitation on time or space and try to blur the line between real life and a game

Co-Designers: Mercedes Lamb, Weipeng Ma.

The game is completely live and living on the social media platform, Facebook. As an ARG, everything that the players need to complete the game exists on the Facebook game and in messages that they receive.

Genre(s)

Target Audience

Believe Or game title focuses on targeting a variety of players, but specifically fans of horror games, and true crime. Watching the horrors of a cult unfolding live, players will be tossed into a world of trying to solve what is happening and try to keep themselves safe. The game does not target any specific gender, but does require players to be 16+ to play, as it does use elements of stalking, and manipulation in how the game runs. Players also need to be of a legal age to participate on Facebook, as an active Facebook account is a major connection from the game to the players. Another facet of our target audience are those who want to watch something happen from the outside, trying to figure out a way in.

Concept in Detail

Believe Or is a cult simulation Augmented Reality Game, ARG, held on Facebook.

Normally, a horror game will use pictures, sounds, jump scares, and psychological scares to construct the horror mechanics and stories. However, in Believe Or, we try to mix horror elements and stories into a real-world context.

In this game event, players are tasked with helping an in-game character to find her missing sister, named “Sara” and find out where she is being held. As the game progresses, players will begin to see what is actually going on behind the cult’s idyllic posts.

Players will dive into both the cult’s Facebook page and the missing girl’s social media to find out clues to try and bring her home. Players will solely be interacting with different facets of the Facebook platform to link information and connect with the game before finally submitting what they believe to be the correct location.

Level Design

In the world of the game, a cult has formed in the midwestern United States. This cult follows teaching known as the “4 Planets,” which guide them from how to live their lives to even small decisions such as how to interact with those outsides of the ‘religion.’

A singular, unnamed leader, known as the “Father,” leads the group in their worship, meals, and outings.

The members use the Facebook page as a means of record-keeping. Everything they do, major announcements to the whole group, and more are collected on the Facebook page as records. Everything the cult determines is worth recording is posted on the cult’s page.

Players will receive a message from a distant cousin whose sister, Sara, joins the cult on a friend’s encouragement and hasn’t been heard from since.

Players will have one month to try and find the location of the cult before members arrive to take them back to the compound.

Using information available on the players’ Facebook pages, the cult will attempt to threaten players into giving up their search, first trying to approach them as a helpless group trying to stay together against all odds before moving into more direct threats against family or friends.

We will deliver a thank you message to everyone who has participated and say we will post the names of the people who figured out the mystery the fastest.

Game World Fiction

Our game mechanics mainly focus on two things: deducting and clue searching.

Deduction:
- Social media secrets -
  - From the missing girl's social media posts, players can find out a lot about the cult; for example, some posts could show that the girl took part in some events, which, if you look closely you can find out that the cult held the event.
  - Piecing this timeline would be a crucial part of figuring out where she has been taken based on her travels in the photos.
  - An example: How a secret could be hidden in social media. A secretly recorded ceremony within the cult needs to be given to someone who can help.

Searching:
- Posted Clues
  - Inside the cult’s page, players could see posts made not only by the missing girl in question but also by those from other members. An example of one of the posts is a series of videos. Inside these videos, players could hear other cult members discussing what they’re doing and where they’re headed.
  - Players could also utilize other mapping programs, such as Google Street View or MapQuest, to better understand where the members have gone and where Sara may have been taken from. This would be a huge breakthrough for players as it would narrow the scope of locations significantly and be the first hurdle jump in finding where they have taken her.
  - An example: Here, players would use this post to cross-reference other clues they may have on either Sister Gabrielle or a number of different events held by the cult. We want players to focus on this kind of “piecemeal” solving, that not everything will come to them linearly.

Game Mechanics & Game Art

Player Experience & Game POV

Our player experience will revolve around two things: saving real-life people from a cult and cooperating with others to solve a mystery.
- Horror in real-life-like experience: Try to construct the whole game in a way that blurs the line between real life and the game.
  - Make players believe that these events are something that is really happening in the real world somewhere else.
  - We want to convince players that someone may be hurt by their negligence if they do not go through the investigative process.
  - Players will slowly learn what turns people into these kinds of groups and how easily it is to fall under their spell.

Cooperating with others: Collaboration will allow players to come together, get more eyes on an issue, and allow them to solve many of the mysteries faster than they would have alone.
- Through our deductive mysteries, players can choose to resolve those secrets themselves or find other players to solve the problems with.
- Most of the time, players would find it necessary to work with more than one person to put together different clues to move forwards.
- Mysteries and secrets will use real-world pictures and videos as clues. Those pictures and videos can be taken in any place in the real world.

The game is based on traditional ARG form, and heavily reliant on social media features. It will be available on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and players will need to have accounts on these platforms and digital devices to play. The game will be monetized by charging for access to game pages. The scope of the game is both large in width and small in scale. The width of the game is large as it would require actors to be casted, writers to write solid, accurate, and continuous information, and moderators to stay on track with posts. The scale of the game is small as it will be hosted online on pre-established platforms, and the budget would go towards the development of the story, creation of assets, and hiring moderators and actors. A lot of moving parts need to be kept together and functioning properly to ensure the game happens without major incidents or mistakes.

Platform(s), Technology, and Scope (brief)

Unique Selling Points

Believe Or is a horror game that blurs the lines between real life and the game by making players believe that the events take place in a game world created around Facebook. The game features real actors in "dangerous" situations within the context of a cult, which makes it different from other horror games that feature fictional characters. The game takes place over several days or weeks, and players can visit the cult's public and private Facebook page to find new and updated information. Players can also interact with polls and receive messages from bots or actors who provide them with information. The game also allows players to leave the Facebook platform and discuss their findings with other fans on other platforms like Reddit or Discord. The game is designed to accurately portray cults and provide players with the ability to report real-life cults and seek help if needed.

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