Tiny World
Play a shrunken scientist defending his lab from a horde of aggressive ants.
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Project Overview
Dr. Hinks, a brilliant and eccentric scientist, built his laboratory house in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. His goal was to build a shrinking machine to research insects and their nests from within. After many failed attempts the machine unexpectedly works, and he wakes up shrunken down only to discover his house is being invaded by a new species of aggressive ant that attacks on sight.
Armed with his trusty exterminator gun that fires liquid poison in an arcing stream, Dr. Hinks must brave his previously comfortable homestead — now an enormous and hostile environment. His mission is to find the breach where the killer ants are entering and destroy their nest before they destroy him.
This campaign introduces players to the game world, starting in Dr. Hink's laboratory and taking them on a journey through the walls and his garden to the horde's nest. Future campaigns could explore how Dr. Hinks faces the ants in other environments such as cityscapes or factories.
Mission Specification
Setting
- Location: Amazon Rainforest
- Environment: House / laboratory hybrid
- Style: Survive, Locate, Combat
Objectives
- Find a way out of the house
- Navigate to the ant nest
- Survive encounters with aggressive ants
Victory Conditions
- Win: Successfully find a path to the walls
- Lose: Death by enemies or falling
Level Design
The level creates a unique hybrid space that serves as both a laboratory and living quarters. Key design elements include:
Atmosphere
- Messy laboratory environment showing ongoing experiments
- Mixed lighting with darkness and natural light
- Windows and doors creating dynamic light patterns
- A sense of scale that emphasises the player's shrunken state
Area Progression
- Starting point — begin on a shrunken chair; orientation to the new scale and basic mechanics
- Laboratory floor — first combat phase, enemy introduction, basic combat
- Desk area — exploration, path-finding challenges, vertical gameplay
- Wall break — hidden passages, new mechanics, environmental storytelling
- Bookshelf — advanced combat, vertical scenarios, challenging encounters
Combat Mechanics
The main weapon is an exterminator gun that:
- Self-charges over time
- Fires liquid poison
- Creates arcing projectile streams
- Requires strategic aiming