The phase of escaping and hiding from demons is crucial because it gives you an idea of what these bastards see and hear. But then you think: maybe I should be stealthy from the beginning and remain unseen. Congratulations, you just discovered another layer of Apparition's gameplay.
So, next time when you hear footsteps or just have a gut feeling that a demon will appear in a moment, you go away from light sources, crouch in the bushes, hide your candle and wait. And here it is - a demon majestically walking among the trees, for the first time unaware of your presence.
Finally, you can take out your photo or video camera and record the daemon, earning more and more points with every second. Feels good, right? Now, your next task is to decide, when to hide the camera and retreat to the car before your protagonist loses sanity or something kills him.
Game Mechanics (Part 2)
Let's talk about the game’s mechanics,
You already know that your activity in the Green Creek forest, and getting the first points, provokes a demon's appearance. You also know that a close encounter with those apparitions ends with swift death. Now your challenge is to survive longer. So, by instinct, you try to flee and hide.
You probably look for a shelter in the cabin, maybe even get into the closet. Or you hide behind one of the sheds so that the demon will lose sight of you. While hiding in the darkness, it comes to your mind that standing with a candle in the open isn't the best idea. You're getting smarter, good for you.
You also discover that none of these tactics is bulletproof. That's Apparition alright - you can never feel safe.
Happy Halloween! Apparition releases to Steam Early Access!
Calling all paranormal detectives - the haunted forest of Green Creek is open for business. Hunt the demons and make it out alive!
Communicate with the undead using the Ouija board and then record evidence of the spirits with your camera and audio recorder.
Help us make Apparition better by giving your feedback on Steam forum.
Game Mechanics (Part 1)
Let's talk about the game’s mechanics,
Apparition isn’t your typical game, showing you the mechanics first, then telling you: go, explore a series of levels. Here, things are turned around: there is one location - the forest of Green Creek - it’s immediately available, and it’s the mechanics that await discovery. Specifically, how to summon a demon from the woods and survive an encounter with it.
The primary objective of Apparition is gathering points which you receive for photographing and filming evidence of the disturbing history of Green Creek, ghosts, and demons. That, and surviving, of course, if you want to keep your points, you will have to make it back to your car and drive away to safety.
In the first layer of gameplay, you die quickly and often. You return to the forest of Green Creek to try again and maybe live a little longer. You come to the forest at night, earning your first points by filming or photographing disturbing things in and around the cabin. You speak to spirits using the Ouija board and… you hear footsteps in the woods. A demon. By the time you see it, it’s already running at you, and your end is swift. The demons cannot be fought; you can make a desperate attempt at running, or remain unseen.
Perhaps you will find some way to outwit the demon on your next visit.
Quick Leaderboard Intro
Hey, it's the developer here again.
As you all may know, Apparition's development is near its end, and so, I would like to introduce you to one of the main features – the Leaderboard.
What's the point of the game? Collect as much evidence of paranormal existence.
For collecting evidence you get points which you can later upload to the Leaderboard, to compete with other players.
Ready to strive for the first place? ːsteamhappyː
Devlog: Expanding the location
Hey!
It's your humble developer of Apparition here. I've been adding a lot of things to the game recently that I would like to share with you guys. The location is expanding, I’ve added a new road, a new building and a few other little things.
A peak at the new road
A new cabin further into the woods
These are only two of the new things that have been implemented in the past few weeks. I also decided to add some new craftable items, such as a statue which allows you to summon demons faster – therefore making it easier for you to gather more evidence points.
A new craftable item
There are still more things to come and I'll be sharing them with you in the near future :)
Layers of Dread #3 – Crafting Half of Your Life
The crowbar. The crowbar is the answer to some lingering questions. It has been shown that, in case of invasion, when the crowbar is delivered with precision to the face of an angry monster from another dimension, it can bring some much needed relief to our mind. But we're not here to discuss the advantages of a free mind, but to make your investigation more efficient and successful.
Okay, so you’ve gathered some sweet experience points. Now it's time to check out the store’s shelves before going back to the land of wickedness. Remember that crowbar I mentioned earlier? You're going to need it. Trust me. Invest in this handsome skull-opening bad boy and hop into your car. We're heading to Green Creek again!
I don't know if you’ve noticed, but there is a closed cellar in one of the shacks you checked before. Let's try to pry the door open with our trusty friend – Mr. Crowbar.
Okay, so we are inside the cellar. We have a crafting table and a few metal scraps laying here and there. I guess we could try to search for some more useful parts while exploring Green Creek. You're a bright guy. Maybe you can figure out how to make some traps to mess with the demons and make our stay here a little less miserable and terrifying?
I believe in you. Stay alive.
And in the meantime please check out Appartion's website to stay up to date with any important information!
Layers of Dread #2 – Buy your happiness
Holy crap, I can't believe you actually managed to escape that abomination. I told you that you really need to be careful while talking to those demonic bastards, didn't I? Man, don't apologize, just be more careful next time or you may end up haunting this place with the rest of them!
I mentioned the experience points earlier, but we didn't have time to get deeper into that matter while we were being chased. Anyway, all the evidence of the paranormal activities which you’ve gathered throughout your stay at Green Creek are awarded points. The experience points collected during the gameplay are crucial in achieving success in Apparition. In fact, they serve as a kind of currency in the local stores. Buying new equipment will allow you to document apparitions more efficiently and will open up new, unexplored places in Green Creek. Every visit to this haunted and forsaken place makes for a new adventure... if you can call being chased by hellish creatures and barely escaping with your life an adventure.
Want to know more, do you? Let's talk more about it next time. Be sure to check out the game's website to stay up to date with any further announcements.
Layers of Dread #1 - You died!
Of course you did. Apparition is a survival horror exploration game and it has got quite a rogue-like vibe to it. That means that you’re gonna repeat your visits to Green Creek a LOT. Many visits will involve gruesome deaths, such as one you've just experienced. Deal with it, adapt and improvise!
Your main goal in Apparition is to gather experience points by documenting all the paranormal activities occurring near Green Creek. Every photograph and video recording is awarded abstract and meaningful numbers. You thought I'd say they were meaningless? WRONG! That's a very important game mechanic. Wanna know why? Come back next week and I'll give you the run down in the next announcement.
Now, we've got a more important matter at hand - a friggin' ghost is chasing after you! You should've been nicer to him when you were chatting to him on the Ouija board. Just sayin’. The trickiest part of the gameplay is to get the hell out of that cursed place with all your earned experience. Death means losing the points that you've just gathered during this particular visit, so staying alive is totally worth it as it will save you from repeating the same tasks over and over.
The more experience you gather, the more the secrets of Green Creek will be revealed before your very eyes. But that’s a topic for another story. Be sure to add Apparition to your wishlist to stay up to date with all the important announcements!
The cel shaded dread of Green Creek
Welcome again, dear Investigator.
I have summoned you here because I found another one of those arcane tomes that document the ways of The Great One, The Developer, Mr. Ciastku. This particular volume sheds some more light on the creation of Green Creek.
You've probably noticed, Mr. Investigator, how when you enter this haunted place everything around you starts to look a bit... different? The world begins to shift as one crosses the border from our reality into the one designed by The Developer. This is due to the forbidden magic flowing through space and time which makes all visible matter seem blue-ish or even comic book-like. Thick outlines appear around objects and bodies. One could say it seems cel shaded and kind of... charming?
The tome says also that Mr. Ciastku was inspired visually by the works of other Great Ones. The works called Wick and Unforgiving were the most influential.
Stay strong, Mr. Investigator, as the colorful look of Green Creek can be deceiving. Under The Developer’s spell, it’s easy to forget about the demons and ghosts lurking around every corner. Waiting...
For more info please add Apparition to your wishlist as I am willing to provide you with any necessary information about The Great One and his ways.
