feat(mystery): add opening and main-floor content
This commit is contained in:
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ Phase 2 is large enough that I recommend slicing by *region*, not by *kind*. A f
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Suggested slices:
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1. **Rewrite the existing 3 rooms** in the bible's voice. Foyer, Hallway, Cellar Stair — already wired up, fastest route to "the new tone is on screen." This is the smallest possible PR and de-risks the voice direction before scaling up.
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1. **Rewrite the opening slice** in the bible's voice. The Gate, Foyer, Hallway, Cellar Stair — The Gate is the opening room, and the player should begin there carrying the folded letter, matchbook, and broken cigarette. This is the smallest possible PR and de-risks the voice direction before scaling up.
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2. **Main-floor expansion** — Parlor, Study, Dining Room, Conservatory, Smoking Room, Music Room, Servants' Passage, Laundry. These connect to the existing Hallway. Add the items each room references (candlestick, pruning-shears, silver-lighter, music-box-key, damp-sheet) and their encounters (window-guest, ivy-figure, covered-cage, piano-echo, breathing-wall, linen-shape).
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3. **Upper floor** — Stair, Bedroom, Nursery, Attic. Items: child's drawing, music-box (non-key), toy dog. Encounters: stair-sleeper.
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4. **Garden + grounds** — Back Door, Garden, Well, Well Shaft. Encounter: garden-procession, child-beneath-the-well (verbatim prose in bible).
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@@ -1,454 +0,0 @@
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---
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test: "[[halfstreet-followon-notes]]"
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---
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# Halfstreet — Content Bible
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**For:** the mystery text adventure shipped at `/mystery`
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**Style anchors:**
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- Le Fanu's _Carmilla_
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- Shirley Jackson's _The Haunting of Hill House_
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- M.R. James ghost stories
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**Perspective:** second person, present tense
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**Target length:** 25–28 rooms, 45–90 minute first playthrough
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---
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# Voice Rules
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1. Second person, present tense.
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2. Sentences are short; silence does most of the work.
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3. Never explain the supernatural.
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4. Never address the player as a player.
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5. No metafiction.
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6. No named villains.
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7. Violence usually worsens outcomes.
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8. Many frightening things should prove harmless.
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---
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# Core Themes
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- mistaken identity
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- unresolved grief
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- memory behaving incorrectly
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- repetition
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- domestic spaces becoming ritual spaces
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- familiar objects recurring in altered forms
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- the house remembering itself imperfectly
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---
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# Opening Scene
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```txt
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[ The Gate ]
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You arrive at the address, but you do not remember what has happened.
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There is no sign, no number on the gate. The fence is overgrown
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with grape vines. The road behind you is gone.
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The air is cool and still around you, but a quiet rustling and a
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damp breeze seem to emanate from beneath the house.
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You are carrying: a folded letter, a matchbook, and a broken cigarette.
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>
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```
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---
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# Existing House Rooms
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|id|title|summary|
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|`outside-gate`|[ The Gate ]|The road behind you is gone.|
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|`foyer`|[ Foyer ]|A foyer that doesn't feel welcoming. Beneath the dust is another scent: sweet at first, then medicinal, like crushed almond pits. A hallway runs impossibly far to the north.|
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|`hallway`|[ Hallway ]|A hallway longer than the house should allow.|
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|`parlor`|[ Parlor ]|Chairs arranged for absent company.|
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|`study`|[ Study ]|Books left open at impossible pages.|
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|`stair-up`|[ Upper Stair ]|A stair arriving at the wrong landing.|
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|`bedroom`|[ Bedroom ]|Prepared for another sleeper.|
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|`nursery`|[ Nursery ]|Toys arranged tonight.|
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|`kitchen`|[ Kitchen ]|Something recently warm.|
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|`back-door`|[ Back Door ]|Opens onto the grounds.|
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|`garden`|[ Garden ]|Overgrown and listening.|
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|`well`|[ The Well ]|Dry deeper than it should be.|
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|`well-shaft`|[ Well Shaft ]|Descending below the water line.|
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|`tunnel`|[ Tunnel ]|A tunnel aware of your presence.|
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|`chamber`|[ Antechamber ]|Locked threshold before the vault.|
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|`vault`|[ Vault ]|Holds what was buried at Halfstreet.|
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|`chapel`|[ Chapel ]|Deconsecrated and occupied.|
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|`attic`|[ Attic ]|Reached by a staircase that was not there before.|
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|`cistern`|[ Cistern ]|Beneath the kitchen.|
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---
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## Structural Revision
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The house should begin behaving differently after several story flags are set. Certain rooms subtly alter on revisit, some exits change, and a secondary loop through the house opens. The player should slowly realize the house is less a physical location than an accumulation of grief, repetition, and mistaken memory.
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Themes reinforced by the new rooms:
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- mistaken identity
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- repetition
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- domestic memory
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- grief fossilized into architecture
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- things mistaken for people
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- familiar objects recurring in different forms
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- the sense that the player may have belonged here once
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---
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# Additional Rooms
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## Main House Expansion
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|id|title|first-visit summary|exits|items|encounter|safe|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|`dining-room`|[ Dining Room ]|A dining room laid for supper long after supper ended.|w: hallway, n: conservatory|candlestick|window-guest|—|
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|`conservatory`|[ Conservatory ]|The glass ceiling has gone blind with moss and rain.|s: dining-room, e: garden|pruning-shears|ivy-figure|—|
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|`smoking-room`|[ Smoking Room ]|The room smells faintly of ash, velvet, and bitter almonds.|e: hallway|silver-lighter|covered-cage|—|
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|`music-room`|[ Music Room ]|A piano stands open with one key held silently down.|w: hallway, n: servants-passage|music-box-key|piano-echo|—|
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|`servants-passage`|[ Servants' Passage ]|The walls here are unfinished and smell of wet wood.|s: music-room, e: laundry|—|breathing-wall|—|
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|`laundry`|[ Laundry ]|Sheets hang unmoving in the still air.|w: servants-passage|damp-sheet|linen-shape|—|
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---
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## Lower-Level Expansion
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|id|title|first-visit summary|exits|items|encounter|safe|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|`ossuary`|[ Ossuary ]|The bones have been arranged with more care than devotion.|s: tunnel, e: flooded-passage|burial-ring|bone-keeper|—|
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|`flooded-passage`|[ Flooded Passage ]|Black water moves softly across the stone floor.|w: ossuary, n: root-chamber|toy-boat|reflection|—|
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|`root-chamber`|[ Root Chamber ]|Roots have entered through the ceiling and never stopped growing.|s: flooded-passage, e: burial-gallery|—|root-movement|—|
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|`burial-gallery`|[ Burial Gallery ]|Portraits line the walls, though none survive intact.|w: root-chamber, e: vault|family-register|portrait-woman|—|
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---
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## Altered / Conditional Rooms
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These rooms appear only after certain flags are set.
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|id|title|first-visit summary|exits|items|encounter|safe|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|`wrong-hallway`|[ Hallway ]|The hallway is longer now.|impossible-changing exits|—|distant-steps|—|
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|`returned-nursery`|[ Nursery ]|The toys no longer appear arranged.|w: bedroom|—|—|yes|
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|`rain-room`|[ Rain Room ]|Rain falls steadily inside the room and nowhere else.|unknown|rusted-key|rainwater-basin|—|
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---
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# Core House Rooms Revisions
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|id|revised summary|
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|---|---|
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|`foyer`|A foyer that doesn't feel welcoming. Beneath the dust is another scent: sweet at first, then medicinal, like crushed almond pits. A hallway runs impossibly far to the north.|
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---
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# Inventory Items
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|id|names|purpose|state|
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|---|---|---|---|
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|`candlestick`|candlestick, candle holder|Provides temporary light without using the lamp.|`lit: false`|
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|`pruning-shears`|shears, pruning shears|Cuts through overgrowth in the conservatory and garden.|—|
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|`silver-lighter`|lighter, silver lighter|Can light the broken cigarette or lamp.|—|
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|`music-box-key`|tiny key, music box key|Unlocks the music box in the nursery.|—|
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|`damp-sheet`|sheet, damp sheet|Used to obscure reflections in flooded areas.|—|
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|`burial-ring`|ring, burial ring|Matches the crest found in the family register.|—|
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|`toy-boat`|toy boat, wooden boat|Floats briefly against the current.|—|
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|`family-register`|register, ledger|Reveals names, dates, and repeated burials tied to Halfstreet.|—|
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|`rusted-key`|rusted key|Opens an optional locked room near the gate.|—|
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---
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# Non-Key Items
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Non-key items are objects the player meaningfully interacts with but cannot permanently carry.
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These objects should feel physically inconvenient, emotionally difficult, fragile, attached to the house itself, or impossible to remove.
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|id|description|interaction|
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|---|---|---|
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|`grandfather-clock`|A stopped clock in the parlor whose pendulum occasionally resumes on its own.|Setting the correct time alters hallway geometry temporarily.|
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|`music-box`|A nursery music box bolted to the shelf.|Unlocking and winding it reveals hidden sounds elsewhere in the house.|
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|`dinner-place-setting`|A single untouched plate in the dining room.|Sitting before it triggers memory prose and a hidden passage.|
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|`veil`|A funeral veil draped over a portrait in the burial gallery.|Lifting it reveals the player's resemblance to the family.|
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|`rainwater-basin`|A basin collecting rain inside the rain room.|Looking into it reveals altered room descriptions.|
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|`covered-cage`|A cloth-covered birdcage in the smoking room.|Removing the cloth changes ambient sounds throughout the house.|
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|`altar-stone`|A cracked altar slab in the chapel.|Pouring the silver vial here weakens the basilisk without violence.|
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|`childs-drawing`|A crayon drawing pinned to the nursery wall.|Reveals the existence of the wrong hallway before it appears.|
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|`portrait-frame`|A shattered portrait frame underground.|Rotating it exposes hidden writing beneath the backing.|
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|`well-rope-wheel`|The old iron wheel beside the well.|Turning it changes what is heard below the house.|
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---
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# Revised Encounter Notes
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## The Child Beneath the Well
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If the player attempts to descend the well for the first time:
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> Something moves below before you do.
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>
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> A child emerges from the tunnel beneath the well, barefoot and breathless, one hand against the stone wall as it climbs past you. It does not stop. A draft of cold air follows after it.
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>
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> Then it is gone upward toward the garden.
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If carrying the toy dog:
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> The child pauses at the garden gate.
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>
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> “You found Woof.”
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>
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> Or perhaps: “Wolf.”
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>
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> The child takes the toy carefully and disappears into the overgrowth.
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>
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> The garden grows quieter afterward.
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The child is harmless.
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---
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## Basilisk Encounter Revision
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Replace the chapel-watcher entirely.
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|id|room|initial phase|resolution path|failure path|
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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|`basilisk`|chapel|sleeping|`pour silver-vial on basilisk` → resolved. The creature withdraws beneath the chapel stones.|direct eye contact costs resolve; forced exit|
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Suggested prose:
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> Something large is coiled beneath the altar.
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>
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> You become aware of the eye first.
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>
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> Not glowing. Merely open.
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---
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# Expanded Encounters
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The expanded house should contain more quiet encounters than overtly hostile ones.
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|id|room|initial phase|resolution path|failure path|
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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|`ivy-figure`|conservatory|hidden|`cut vines with shears` → reveals garden shortcut|entangled; lose resolve|
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|`piano-echo`|music-room|listening|`play note` matching distant melody → hidden passage opens|wrong notes cost resolve|
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|`linen-shape`|laundry|hanging|`wait` → shape proves empty|panic returns player to passage|
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|`bone-keeper`|ossuary|arranging|`leave burial-ring` → passage opens|disturbing bones costs resolve|
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|`reflection`|flooded-passage|following|obscure water with damp-sheet|reflected figure approaches|
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|`portrait-woman`|burial-gallery|watching|`examine portraits` reveals hidden family resemblance|retreat|
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|`distant-steps`|wrong-hallway|approaching|stand still until steps pass|hallway lengthens|
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|`garden-procession`|garden|passing|remain silent while lantern lights move beyond hedges|encounter follows player indoors|
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|`bell-sounder`|chapel|ringing|follow the sound without directly approaching|resolve loss|
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|`stair-sleeper`|upper stair|seated|leave without speaking|staircase changes|
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|`window-guest`|dining-room|standing outside|close curtains before approaching glass|face appears at window|
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|`breathing-wall`|servants-passage|audible|remain still until the sound passes|walls feel narrower|
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|`root-movement`|root-chamber|shifting|extinguish light and listen|roots block exits temporarily|
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|`rainwater-basin`|rain-room|reflecting|look into basin after major story flags|altered room descriptions persist|
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|`covered-cage`|smoking-room|rustling|uncover cage briefly|distant sounds intensify|
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---
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# Toy Dog
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short: a stuffed dog
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long:
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The toy dog is several shades darker than it used to be.
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His fur is matted down in areas and worn from years of handling.
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A name is stitched into one paw in faded blue thread:
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WOOF
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Or perhaps:
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WOLF
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The stitching has begun to loosen.
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---
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# Expanded Story Flags
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- `woofReturned`
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- `hallwayShifted`
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- `musicSolved`
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- `basiliskSpared`
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- `familyNameLearned`
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- `rainRoomEntered`
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- `houseAcceptedYou`
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---
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# Expanded Endings
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## True Ending
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> You stand in the vault. What is buried at Halfstreet is buried because it was loved, and grieved, and finally let go.
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>
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> You set the lamp beside it.
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>
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> You speak the name aloud.
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>
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> The house settles around you like a long exhalation.
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>
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> Outside, the road exists again.
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---
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## Wrong Ending
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> You disturb what should have remained untouched.
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>
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> The house rearranges itself around your leaving.
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>
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> Corridors repeat.
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>
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> Doors return you to themselves.
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>
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> The hallway grows longer.
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---
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## Bad Ending
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> You take the photograph.
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>
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> The child in it is you.
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>
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> Behind you, on the stairs, someone has come up to meet you.
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>
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> You do not go down again.
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---
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## Replacement Ending
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Unlocked if the player restores too much order to the house, lingers too long, or repeatedly revisits altered rooms.
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> You open the front door.
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>
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> Someone is standing at the gate outside.
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>
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> They look tired. Rain-darkened. Lost.
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>
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> After a moment, you understand they have arrived for you.
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---
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## Mercy Ending
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Unlocked if:
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- Woof is returned
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- the basilisk is spared
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- the thing is not disturbed
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- all burial clues are learned
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- the revenant is laid to rest
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> You remain in the vault until the lamp goes out.
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>
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> The house is quiet.
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>
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> Somewhere above, floorboards settle one final time.
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>
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> By morning, Halfstreet contains one fewer restless thing.
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---
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# Spatial Notes
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The house should increasingly violate geography.
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Examples:
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- The servants' passage should emerge somewhere impossible.
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- The wrong hallway can replace the normal hallway after enough resolve loss.
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- The rain room should not fit within the visible structure of the house.
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- The burial gallery should feel emotionally adjacent to the dining room despite being underground.
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- Certain rooms should inherit sounds from distant locations.
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Examples:
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- nursery laughter faintly audible in the flooded passage
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- piano note heard from the attic
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- chapel bell heard underwater
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- footsteps overhead while underground
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The player should slowly suspect the house is remembering itself incorrectly.
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---
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# Additional Tone Guidance
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The horror works best when:
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- encounters are quiet
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- threats are ambiguous
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- many frightening things prove harmless
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- harmless things prove emotionally devastating
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- monsters are treated with restraint
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- violence worsens outcomes
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The game should feel less like surviving a haunted house and more like wandering through unresolved mourning.
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Reference in New Issue
Block a user