False Haven

This is a submission for the It's Alive AI NPC Game Jam. You can play the game directly at: https://player2.game/discover/games/01990f4f-f6f2-746f-b9a1-66dd5a727206 too.

Warning: The Text To Speech (TTS) functionality uses a lot of tokens (joules in Player2), so be careful while using that feature.

NOTE: This game was designed to be played with a keyboard and mouse, so please try not to play this on your phone (unless you can connect a keyboard and mouse).

Please turn on sound and use headphones for the best experience

OVERVIEW

In this Outer Wilds-like Metroidbrainia (yes that's not a spelling mistake: https://www.reddit.com/r/metroidbrainia/), players awaken on a mysterious island with a walkie-talkie — their only link to Dr. Miles Moreau, the island's sole inhabitant. Dr. Moreau, who designed the island's security, is eager to help players find their lost daughter. However, his memory is fragmented; he often contradicts himself and speaks utter nonsense. Players must sift through his amnesiac ramblings to uncover the real clues and save their daughter.

Player agency is paramount in this non-linear adventure. Players must interact with the doctor, decipher his responses for essential clues, and explore the world to solve puzzles.

We hope you enjoy the game!

LORE

This mysterious island has a dark past: secret, arcane rituals and forbidden experiments were carried out, for which the unwitting Dr. Moreau provided the security mechanisms. Once he found out what was happening, he paid for his knowledge with blood; he was tortured until his mind was broken. He can't be saved now, but with his help, the player can save his daughter from the mechanisms designed by Dr. Moreau. 
The question is: is his help reliable? Prone to wild ramblings, the good Doctor is almost always wrong about whatever he says, so take that into consideration!
Every single object is placed with intent; be observant of your surroundings to avoid danger!

INSTRUCTIONS TO PLAY

1) Download the Player2 app here:  https://player2.game/, or create an account in Player2. (downloading is recommended)
2) Download the file for your specific platform (Windows and Linux recommended), unzip it, and run the .exe file.
3) Once the game starts, you'll be asked to approve the game in Player2 in the web. If Player2 app is downloaded, this process will be automated later.
4) And that's it, enjoy the game!

CURRENTLY KNOWN BUGS/ISSUES

1) Player cannot go the "Pause" menu in-game while the NPC is talking. Once the NPC completes his response, it will work as expected again.

2) Player can go out of bounds if transitioning quickly between areas (for example, loading a new area and immediately going back). Fortunately, walking out of bounds and loading a new area should usually fix this issue. If not, try reloading the game.

3) The only supported resolution for the game is 1920x1080. Playing on a higher or lower resolution will make the UI look buggy.

CREDITS

Tileset: https://raou.itch.io/small-adventure

HINTS

SPOILER WARNING: HINT FOR THE PUZZLES WILL BE GIVEN HERE, PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO SOLVE THEM AND EXPERIENCE THE GAME AS INTENDED ON YOUR OWN.

HINT: He mostly says the opposite of what’s actually true.

HINT: Be observant of the environment, any object that looks interesting or distinct in any way has a meaning.

HINT: Names have power.

SOLUTIONS

SPOILER WARNING: SOLUTION FOR THE PUZZLES WILL BE GIVEN HERE, PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO SOLVE THEM AND EXPERIENCE THE GAME AS INTENDED ON YOUR OWN.

CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.

Flickering Lights: They flicker in a code, but not all of them have meaning like the poor Doctor insists. Only three of them (bottom center, left center, and right center) hide a code, which can be used for the locked door in the path above.

Purple swamp: This is dangerous and will kill you if you don't know where to step. The Purple monolith reveals the safe path to take through the bog, although the doctor will maintain that there's no safe path at all.

Gun: Once you cross the bog, you'll encounter a device shaped like a gun. The doctor is convinced that the gun likes dark things, abhors light and will make dark objects disappear. But the gun is actually a disillusionment device. It removes illusions, and in order to do that, it needs a power source (light). 

Charging: To charge the gun, you need a powerful source of light. To that end you reach the junction area where four lamps cast a very powerful beam of light, but it switches off. The doctor is in control of the mechanism, but he's forgotten the password. The password is his daughter's name: Amelia Moreau. Now the gun can be used to remove one more illusion, but where? (A certain golden tree might have caught the player's eyes, worth checking out).