Conventio Lutheri
YEAR
ROLE
2023
Game Designer, Narrative Designer
GENRE
ENGINE
Simulative horror
Unity
PLATFORM
PC
FEATURES
Design core points
Luthier simulation
Conventio Lutheri creates the simulative experience of being a very poor luthier in the late 19th century. Added to this is the narrative twist of a man who, on the verge of suicide, is given a mysterious and disturbing chance to take back the reins of his life.
Horror system
The horror system is based on irrational and paranormal events that gradually increase leading the protagonist to madness.
Narrative
The narrative is the result of an adaptation of one of my scripts that tributes Goethe's 'Faust' by focusing on the devious mechanisms operated by the devil.
References
Starting from Goethe's main reference, the game adds small details that take cues from other works and, especially, from the musical tritone (known as Diabolus in Musica)
DESIGN RELEVANT POINTS
The repairings
The game spans three days, each of which corresponds to a violin to be repaired. Repairs involve enamelling, reassembling the body, repositioning the strings and painting.
Hallucinations balancing
To add to the complexity of the repairs is the increasing presence of visual and sound hallucinations. In addition, once the climax is reached, the players reach a state of madness and it is game over.
Narrative progression
The paranormal events gradually become more intense as time passes and more and more explicit, until the player realises that a demonic presence lurks in his personal violin that he has never abandoned. The ending is symbolic and deliberately gives doubt as to the real outcome of the events.
