Imagine a world in which the only way to see your surroundings is not by the aid of light but rather by sound — where silence equals darkness.
Now imagine if that same world just happened to be a creepy hospital filled with insane patients who are out to kill you, and you’ll have an idea of what the game Lurking is all about.
Developed over a six-month period by a team of students at DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore, Lurking is a first-person thriller that challenges players to tread lightly and breathe gently.
As the player explores the facility, each noise creates an outward ripple that briefly reveals the surrounding environment. That goes for footsteps, thrown objects, and even the voice of the actual player, which the game detects via microphone input.
But while making noise is the only way to navigate, it’s also what alerts any nearby enemies to the protagonist’s presence — thus leading to some tense and tricky encounters.
Since the release of the game’s beta in March, Lurking has been generating a bit of a buzz online, with several “Let’s Play” videos appearing on YouTube.
Writing for Games in Asia, Iain Garner calls Lurking an “excellent, all-too-brief masterpiece” that succeeds in scaring the player.
You can also read about the making of the game on a blog post by the game’s lead designer and 2014 DigiPen graduate Dexter Chng (B.A. in Game Design).
Lurking was developed by Justin Ng Guo Xiong, producer; Dexter Chng Shi Rong, lead game designer; Soo Zhong Min, tech director; and Bryan Teo An Ping, sound director.