The Woods

Lost deep in the woods - but not alone!
“The Woods” is an ambient psycho horror game, which let the player experience a mad rush about life or death. Lost in a dark forest, you crossed the lines into the hunting grounds of a ruthless killer. Escape - or say goodbye forever!

The Scenario

It was late at night already, when suddenly an in blood covered shape lights up in the beam of your car headlights, starring right at you. As the breaks fail you turn hard to the right in a natural reflex.
The last you remember is the crash into a tree in the nearby forest. Now trapped, you steal your way through the woods and fight for your life because you are not alone.
"The Woods" creates with realistic features an intense atmosphere. Horror fans can be excited about a procedurally generated scenario, decision-based gameplay, and a cold ambient, with a chance of a lot of creeps. In an area of 12 square kilometers, every single movement decides about life or death and every interaction can bring you closer to escape or impede it.
The surrounding nature creates a breathtaking and oppressive feeling. Was this blurry shape in the fog game creeping around, a tree bending by the wind or worst, was it your tormentor?
The sounds and voice of the forest are pushing you forward. Just pray that the crackling behind you is not a bad omen.

Gameplay

To survive, you need to come through the night and find a way out of the woods, something that sounds easier than it is!
The killer as nature is able to hurt you, slow you down or to irritate you and send you on the wrong path and into the next trap. If you want to survive, you need to develop your own approach. Sneak and stay in the dark or try to escape with fast sprints and fight bravely against your pursuer. In „The Woods“ every single way or decision is neither wrong nor right. Your strategy is growing with your success and failures over time.
The game is analyzing your style of playing during your experience and is changing itself to your personal nightmare. Some interesting spots in the level are changing their appearance, fresh or even rotten corpses are appearing all over the woods. Sometimes trees and other plants can fall or get hit by lighting and catch fire which can cut off essential routes for your escape.
Also, the killer can adapt his strategy to your behavior and change his usual path, to find and attack you more efficient.
With every new game round, essential spots in level are changing, which makes it almost impossible to remember ways, items or hiding spots again and again. Especially useful weapons and items can even not be available. Also, the killer is changing in every new round. In that case, the game experience is depending mostly on which one of the possible killer is hunting you, which abilities he has and which ways he knows.

Key Features

Real Fear – The game is based on a game experience close to reality what can cause real fear and an oppressive feeling for the player. Instead of ungainly jumpscares, the horror of the unknown expects you here. Wild animals running away all of a sudden, the creak of the branches in the wind and the continual certainty, not to be alone, give real creeps.
YOUR heartbeat – To get out everything of the game experience, the player can transfer his real pulse with the help of a heart rate monitor into the game and on the character. The game will adapt itself to the (un)well-being of the player with possibly disastrous results. Attention: Nothing for weak nerves.
Interactions with the environment – Running away is not the only means for a succeeding escape. Use nature and benefit from it to win time. Every stone, tree or bush can be a potential hiding spot. Throw stones to deflect the killer or to lead him on the wrong track. Climb on a rock, raised hides or other objects and look at your way from above – but attention your character gets tired after some time and drives the risk to fall. A fall can go well but also entail massive osseous breaks or the death.
Own Decisions – How and where to flee, are not the only questions you have to deal with. If you get in captivity of the killer, you can get confronted with cruel decisions. Do you sacrifice, for example, an arm or do you join in his mad little psycho games? The choice lies with you – but can you live with the consequences?
Get lost! – The surroundings are procedurally generated in a natural way close to the reality. In the deep woods, it is almost impossible to find ways and places again. Every new game round changes the level and in it contained (or not contained) items and weapons, as well as important locations.
Self-Learning AI – The killer changes his personality and learns new abilities over time. He adapts himself to the behavior, the movement and reaction of the player. This makes „The Woods“ to an always unique, unpredictable and challenging game experience.
Wild animals – Not only the killer hunts after you. In the woods creep around wild animals, like bear and wolves who could jump out of the darkness anytime and attack the player. Preys like deer, roe deer and crows take the flight if you approach them, and their noises can lead the killer to you. So keep your eyes open!
Watch your steps! – The woods are against you. You can trip over stones and trunks or step in puddles and on branches. Footprints on wet forest ground lead the killer to you, and set traps can hurt or kill you.
Secrets – The game world of "The Woods" contain many helpful and interesting secrets. There is no need to search them, but they could give you essential advantages to survive.