The core pillar of The Creeping Madness (TCM) is to ‘Feel like an Ancient One’ (not to be confused with feeling like an old one, because that will happen to you inevitably). So what better way then, to embrace this game play, by driving your enemies insane!
TCM features elements of stealth, RPG and tactical turn-based combat; so how can you create a sanity system that will work seamlessly between all these elements? Firstly, we decided to define sanity as everything related to fear, morale and sanity. The next step was to give each unit in the game a sanity ‘bar’ and a behaviour that will be linked to his/her level of sanity. Finally, we used Hildegard E. Peplau’s 4 stages of anxiety as reference, to create the following stages:
1. Sane
2. Mild anxiety
3. Moderate anxiety
4. Severe anxiety
5. Panic
6. Insane
As a unit loses sanity, they drop deeper into a state of madness, with each stage having implications on their in-combat and out-of-combat behaviour. For example, a mildly anxious unit, out of combat, might stop to aim at shadows, sure of the fact that he saw something. This could eventually separate him from his group, making him easy pickings. Alternatively, a severely anxious unit, in combat, will tend to be surprised when you attack, freezing him in place for a while and giving him a tendency to ‘spray and pray’, i.e. firing multiple rounds at reduced accuracy, with the possibility to hit friendly units.
But, like death, insanity is not the end for these unfortunate mortals while the Ancient One is around. Insane units will remain stationary on the map for the rest of the mission, all the while babbling incoherent ramblings – their minds shattered by the horrors they have witnessed and granting you, the Ancient One, new interactions and capabilities. Firstly, an insane unit will give the Ancient One full vision of the area where he is. Secondly, the Ancient One can take control of the enemy unit’s mind, turning him into a maniacal killer who will immediately start attacking innocent bystanders and allies alike, madness gleaming in his eyes and a psychotic grin on his face. Or, have him sprout insane prophecies, further lowering the sanity of all who hear his mad ramblings!
This is only the tip of the iceberg of our sanity system and we look forward to opening your eyes to the depths of madness into which you can plunge all who oppose you!
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” - H. P. Lovecraft
Written by Janke van Jaarsveld
