Game Core Summary

Navigate a world where you're not physically present but can influence things emotionally and spiritually.

You are a guardian spirit owith knowledge of a terrible event in the future, guiding people to fall in love, live through accidents, persevere hardships, etc. Each event's outcome adds up to a final reckoning where your efforts will be tested. 

You work under the guidance of the Loomweft, a race of meta guardian spirits that weave and stabilize the fabric of time space. 

You play as Lightfoot, a spirit guide tasked with altering a large shift in the Loomwefts’ plans caused by spiritual beings called the All Consuming. They are making a move to pull in the carefully tended ‘garden’ created by the Loomweft. These gardens mass into sacred formations that support and strengthen the structure of time and space themselves. A major part of this garden formation includes our planet Earth. This game takes place on Earth across multiple eras in its lifespan. The All Consuming have dispatched beings to breed chaos so the garden of earth does not spread and strengthen to form another sacred geometric ‘cage’ of balance that will halt the All Consumings growth across the universe.

The outcome depends on the choices you made. There should be a randomized element to this, where you can't 100% guarantee the change occurs or even if it does that it helps your cause. These moments you are changing are the levels in the game. They will be sandbox 3D sections within a timeline of events that you enter. These are specific universal moments that a catalyst event happens and needs to be repaired for the Loomweft to complete their work. These will be accessible to the player and new ones will be unstable to repair and inaccessible until the stabilization of other specific events take place. They have been identified by the Loomweft as problematic to the overall time fabric structure and clearly have the presence of beings from the All Consuming.

Repaired areas will be sealed by the Loomweft to secure the foundation for the grand repair but even they cannot guarantee the All Consuming will not re-enter them until the final seal is in place.

You can return to a failed event a few times to try to resolve it correctly before it becomes a soup of failed attempts and cannot be fixed. This will spawn a sub event that may create a new fix but if that is failed the game ends and the sacred garden must be abandoned to the All Consuming.

Technical Notes

Camera View during gameplay

Players can toggle between 1st and 3rd person views as desired.

Engine

Unreal 5

Main Character

Lightfoot

Lightfoot has no gender. It is beyond physical form and does not reproduce and as such exists as an a-sexual being. Lightfoot's age is beyond the age of earth, and it is hinted that this is not the first garden he has worked on with his fellow guides. Lightfoot runs on light - and is named appropriately. Light based mechanics and electricity flows are his specialty, including the electricity in living beings brains and body. He can therefore affect the living physical systems and emotions by working with that light and electricity. He is vulnerable to the All Consuming absorption of light. He’ll struggle to create and alter light when it is all being absorbed. He is weak in things like vibration. Although he is very old, he continues to grow and will learn new abilities and strengthen existing ones. Lightfoot was once alive and endured much trauma. In that life Lightfoot was born a male and was rescued from a failed garden by a nearby advanced civilization. He lived out his days on the home planet of his saviors; a peaceful spiritual planet. He dedicated his life to the Loomweft wove his salvation. In death he joined them in their work of repairing and strengthening the fabric of existence-hoping no one would go through what was personally endured in ‘his’ living experience. 

Meters and Systems: 

Skill Tree

This looks like little balls of light with smaller orbiting light spheres. Adding more light orbiting a sphere strengthens it. 

Skill Spheres

These are usage meters and buckets that have an allowance of energy to a skill. Overuse of a skill will deplete it and it must be recharged through different fonts, elements, or items.

Abilities: See Spirit Guiding Gameplay.

Movement: Lightfoot is still affected by gravity but is not as drastically affected by it, lightfoot often floats and touches on the ground when approaching a being. Lightfoot has to consciously concentrate light to become heavier. 

Enemies

The Luring

These beings try to turn people from their path and undo your work and the work of other guides. Cast them into other times to confuse them but still see the effects of that throughout time and track them down again and again. They can only travel back to one moment in time and remain there. You can cast them anywhere, and you’ll see their effects ripple through time.

Types of Luring:

The Sower: This Luring archetype preys on doubt and uncertainty. It whispers in the minds of people, making them second-guess their decisions, their relationships, and their self-worth. It might appear as a faint, shadowy figure that hovers near its target, and its influence might be seen as a gray, misty cloud around a person's head. The player would need to counter it with emotions of courage, inspiration, or joy to restore the target's confidence and clear their mind.

The Glutton: This type represents excess and insatiable desire. It amplifies a person's cravings, whether for food, power, money, or attention, pushing them to extremes. It might manifest as a bloated, shifting form that leaves a trail of distortion in the air. To counteract The Glutton, you'd use emotions like disinterest or emptiness to starve its influence, or possibly fear to make the target hesitate and see the danger of their path.

The Mimic: This is a cunning Luring that takes on the form of people from the target's past, using familiar faces to lead them astray. It could be a person's deceased loved one encouraging them to abandon their path, or an old friend luring them back into a destructive habit. The player would have to identify this Luring as a fake, perhaps by noticing a subtle flicker in its appearance or a wrong-feeling emotion it projects. Your Block Awareness ability would be crucial here to help the target see through the illusion.

Screens

Block your ability to trigger emotions. More on this soon.

Hunters

They hunt spirit guides and other beneficial spirits and can follow them through time. They can only hurt guides and in most cases cannot be seen by the living.

Types of hunters:

The Dragon - TBD

The Tiger - TBD

Twisted Living and Dead

These beings have a lineage affected by the Luring and they seem to do their bidding unknowingly. They can be freed from their heritage and affliction but if not they will interfere unconsciously in your plans.

The Failed

These are living and dead that were attempted to be helped but it ended in failure. They remain in unique affected states that are very circumstantial. They are similar to the twisted. The Failed eventually go on to create their own similar version of a garden and loom, thinking the Loomweft failed and that they can do better. This is a longer game arc but lore nonetheless.

The All Consuming

The antithesis of the Loomweft, they undo all energy and consume it, leaving void and black holes in their wake. Irreparable damage to the fabric of time space. They can be caged through sacred geometry woven by the Loomweft but with much work and preparation.

Aid and Soul Kin

Soul Kin

Other guides help you and collaborate to fix things, or work on nearby missions.

Some fail and are killed by hunters. You will see their remains and you must resolve their unfinished missions.

Soul Kin:

Lyre- plays music and emits frequencies to inspire emotions.

Gameplay: Lyre works with AoE effects. 

Abilities: 

Narrative Role: 

Thauma- Creative guide that generates new energies of necessity. A spiritual chemist.

Thump- Skilled at telekinesis, shifts moving objects to influence time.

Wells- Has a deep knowledge of symbols and emotion. 

Shallows - this being has been hurt deeply in living and in the spirit realm. There is not much emotion but a drive to do what it knows is right and an obligation. Shallows is a great guardian and one of the few spirit guides that engages in combat with the all consuming using light absorption techniques. Some say he was from the All Consumings’ original conception dimension.

Float- this being lost its limbs during it's life and refuses to use them or grow them in the afterlife. He does what his name implies and that's float. He can travel great distances easily without using portals, entangling time space and hopping the tangle. Float can also create new windows of time to access.

Twin Flame

Your bonded partner across lifetimes in existence, they will appear to help you in your worst moments, but are on their own journey. Reference: Similar to the mysterious stranger in the Fallout Universe.

Gameplay: Your twin flame magnifies and reflects your own abilities.

Abilities:

Saving Grace: Appears just in time to warp a light so it becomes effective when it was not, or magnify instilled emotions when they were failing.

Focus Sunlight: Overfill the All Consuming with light so they leave to deposit their light spoils instead of their original mission. They become charged.

Lens Cage: Seal an entity or hazard in an inclusive lens reflection that prevents escape and abilities.

Narrative: Twin Flame is a lens worker, they bend light and since Lightfoot generates and casts it, they can shape is and magnify it. Together they are a powerful force to be reckoned with. 

Light Battery: carries a lens battery of light to recharge Lightfoot's abilities and soul fire.

Seers and Holyfolk

These are living beings that can see you and the other entities in some way. They have varying levels of communication with you and some leave offerings for you.

The Loomweft

These beings are above the guides and are weaving and planning the major tapestry of the universe. They bear a lot of the weight of keeping things in order and direct guides. They aren’t the highest tier but are above the guides in directing goals, maintenance, and repairs.

Beings that you change

Reincarnation exists in the universe and those whose lives you change will find out about you after their death and come back in other times to bear witness to you performing actions. They appear to be able to see you and will look directly at you and look like they did in their other lives. They may do something to help you, or if you failed they may have other reactions.

They will also have reactions to other reincarnated and any other entity that affected them in their previous life. If you used an aid in affecting them in the previous life they will respond to that if aware of it too.

Brainstormed Game Moments

Wisdom from a seer and a warning 

Early in your travels you'll reach a temple.

There a mystic can see you and already knows your plan. He warns you:

‘Meddle in their karma and you'll get bad luck’

‘don't let your compassion turn you into someone who suffers’

He advises to restore only the path of those altered by the Temptors. 

This affects the outcome of the game, the ideal ending comes from only restoring what was changed by the entities that went back and sought to twist the paths already made in their past.

Brainstorm of meta events to change:

Convince people not to have babies

Convince people not to kill themselves

Brainstorm of outcomes:

Gets hit by car

Jumps off roof

Quits job

Arrives in time to save another life

Arrives too late to get killed

Arrives in time to run into job prospect

Arrives in time to meet love interest

Handles stress poorly and quits successful career

Tries drugs and becomes addict

Ends with persons death (meta ending)

Ends with the birth of a new person.

Combat

You are sent to influence time to be restored, so you focus on dodging attacks. Instead of buttons allowing you to attack they have dodge and evade actions hooked up. 

You must use your presence and your ability to ignite emotion and perspective to deal with your problems.

Hazards and Boons

Some physical elements affect spirits and are hazards that can be utilized for dealing with enemies and other situations. Some you should avoid yourself.

Examples:

Fire

Moon water

Crystals

Sage

Palo Santo

Symbols 

Beginning a Mission

You'll meet in front of the gate to the moment of time you will be guiding in. The spirits of the beings in that moment are present and give you advice on what to expect and what happened. These are the eternal souls of these beings, after they eventually died they entered non linear time. If they weren't absorbed by the all consuming they are there. Key spirits may join and advise you in the mission, saying they aren't listening to themselves. They may offer moment to moment advice.

‘Spirit-Guiding the Living’ gameplay 

Overall Design

Enter a person and make them feel something. Equip emotions or choose from visual options. Maybe have 3 emotions equipped and run into the person and trigger a feeling. You can see the odds of success with your device read out (maybe change this, I'm beginning to dislike it as the design goes on.)

People have different sensitivities and resistance to sensing the guides' effects. 

If you create the wrong stimulus a different bad event will happen though you did course correct.

Auras

These gives some color cues on what to do here and what's happening. In depth design TBD.

Create Stimulus 

This is an effect you have on the surrounding area of beings, as opposed to affecting a being itself.

Sparkle and Drawing Lines

You can twinkle a spot of light to catch the eye of someone living. You can hold the button to streak a line of light. These briefly shine and then fade.

Block Awareness

Delay or block out the awareness of an item or being to another being. The will not respond to it if they have the ability to detect it in the first place. Some beings may be aware something is being hidden from them. 

Create Emotion

When you enter or overlap a living being, you can create emotion in them. This will affect their actions in the physical world and change their path. If you do these too much you will have a long term effect on the being. You cannot overlap/enter another spiritual being. 

Emptiness 

Helps create emotional and physical hunger

Inspire/Courage

Instill energy and motivation

Fear

Warn and slow

Joy

Instill a sense of well-being and success 

Disorient

Can cause nausea and paused movement to get their bearings. Accuracy drops.

Interest

Cause a being to investigate something making it more appealing to them.

Loomweft Intervention 

Sometimes the Loomweft will intervene with a massive shift or effect during your gameplay. Like a Mass time shift when you are out numbered or have failed too many times. Sometimes even they cannot help.

Proof of concept 

Top down view, walk your spirit sprite into the target person to save them from a car crash and instill fear so they run out of the street. 

If you don't they stay there and get hit.

Another spirit is rushing them along. 

This write up is in progress.

General Notes not yet incorporated into the design.

Recurring physical beings

Some physical beings are so important they are hounded by spirits fighting over their purpose and actions. Keep revisiting these beings across time. They have a large plot point based on your actions.

Lightfoot's favorites 

Lightfoot seems to take particular interest in certain beings and has unique expressions with them. 

Spirit guide life when not guiding and back at the loom

I keep asking myself what the heck are guides doing when not guiding? They can't just exist to guide. And in my universe they travel through time. So back where you choose missions there is a home that answers this question. Spirits are creative with their energies, resting, absorbing light. They have unique interests from what they've seen in their travels and take a piece home with them such as music or art or pictures. Beings you see die may even join you at the loom.

Sequel-

Guided 2 you die as a spirit guide and are incarnated as a physical being. Separated by a living existence your twin flame still follows you in their spirit-form, helping and watching you live out your life. You also have your own spirit guide. Experience this perspective on this world's gameplay and do your best to survive and not be consumed.

Lyre - The Musician

• Original Description: Plays music and emits frequencies to inspire emotions.

• Gameplay Expansion: Lyre's abilities could be tied to area-of-effect (AoE) buffs and debuffs. Instead of targeting a single person, Lyre could create a spiritual "song" over a large area.

• Inspiring Anthem: When active, this ability could make it easier for the player (Lightfoot) to apply positive emotions like Joy or Courage within the song's radius.

• Discordant Chord: This ability could be used to confuse or disorient enemies, making it harder for The Luring to focus their influence or for Guide Hunters to track you.

• Narrative Role: Lyre could be a source of wisdom, perhaps speaking in riddles or metaphors about the "harmony of the Loomweft." They might be the one who offers the player hints on how to combine emotions effectively.

Thauma - The Creative Chemist

• Original Description: Creative guide that generates new energies of necessity. A spiritual chemist.

• Gameplay Expansion: Thauma's role could be about creating unique, temporary items or effects. They don't just inspire; they create something new out of nothing.

• The Catalyst: Thauma could generate a unique "spark" that, when combined with one of Lightfoot's base emotions, creates a powerful new effect. For example, combining a Joy emotion with Thauma's Catalyst might create a temporary "Overwhelming Bliss" that makes a person immune to negative emotions for a period of time.

• Soul Dust: This could be a resource Thauma can provide to the player, allowing them to temporarily increase the range or intensity of their abilities.

• Narrative Role: Thauma could be a bit eccentric and experimental, always trying to find new ways to help. They might be the ones who introduce the player to the concept of sacred geometry and how it can be used to cage the All Consuming.

Thump - The Telekinetic Mover

• Original Description: Skilled at telekinesis, shifts moving objects to influence time.

• Gameplay Expansion: Thump's abilities would be the most direct, physically-oriented ones in the group. They could be about creating or preventing accidents and manipulating the physical world in subtle ways.

• Averted Collision: Thump could be used to slow down or subtly divert an object, like a car or a falling brick, to prevent a tragedy. This would be a perfect ability for your proof of concept scenario.

• Strategic Distraction: Thump could telekinetically move an object to create a distraction, allowing the player to safely apply an emotion to a target while The Luring are occupied. For example, moving a newspaper on a park bench to get a person's attention.

• Narrative Role: Thump could be a pragmatist, focusing on direct, physical interventions. They might clash with Lyre's more abstract approach, representing a more "hands-on" method of guiding.

Wells - The Symbologist

• Original Description: Has a deep knowledge of symbols and emotion.

• Gameplay Expansion: Wells's power would be about deep understanding and long-term effects. They don't just act; they analyze and reveal.

• Symbolic Resonance: Wells could show the player the hidden "symbols" on a person's soul—indicators of past lives, karma, or The Luring's influence. This would give the player crucial information before an intervention, letting them know if a person is particularly susceptible to a certain emotion.

• Emotional Blueprint: Wells could help the player create a long-term emotional blueprint for a person, helping them to slowly but surely guide them towards a better path. This could be used for the meta events, like guiding someone not to have a baby.

• Narrative Role: Wells could be a wise, quiet figure who acts as the group's "librarian" or historian. They are the ones who can explain the complex lore of the Loomweft and the true nature of the All Consuming.