I'm going to write a little bit about the origin of our project and how we arrived where we are at! About a month ago we started brainstorming new directions to take for our thesis. I decided to try out a prototype in p5.play. I wanted to work within my skillset, and I was interested in having the player follow directions without being able to see what is happening on the screen. 

I wasn't sure what form this should take. Should it be a basic platformer with a voice guiding you? Should it be an audio only game? I was really attracted to the idea of following instructions and listening to voices with minimal visuals.

In this prototype the player is instructed to press the space button and follow directions. The screen goes pitch black and an audio clip plays. During this time players can type. Once the audio ends, letters appear on the screen. If the player enters the correct input based on the letters & numbers read out loud in the audio clip, then a coherent message appears. Otherwise there may be words with misspelling or outright gibberish. 

After sharing this prototype peers suggested we watch The Lives of Others (a 2006 German drama film). This got Amanda and I to start thinking about themes of surveillance & voyeurism. The next prototype used a basic Caesar-style cipher with Amanda's art and we started forming a narrative set during the 1940s. I got really interested researching ciphers and cryptology. Next steps are playtesting some of the puzzles that we are incorporating into the narrative of the game!