On Thought Processes and Memories

March 07, 2024

At the heart of „Mindlock – The Apartment“ is a story designed to captivate and surprise the player repeatedly. Other games, like „Return of the Obra Dinn“, focus their storytelling on gameplay mechanics. In contrast, „Mindlock“ prioritizes a compellingly narrated story to bring out the profound and humorous aspects of the game world, with unexpected twists and multifaceted characters in the best possible way.

Throughout the development process, which you can follow in more detail on Instagram, it was important to me to provide players with a maximum variety despite a minimalist adventure control scheme, which mainly consists of walking, examining, and interacting. Players explore not only the present but also Colin’s world of thoughts and the memories he gradually rediscovers. These narrative variations differ both in graphic style and gameplay.

Especially with the thought processes, it was possible to consistently make Colin’s perspective understandable and to make the planning of strategies an experiential aspect. They offer exciting, engaging mini-games that enrich the gameplay. For example, crossing a river requires Colin to meticulously plan each step and choose the best route across the stones to safely reach the other side, or transforming a piece of soap into another object.

Stylistically, the different narrative levels also vary: The present is dark and detailed, as described last month, while memories are sketched and presented in a bright, cloudy tone, fading over time. Colin’s thought processes, on the other hand, are graphically abstract and simple, consisting of lines and stick figures.

As a solo developer, it was also attractive for time reasons to intentionally design some scenes simply to tell a comprehensive story and offer extensive gameplay. By the way, you can already add the game to your Steam Wishlist!

Available soon on:

Blog

Evolution diary

Follow the exciting development of Mindlock from the idea and the first sketches to the finished game.

Project Planning The development of Mindlock – The Apartment is divided into monthly milestones, delivered to my publisher, United Soft Media. These milestones form the chronological chapters of the game. Additional tasks include managing the Instagram channel, creating a demo, revisions, and promotional graphics. At the end of each month, I present the next month’s […]

Read more

From Punk Band to Game Developer My personal journey has always been closely linked to punk. I spent years as the bassist and singer of the band PRANX. A little Easter egg in „Mindlock“: An EP cover of my band adorns Colin’s wall – a drawing by me that dates back seven years. My punk […]

Read more

At the heart of „Mindlock – The Apartment“ is a story designed to captivate and surprise the player repeatedly. Other games, like „Return of the Obra Dinn“, focus their storytelling on gameplay mechanics. In contrast, „Mindlock“ prioritizes a compellingly narrated story to bring out the profound and humorous aspects of the game world, with unexpected […]

Read more

Receive the exclusive Mindlock newsletter!

Be informed in time about exciting developments, get in-depth insights and discover fascinating background information.

By clicking Sign Up you're confirming that you agree with our 
data protection