Nightmare House 2 - A Different Take

So I am a great fan of Nightmare House Two. I think the team did a fantastic job of creating a horror game. (and it is a mod, which makes it even greater in my eyes) The combat is there, and used to good effect, but it doesn't get in the way of the experience. The pacing is good, if the transition to fps and back is a little jarring, when they get going they are great. The story is enjoyable, a bit cliche, but immensely satisfying and far above average. Unfortunately that isn't much of a compliment, but I really did like the storyline. I also did not have any problems with the scare tactics as I have not experienced many of the games it drew inspiration from, so I wasn't bothered by it ripping them off to an extent. (Condemned, Silent Hill, etc)

I recently saw a fantastic portrayal of the protagonist, voiced and brought to life.


After awhile, an idea began to eat at me. What if I did the same thing, but from Emily's perspective? The more time that passed, the more the idea grew on me. Emily is a large part of what I like about the game, and I want to explore her side. How she came to be misunderstood, and what her real feelings - both the admirable and the despicable - are. I want her story to be told.

The logistics are problematic. I have no experience modeling, animating, modding, or even video editing so I'll have to learn as I go or find ways to avoid them. It is a long game too, especially to record a full monologue for. My laptop is not powerful and probably would struggle to play the game seamlessly while recording. How could I present her side fairly, without showing it from her perspective - following the protagonist around and teleporting from location to location as she works. Should I try to modify the game itself to suit my needs? Is that even possible?

As it stands, here are my high objectives:
♦ Record the game as the protagonist making his way through the hospital and nightmares. I won't bother to record his thoughts, but I would need to perform actions as if he was really there. I was going to rip other people's plays of the game but they all act like they are playing a game - picking up computers, breaking cups, etc. I can do this hopefully quickly and crassly, and later re-record parts that need special attention, actions, or care.
♦ Record parts of the game as if I were Emily. Faithfully run where she runs, portray her spying on the rest of the level, and have "Emily Vision" where she can see what is real as well as what the protagonist is being made to hallucinate. Some of this will be no-clip material. Some will be just recording cuts. Some will likely need editing for effects.
♦ Attempt to use gmod tools and/or editing to insert the protagonist when he is being observed by her when she is outside his head. Hopefully I can have her "riding" him for most of it. After all, that seems like what she would be doing in an effort to help him, and because of her current state of existence.
♦ Perform all the voice-overs of her thoughts and attempts to communicate herself. Her hopes, her failures, her fears, her anger, and her caring. Modify her voice to be ghostly, but not too much. Perhaps adjust this as she gains and loses power.
♦ Do my best to keep to real events while possibly re-interpreting some of it. Adjust some things (like the random events) as needed, but keep the source material as intact and faithful as possible.
♦ Explain all her actions, which are hers and which are Romeros, and add some content to fill in some of the gaps in the narrative. Also really delve into her character, past, and current powers/existence.
♦ Consider cutting parts of the game that are less story driven or where she wouldn't be present. This also can be used to effect when she "loses" the protagonist and has to try to find him again after being elsewhere or fading out of existence etc.

So that is the outline. It's pretty hugely ambitious for me to attempt, but it could be really grand in its final cut too.

I think I'd find it really rewarding to complete. Mostly to illustrate Emily's story, even if I cannot perform well the visual portrayal of it. I'll think about doing it. Hopefully I'll at least get a proof of concept done.

Thanks for everything, wecreatestuff dev team. You've really created a monster masterpiece.

(Also, definitely check out their soundtrack music, if you won't play the game itself. It's pretty epic and just what I was in the mood for listing to while working tonight.)




////////////
UPDATE
///////////

My laptop is unable to record any kind of quality of gameplay. This means I will have to wait until I return to being able to access my desktop, will have to use online footage, or will just record the voice-overs of Emily for now and perform some combinations melding of footage at a later date. Right now I think I will try once more to find good footage of gameplay and work with that as I record, but my chance of success is slim.

//////////
UPDATE
/////////
So it looks like creating npcs, modifying movement for Emily vision, and various other tweaks are much much easier than I had imagined. There are several things that I cannot do, but many things that I can - so that I think I can really capture some excellent footage to help give her point of view. I also intend to make her vision blurred and fragmented to cover up my inability to record, and I think that maybe it will improve the overall product in the end.
I was pretty successful finding good footage for the protagonist's point of view as well. That is already downloaded. It looks like I will need a script and some plans for how to record and portray Emily's POV next.
Playing around with the dev controls was extremely entertaining and insightful.