Missing Children of Ann Siang Hill Interactive pixel story made using Bitsy.
TECHNOLOGY
BUILD
Javascript
HTML
CSS
TOOLS
Bitsy
PLATFORMS
itch.io
GitHub Pages
ABOUT
DESCRIPTION
Set in the small town of Ann Siang Hill, an infamous cold case on children going missing led to the abandonment of the ghastly neighbourhood. Inspector Tan took the case into his own hands for personal reasons, only to struggle between hallucinations and reality. The mysterious visions he encounters as he travels through the ghost town looking for clues leads him closer towards the larger truth behind the disappearances of the children.

Throughout the game, you will discover visions of the past through the persona. This is indicated by entering a colorized version of the scene. You may also pick up evidences from NPCs or props on the ground. These evidences will hint at the places to go, or unravel bits of pieces of the storyline. You are encouraged to replay a couple of times to get the whole story!
MOTIVATION
The goal of this pixel story was to learn about the agency of exploration, unraveling a story through unordered discovery and gameplay, driven by interactions and dialogues between characters and key items. It was also an avenue for me to fiddle with pixel art and game design.
CHALLENGES
There were module limitations set on the use of sprites, rooms and items. Bitsy hacks were not allowed too. However, these restrictions did encourage interesting workarounds, such as hiding entrypoints to conversation or event-triggered scenes and using dialogues to guide players to these hiding spots.
DESIGN
GAME WORLD
The game world comprises of 9 distinct scenes, 6 of them with alternate dimensions. Key items are scattered among these scenes, supplemented with monologues that unravel the plot. Characters can only be found in scenes of the past. Interacting with these NPCs will give clues to their identities, as well as the role they play in the story. Depending on your possession of items, characters will have different replies to your conversations.
FEATURES
ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS
You can travel between scenes to interact across dimensions. These special dimensions represent the haunting of the past. To the protagonist, it can be interpreted in many forms: hallucinations, supernatural occurrences, time portals, recalls, etc. They are distinct from the present dimensions in that they are coloured, filled with NPCs and have slight differences in their setting.
INTRICATE PIXEL ART & DIALOGUES
Each glyph, item, or character is designed meticulously to capture traits, setting and character personalities in the scene. Some designs are animated to illustrate events or create ambience.
PARROT
You will find a parrot in the park scene, imitating random lines of passers-by. The parrot is a mechanism to capture the story from a spectator's point of view, and provides a different perspective to the story. The imitated lines will hint at the story, as well as your objectives in different scenes.