📌 Game Jam Submission – Memory Town

🎮 A narrative-driven psychological thriller where knowledge is your weapon against human trafficking.

📝 Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   • Game Summary
   • Inspiration
   • Player Experience
   • Platform & Development Software
   • Genre
   • Target Audience
2. Concept
   • Gameplay Overview
   • Theme Interpretation (You Are The Weapon)
   • Primary Mechanics
   • Secondary Mechanics
3. Design & Experience
   • Art & Theme Interpretation
   • Audio Design
   • UI & Controls
4. Development Timeline
5. Final Submission Notes

📌 Introduction

🎮 Game Summary

*"Memory Town is an investigative thriller where players act as an undercover agent infiltrating a human trafficking network. The player’s mind is their greatest weapon—using deception, psychological manipulation, and strategic decision-making, they must gain the trust of traffickers while secretly gathering evidence.

Each mission represents a real-world trafficking method, reinforcing the warning signs and dangers of exploitation. The goal is to collect six key pieces of evidence—without them, prosecution is impossible. Players must walk the fine line between loyalty and justice, ensuring they aren't exposed before the final sting operation."*

🔥 Inspiration

Memory Town is inspired by:

• Ocarina of Time (Medallion Structure) – Players must collect six pieces of evidence before confronting the final boss.
• Papers, Please (Moral Dissonance & Decision Making) – Players must "play along" with criminals while secretly working against them.
• Splinter Cell (Undercover Trust System) – Players must balance trust between traffickers and law enforcement to maintain their cover.

🕵️ Player Experience

*"Players interact with the game through high-stakes dialogue, decision-making, and simulated trafficking scenarios to understand how these criminals operate.

• Contrast-driven Design – The investigator’s world is structured and logical, while the trafficking world is chaotic, shadowy, and disturbing.
• Psychological Warfare – The player must lie, manipulate, and gain trust—knowing that one wrong word can expose them.
• Educational Reflection – Throughout gameplay, real-world trafficking tactics and statistics reinforce the urgency of this issue."*

🖥️ Platform & Development Software

• Platform: PC first, with mobile adaptation planned for later.
• Development Software: Twine (narrative structure), Unity (interactive mechanics), Godot (alternative engine flexibility).

🎭 Genre

Memory Town is a narrative-driven psychological thriller with investigative and educational elements. The player is not a "hero" in the traditional sense—their weapon is knowledge, deception, and tactical awareness."

🎯 Target Audience

• Ages 13+ (Mature themes but avoids graphic depictions.)
• Teens & Young Adults (Most at risk of online grooming).
• Activists & Educators (Raising awareness on trafficking).
• Narrative & Strategy Game Players (Papers, Please, Orwell).

📌 Concept

🕹️ Gameplay Overview

*"Players must complete six core missions, each focusing on a different stage of human trafficking. By gathering key evidence, they work toward building an undeniable case against the traffickers.

• Decision-Based Gameplay – Players interact via text prompts, social engineering, and investigative choices.
• Trust System – The player must maintain credibility with traffickers while secretly collecting intel.
• Conviction Mechanic – Players can attempt to prosecute at any time, but without six pieces of evidence, the case collapses.

🔥 Mission Breakdown:

1. Online Grooming – Learn how traffickers lure victims online.
2. Isolation & Control – Prevent the victim from contacting family.
3. Financial Coercion – Explore how debt traps are used as leverage.
4. Logistics & Movement – Track how victims are transported.
5. Final Sale Setup – Gain access to a live trafficking deal.
6. The Sting Operation – Use all collected evidence to arrest the traffickers and rescue the victim."

💀 Theme Interpretation (You Are The Weapon)

*"Memory Town redefines the concept of being a weapon. Unlike traditional games where players fight with guns or swords, here, the weapon is knowledge, deception, and psychological strategy.

The player infiltrates the trafficking network, manipulates criminals, and turns their own tactics against them. The deeper they go, the more dangerous the world becomes—but with the right strategy, they can dismantle the operation from within."*

🔑 Primary Mechanics

• Dialogue-Based Infiltration – Agree with traffickers' disturbing statements to maintain cover.
• Evidence Collection – Gather six crucial pieces of proof for conviction.
• Social Engineering – Players must act like a trafficker while secretly working against them.
• Time-Sensitive Choices – Some decisions require quick thinking under pressure.

🕶️ Secondary Mechanics

• Trust System – Balancing credibility between traffickers and law enforcement.
• Clue System – Reviewing logs & conversations for key intel.
• Stress & Psychological Pressure – The deeper they go, the harder it is to distinguish lies from truth.
• Real-World Awareness Prompts – Live trafficking statistics appear throughout the game.

📌 Design & Experience

🎨 Art & Theme Interpretation

• Minimalist Noir Pixel Art – Stark contrast between justice (purple) and crime (sickly yellow).
• Shadowy, Silhouetted Characters – Reinforcing that "anyone could be a trafficker."
• UI Adapts to Player Choices – The interface shifts toward yellow as deception deepens, or purple as justice prevails.

🔊 Audio Design

• Justice Side: Synthwave noir, low-pulsing bass for investigative tension.
• Crime Side: Diminished chords, distorted drones, and hollow piano notes to unsettle the player.
• Dynamic Sound Shifts: The closer to conviction, the more the music distorts, simulating mental corruption.

🖥️ UI & Controls

• Fully Accessible UI (Atkinson Hyper-legible font, high contrast, resizable text).
• Mouse + Keyboard (Point & Click + WASD Navigation).
• No fast-timed inputs (ensuring accessibility for all players).

📌 Development Timeline

✅ Days 1-3: Narrative & Core Mechanics ✅ Days 4-7: Missions 1-2 + Trust System ✅ Days 8-12: Missions 3-6 + Final Sting Operation ✅ Days 13-14: Playtesting, UI Polish, Submission 🚀

I’m an artist and designer by trade, but I’m not a game developer. Memory Town is a concept that I truly believe in, but I need help from experienced game developers, programmers, and writers to make this a reality.

If you’re interested in working on this project, I welcome all contributions—and everyone involved will receive full credit.

The goal of this game is simple: to educate people about human trafficking tactics and how to prevent them. If you’re passionate about using gaming as a tool for change, let’s make this happen together.

To help explain the tone and gameplay approach, think of it as a Donnie Brasco-style undercover operation—where the deeper you go, the more dangerous it becomes. You have to lie, manipulate, and gain the trust of criminals, but ultimately, your goal is to dismantle their network and bring them to justice. The tension between these two worlds is what drives the experience.

I used ChatGPT for grammar... but the entire thing is my idea, not AI... I felt really self conscious on the game jam and in front of Thor