Moons of Madness is a Lovecraft-inspired, first person, psychological horror game that explores the internal struggles of astronaut Shane Newehart and the supernatural events that occur on research station Trailblazer Alpha, the first scientific outpost on the planet Mars.
The game aims to provide an intense, narrative-driven, psychological horror experience. Players will explore a realistic interpretation of the red planet as they uncover the mystery surrounding Shane’s past and learn the secrets behind the sinister moons of madness.
H.P. Lovecraft is a big influence for the game. His stories about supernatural cosmic horrors that inflict insanity and feelings of helplessness upon it’s victims serve as inspiration to our game and will be seen in its narrative, environment and mechanics.
Moons of Madness puts a unique spin on the madness theme with the zone-out mechanic. A zone-out is a hallucination comprised of combined events from Shane’s past, things that will happen in the future, and information about things that should be impossible for him to know. These events bend the player’s perception of reality by making them question what was a hallucination and what was real.
Through this innovative mechanic, players can explore Shane’s subconscious and discover background details of the characters and game world. These events serve both as foreshadowing and to display the condition of Shane’s faltering mental state.
