DESIGN DOCUMENT
Characters
Core character models will be entirely bespoke and commissioned by freelance artists. These models utilise a diffuse texture only, with the material itself having an entirely hand-painted visual style. Any additional character models that go beyond what funding allows will be models that are fully licensable by Malformation with custom texturing done in-house.
DB SHOTGUN
A double-barrel shotgun. It’s great for taking down moderately strong enemies, but its low ammo capacity makes it difficult to wield in larger crowds.
Environments
The background assets will mostly be created in-house. For select assets that may need to be sourced from the Marketplace, they will be thoroughly vetted and cleaned up in-house in order to conform to internal standards.
Environmental assets will be at a detail level that reads well from a distance, but at a low enough fidelity to keep within 00s-10s standards. As Manifester will use true moving cameras (unlike Ground Zero’s simulated moving cameras), backgrounds will not be pre-rendered and thus stricter optimisation of assets will be required.
Players
All 4 player characters will be standard humans. Differentiators will be used to more easily identify each character in-game, such as height, build and clothing, but all will look thematically consistent. Additionally, each player character will be assigned a colour highlight visible to other players to more easily identify each other at a glance.
The baseline of abilities is identical across all 4 player characters, save for any special characteristics of chosen weaponry.
Inventory
Each player has 3 main weapon slots: Left holster, Right holster and Back holster. The Left and Right holsters can carry any small arms, and the Back holster can carry larger weapons. A knife is always given as a default weapon.
Consumable items like Ammo and Medkits will be discoverable throughout the campaign. These are randomly distributed on campaign launch in a number of designated spawning locations.
Weapon Examples
PT226
A simple, reliable pistol. While it lacks power, it’s great at delivering steady damage with a reasonable rate of fire and decent mag capacity.
PN-PAL
A large semi-automatic rifle. The PN-PAL’s balanced damage and fire rate work well at neutralising large groups of weak enemies or single, moderately powerful targets.
READY WEAPON
The ability to prepare the weapon for attack and lock onto the target.
INTERACT
Inspect or use a point of interest, such as a door, lever or collectible item.
RESCUE
Assist a player who is struggling to free themselves from a threat.
HUMAN
Standard, non-magical entities, these are the cultists from various sects. They can be harmed and killed by any physical attack.
BASIC
Lowest-level enemies; essentially just fodder. They die quickly and act unintelligently.
UNCOMMON
More advanced enemies that provide some challenge to combat. They should appear in small numbers - no more than a few per wave - and take some strategy to clear.
CULTIST
Class: Human
Cultists make up the bulk of combat encounters. They’re mechanically relatively simple, using a standard melee weapon or firearm to target players head-on. They have no immunity to standard damage types.
Cultists may be visually distinct depending on the cult they’re affiliated with. As some factions are hostile to each other, if Cultists from opposing factions interact, they can become hostile to each other.
MIMIC
Class: Undead
A Mimic resembles one of the player characters chosen by a player. It’s intended to initially deceive other players, posing as an ally until it’s in range to attack. Mimics have moderately high health and attack only with a dagger.
CULT LEADER
Class: Human
Cult Leaders are much more physically imposing than standard Cultists, possessing a larger stature and advanced command of occult magic.
COMBAT KNIFE
A standard issue knife. When all else fails, the knife can deliver decent damage at a very close range.
Core Mechanics
SHOOT
A powerful physical attack that can be performed at range. The rate of fire is determined by the firearm type.
EXORCISE
A charge-up ability that converts Spirits to a physical form.
SPRINT
Move at a faster pace. Cannot perform any weapon-based mechanics except Reload.
PROMPT
Deliver a pre-set voice line from a radial menu.
KM5K
A compact, fully automatic rifle that deals light damage. The KM5K is great at crowd control, but its rapid rate of fire means it burns through ammo quickly.
APM
A powerful semi-automatic rifle with a scope attachment. This heavy-hitter is slow with a low ammo capacity, but can take down even powerful enemies swiftly.
ESCAPE
Get free from a grappling enemy.
PUSH/PULL
Move a large object, typically to reveal a hidden area or item.
OFFER
Give another player resources, such as ammo.
Enemy Classes
SPIRIT
Non-physical entities. They can use both ethereal and solid forms; while ethereal, they can’t be harmed by physical attacks and can only be influenced by esoteric damage, which temporarily converts them to their solid form. When solid, they are vulnerable to any damage type.
HEAL
Restore some health using a Medkit.
CRAWL
The contextual-only ability to move through smaller spaces, usually to find hidden areas.
RELOAD
Manually replenish ammo capacity, depending on how much the player has remaining.
Co-Op Mechanics
REVIVE
Pick up a downed player within a limited timeframe.
SPEAK
Communicate with other players through mic via proximity chat.
UNDEAD
Halfway between Human and Spirit. Undead entities can be harmed by physical damage (e.g. flinching, temporarily downed), but the more powerful ones can’t be killed by it.
Enemy Tiers
PURSUER
A unique instance of enemy that is difficult to deal with. They can’t be killed for most of the campaign but relentlessly chase players and deal extremely heavy damage. Downing them gives players a generous reward, but usually costs so much in resources that it’s not worth it to do repeatedly.
BOSS
The hardest tier of enemy. Only one boss appears per campaign in a single encounter at the very end. It’s the only enemy that is mandatory to kill outside of arenas and requires a coordinated effort to overcome.
Basic Enemies
GHOST
Class: Spirit
Ghosts are more uncommon than Cultists, but their basic attack abilities keep them as low-level enemies. Ghosts are ethereal and cannot be harmed by physical attacks while in an ethereal state.
Uncommon Enemies
Pursuers
PISTONHEAD
Class: Undead
Pistonhead was once a human member of the Machina sect, but has now been converted to an undead force through sacrificial ritual. His fusion with esoteric machinery has given him an extreme physical damage capability, making him a powerful threat in close combat.
HOLLOWHEAD
Class: Spirit
Hollowheads are an advanced type of Spirit, strongly influenced by occult forces. They’re much stronger than their basic Ghost counterparts, using more advanced abilities to evade and attack players.
PROSELYTE
Class: Undead
Proselyte is the resurrected corpse of a man who once fought against the Bloodletting sect, now revived to continue their work. He has a proficiency for melee combat, but is also adept in some occult practices.
GATHERER
Class: Undead
Gatherer has been transformed by repeated participation in the Gluttony sect’s rituals, gradually turned to an undead agent. Now, she collects any human remains she comes across, and harvests runaways and trespassers. Though usually slow, she can close the gap to a target quickly and inflict heavy damage to those that get in the way.
Bosses
GORGE
LORD OF INSATIABLE HUNGER
Class: Gluttony Deity
The Gorge has a very large but relatively human figure with several heads. It lowers itself to the ground to attempt to grab or eat the players, as well as regurgitating half-digested matter as a ranged attack.
FATHOM
THE QUENCHLESS ABYSS INCARNATE
Class: Bloodletting Deity
The Fathom is a giant leech-like creature that, at its current stage of development, needs to be immersed in blood to survive. It uses this corrupted blood to attack the players through ranged and area denial abilities.
IMMEMORATUS
RESURRECTED WAR MACHINE
Class: Machina Deity
The Immemoratus is composed of interwoven machine and human parts. It was manually constructed by following esoteric texts theorising its construction; on succeeding the first stage of creation, it has been imbued with some sort of malevolent life. The Immemoratus attacks through swift, high-damage melee attacks via its cryptic mechanical parts.
Campaigns
Campaigns in Manifester will be separate, non-contiguous experiences. Players will choose their campaign while in the lobby, then drop in at the beginning of the first level. If a level has multiple options for starting points, players will choose which one they will be taking before the campaign begins.
Each campaign is made of several levels, typically around 3-4, with some branching paths available to add variety on replays. Campaigns will have their own distinctive style, using environmental art design to heavily imply the presence of a distinct cult faction. Campaigns should also provide something unique in play style, offering a fun and distinct challenge.
1: Downtown (Illinois, USA)
Bloodletting Sect, “White Cell”
A lesser-known district of the town has fallen into disrepair, neglected by its local council. This has given wealthy benefactors of the cult the opportunity to buy up much of the property and drive out its last occupants, allowing believers to move in. While careful to keep their activities mostly hidden from the public, word of the MNC’s arrival has driven them to take drastic measures.
2: Inukawa Village (Fukuoka, Japan)
Gluttony Sect, “Open Mouth”
The mountain village was once a small but industrious location, often used as a stopgap by travelers passing through the area. However, the construction of a large dam nearby disrupted the water supply, causing the citizens to be relocated and the facilities shut down. Now, the Gluttony sect is using the abandoned train station to smuggle in resources to store in the village, and the intel suggests the old farm has been repurposed for human victims.
3: Bermuda Cruise (N. Atlantic Ocean)
Machina Sect, “War Siren”
A recreational luxury liner that was used for cruises through the Atlantic Ocean, once owned by a prominent member of the Gluttony sect. A murder-suicide influenced by the cult activity saw the ferry decommissioned, after which it was stolen by the Machina sect. Remnants of Gluttony activity can still be seen, but the ship is now mostly reflective of its current tenants.
Level 1:
Subway Station/Back Alley
Level 2:
Theatre/Antiques Hall
Level 3:
Derelict Spa
Level 1:
Train to the Mountain
Level 2:
Inuyama Trail
Level 3:
Onsen/Gyokuro Tea Field
Level 4:
Farm
Level 1:
Bridge/Top Deck
Level 2:
Galley/Promenade Deck
Level 3:
Cargo
Level 4:
Engine Room
Overview
Manifester is a fixed camera, co-op action-horror game with a supernatural theme. Split into multiple distinct campaigns, players must choose their path through each level and contend with the threat at the end before time runs out.
With unlockable weapons, branching paths and randomised enemy spawns, replayability will be a large part of the game’s appeal. Each campaign aims to provide plenty for players to enjoy over multiple runs, and a small-scale record-keeping of player stats will give players something new to aim for on each run - whether that’s beating their friends’ personal bests, or 100%ing all secrets that a level has to offer.
Manifester aims to recapture the classic 00s style of retro games, making use of true-to-the-period fixed camera gameplay. While this period has seen a resurgence in the modern indie scene, Manifester will differentiate itself by targeting the proven - but rarely capitalised on - market of co-op fixed camera horror.
Narrative
After breakthroughs in occult studies, a powerful but little-known cult began to harness and control esoteric forces in service of obscure, sinister deities. With their great influence, they soon proliferated and established sects worldwide - however, after decades of discovery, ideology and conflict, these sects began to splinter into smaller factions, each specialising in their own domain of worship.
Governments across the world have come to discover these cults taking root in their countries, with a gradual uptick in reports of bizarre attacks, unexplained disappearances and growing unease in the general population. A highly-classified department of counter-terrorism has been established with agents trained in covertly clearing out these strongholds of cult activity. It’s only a matter of time before these groups successfully manifest and unleash their malevolent deity on the world - and the longer the agents wait, the stronger it grows.
Focus
Manifester plays much like the horror games of the late PS1/ early PS2 era, using fixed cameras to create tension and and assist environmental storytelling. Players will be able to choose between either tank controls - the classic of the time period - or the more beginner-friendly modern controls.
A combat-heavy game, the core loop of Manifester will centre on fighting ghosts, cultists and monstrous undead hybrids, while carefully managing resources to stay alive. A prominent focus on co-op will see players able to assist and interact with each other to keep the experience feeling better with friends. With replayability as the final core pillar, Manifester will give players plenty of reasons to pick up the game and come back to it again and again.
Continuing Malformation’s signature aesthetic, this project will utilise “PS1.5” model fidelity and fixed-camera environments. The goal is to achieve a grungy, gritty visual that both captures the nostalgic feel of the early-mid 00s and invites a sense of dread. Manifester leans heavily into bloody, gory and esoteric imagery to invoke the terror of early survival horror titles like Silent Hill; unlike Ground Zero, however, Manifester will use real-time backgrounds to allow for more immersive camera movement. By combining the old-school philosophies of story-telling through fixed cameras with the heavyweight capabilities of Unreal Engine, we can achieve an aesthetic that’s familiar yet refined, taking the best of both old and new techniques.