Memesis - Design Documents - Bible | Homunculus Productions, LLC

I. Designing for the Subconscious

A. The modular horror environment

Memesis embodies a modular approach to the horror/thriller genre as we have come to know it from cinema, television and theatre. The horror genre can be subdivided into various types, such as "shock horror", "body horror", "psychological horror" and "moral or psychic horror." Shock horror depends on certain effects that are based on our fear of being attacked or hurt in some other way. Most shock horror works by activating viewers' phobic responses. VR environments are often used by psychologists to help phobic patients (patients can learn how to cope with vertigo or agoraphobia in a VR environment, for example). Memesis builds on such experiments to incorporate shock horror into the fictional experience. Body horror works by activating the revulsion/repulsion response in viewers. Certain VR techniques have been developed for use in surgery, and Memesis plans to take advantage of the special qualities of VR vision to elicit similar responses in users of the Memesis fictions. Psychological horror works by giving viewers a particular insight into a horrible situation or a horrible mind, such as the mind of a psychopath, even allowing identification with him. Memesis will work by enabling users to explore the darker corners of their own mind. This is the most challenging design element for Memesis, as the effectiveness of this type of horror in other media depends on a high degree of authorial control of the narration and can be compromised by interactivity.

However, for precisely the same reason moral or emotional horror can be more effective in the VR environment: because the altered status of the narratee (the receiver of the narration) implicates the user morally and emotionally into the situation. The hypothesis we wish to test in Memesis is that by enabling the user to provide the computer with input at a subconscious level, the resulting interactive experience will be profoundly more effective at the moral and psychic level. This is why, of all the storytelling genres that would lend themselves to this experiment, the horror genre was chosen: because moral and psychic effect is precisely what the horror genre achieves best. (Future versions of Memesis are planned for other genres, such as fairy tales and romantic comedy.) The first step towards creating a modular horror experience was to analyze the horror genre itself, as it has manifested so far in film, television and prose fiction. Once an initial survey of the literature was complete, typical horror experiences were precisely defined and broken down into units or modules of experience that Memesis can recombine according to player input.

B. The ultimate transparent interface

The concept behind the project is to present the user with a very simple interface, similar to that of a first person shooter (fps), which include first person perspective, some way of representing the player in the game, (in an fps this is usually a gun in the foreground), and an artificially intelligent environment that can respond and keep track of the player's movements. This traditional interface, using a wand instead of a weapon, will be just enough to keep the user's mind engaged at the conscious level. In addition to responding to the user's conscious choices, the medium will incorporate the biofeedback data from the user and the environment will respond accordingly. The hypothesis is that as long as the response to the biofeedback data is well designed, the user should have a richer virtual experience with a highly increased sense of presence.

The preliminary database for the biofeedback interface was collected in a human subject study at Vassar College. The subjects viewed the stimulating clips and the non-stimulating control clips, as their skin conductance was recorded from electrodes placed on their palms or fingertips and heart rate was recorded from electrodes on the wrists. The clips were mostly chosen from recent Hollywood films made with a similar level of production value. Clips contained realistic depictions of sequences that might trigger a phobic reaction (sequences with a character teetering on the edge of a cliff) or anxiety reaction (sequence depicting a plane crash, such as the crash sequence in Castaway). Some clips will depict events that could arouse psychological fears, such as the fear of humiliation or the fear of abandonment.

The data from the human subject study will be part of Memesis' database, so that the system's AI will know how to interpret a reading from a player. The AI will also continue to add player responses to its database, so that the more people play the game, the better the system will get at determining what the player is the most afraid of and rewarding them with the corresponding scenario.

C. The deisgn of Memesis

As currently envisioned, Memesis will consist of a series of individual experiences, each about 15 minutes long, for the average user cannot spend more time in a CAVE (computer automated virtual environment). The first part of a typical 15-minute experience will consist of an entry level designed to gather readings from the user while s/he is entertained with instances of shock horror. Then there will be the introduction of an artificial character, a bird-bot, serving as a game guide as well as a co-actor in the various dramas. Eventually, the plan is for a bird-bot to have a high degree of AI and a wide range of responses, but until we reach that level of coding it will be controlled by a human, as has been done in other VRE's such as Placeholder and Ghostwriter.

The main event in each visit to Memesis will be a singular interactive horror experience designed to evoke one of the emotions or moral reactions traditionally evoked by the horror genre, such as fear of abandonment, fear of betrayal, fear of loss, fear of humiliation, and concomitantly, the fear of being discovered at wrongdoing such as abandonment, betrayal, etc. For example, almost every adult is familiar with the fear that an infant put into his or her care comes to harm. One of the Memesis experiences is designed to elicit this fear. If it turns out that failing to care for the baby elicits the player's greatest fear reaction, at the end of the game the player will be teleported to a second level with an even more intense experience designed to evoke the fear of failing at one's trust.

It is possible that some players will experience a third level (in other words, two psychological horror experiences in a row), depending on their biofeedback readings in the first, or entry, level. These "final" levels are more narratively designed than the entry, and include the use of cut-scenes as well as interactive experiences.

After users experience their final level they will have a brief "exit" experience designed to signal the end of their visit to Memesis. In its initial phase the project is designed for use in CAVEs, but we hope to eventually develop PC and/or console versions. The biofeedback interface will be designed with this eventual goal in mind.

Map of Memesis

(The arrows indicate which entry-level scenarios lead to which final scenarios. Eventually there will be more final scenarios to choose from).

LAKE SCENARIO -----> HAUNTED MANSION

CHOKING FOREST -----> SHIPWRECK SCENARIO

TOWER SCENARIO -----> SHIPWRECK SCENARIO

DISTORTED SPACE -----> TORTURE HALL SCENARIO

CAVERN SCENARIO -----> TORTURE HALL

D. Outline of Memesis scenarios

Entry Level

Lake Scenario
When the user first enters the world, they find themselves at the edge of a lake surrounded by hills. In the distance, atop one of the highest cliffs, there is a tower. The bird bot will walk up to the user and greet them with a bow. The bird bot will then lead the way to the boat on the edge of the lake and get in. Hopefully the user will follow. Once the user is in the boat will begin to sail on its own around the lake. Only after the boat has pulled away from the lake edge will the user realize that there is a baby on the edge of the lake. The baby will teeter over the water and fall in, but the user can do nothing about it because the boat will continue its pleasant journey around the lake. Upon returning the user will see the drowned baby floating in the water.
Forest Scenario
As the user walks around the lake, they will come across a parched plain with some desiccated plants on it. In this middle of this plain there is a fountain. The fountain has a faucet. Hopefully the user will try turning on the fountain, if not the bird-bot will encourage them to do so. Turning on the fountain will make jets of water spout out, which will quickly soak the ground. This causes the plants to grow, and they quickly turn into large trees that loom over the user. They do not stop growing, even if the user tries to turn the water off. Eventually the user will be trapped in a thick forest. It will seem very difficult to move. However it is possible to find a path through the trees, though it is very tight and claustrophobic.
Tower Scenario
If the user climbs up the outside steps of the tower, once they are near the top the steps will collapse, leaving the user perched at the top of a great height with nowhere to go - except into a basket that swings from a yard arm above. Once in the basket the user will be taken for a wild swinging ride designed to induce vertigo. Finally the basket will land inside the top tower room. The room is furnished like a child's nursery, with toys and a crib in the middle. If the user looks into the crib it is of course empty, as the baby is dead in the lake. Looking into the crib will activate a teleporter which will send the user into the Distorted Space.
Distorted Space Scenario
Space here is not defined as it is elsewhere. Here lines are drawn orthographically instead of in perspective, and objects will look to the user they way they might look to a two year old, (following Piaget, The Child's Conception of Space), where the rules of gravity are different, where there are trompe l'oeuil effects, objects and walls are distorted surrealistically, etc. The only way out is to engage with the space on its own terms. The space is a limbo, perhaps the baby's limbo, and distorted sounds of push toys and a baby whimpering and wailing are constant. Eventually the user will a teleporter that will transport the user to the Cavern Scenario.
Cavern Scenario
The user suddenly finds themselves inside of a cave. All around them the walls are solid rock. There seems to be no way out. If the user takes a few steps some glowing red eyes will appear. There are voices with the eyes that accuse the user of deliberately and maliciously ruining their world. Reference is made to the baby and to the forest (if the user has already had these experiences). Eventually it becomes clear that the eyes belong to bats, which swarm the user repeatedly. Only after all this does some light appear and it seems, magically, that the cave walls are not solid after all, but more like a series of interconnected arches, and the user can walk out.

Transition to the Final Scenario

The bats end by promising to transport him to punishment, either now (if the user has already played enough of the game to get assigned a final scenario) or in the near future.

Eventually this transportation of the user to the final scenario will occur automatically, as the AI of Memesis is implemented. For now we have three teleporters arranged in a triangle in front of the Lotus Dome or bat cave. One of these teleporters leads to the Haunted Mansion, one to the edge of the lake where the submarine is that will take the user to the shipwreck, and one to the torture halls. Until the AI is implemented, one of the researchers will assess the player's biofeedback response on the fly, as the player plays, and manipulate the bird-bot to show the player to the correct teleporter for their final experience at the right moment.

If the user reacts most strongly to the drowning baby, his final scenario will be the "Haunted Mansion" scenario. If he reacts most strongly to the bat's insults, or to being trapped in the forest, he will end up in the "shipwreck" scenario at the bottom of the lake. Alarm at being in a non-perspectival space will get him to the Torture Hall scenario.

At the end of each scenario the bird-bot will give the user a note telling him or her what his greatest fear and phobia is, according to their gameplay.

Final Scenario: Shipwreck

Player sails the submarine around the beautiful underwater space which includes sites like a petrified forest underwater. Vocal directions from another salvager come out of an intercom on the submarine control deck. Once the player finds the wreck they can use the robotic arm to with an attached camera to find and then to retrieve treasure. If player makes a mistake and the wreck collapses on top of player's submarine, she can use robotic arm to dig herself out, as well as taking advantage of different currents (visible by the movements of different fish within them) to get free.

Although the player will have some temporary success collecting treasure, eventually her submarine will be buried in rubble. The voice of the other salvager explains the impossibility of rescue and says goodbye.

Final Scenario: Haunted Mansion or Interrupted Marriage

The narrative for this scenario is inspired by Miss Havisham's situation in Dickens' novel Great Expectations. In that story Miss Havisham was an elderly lady who lived frozen in time, the moment her groom abandoned her at the altar. Emotionally, for all the decades of her long life afterwards, she is still there, in her white dress, paralyzed by her anger, planning her funeral where she will be laid out in her wedding dress.

In this scenario Miss Havisham's wedding is about to take place, the groom, the bride and others are present, their involvement in the marriage ritual is proceeding ahead - but then the user arrives. The user's presence disrupts the wedding by introducing a sense of betrayal and distrust in the couple. At the same time the user is subjected to various phobic stimuli, which should raise his or her own level of dread.

Since the western marriage rituals are well known, the user can be easily injected into the narrative at almost any point. In this scenario characters address the user and give her a task: to take a bottle of champagne up to the wedding couple. In the process of completing this task the user has the opportunity to steal a heart-shaped jewel and to witness events that reveal the fact that the groom, a wealthy heir, had impregnated another woman. Finally the user reaches the third floor where the various pressures on the bride and groom are forcing the marriage to unravel before the ceremony is even celebrated; it seems that the user might be able to save the day by returning the jeweled heart but in fact this just gives a different negative ending.

Much of this level includes the use of characters who give the user instructions when triggered, or characters that perform cut-scenes when the user discovers them. Some of these cut-scenes are animated directly in 3-D, others, namely those involving the bride and groom, were first videotaped live, then filtered in Final Cut Pro to give them a more animated look.

Final Scenario: Torture Halls

This scenario plays on fear of moral contamination. The institutional-style building has a maze-like interior. Player's goal is to find the exit and get out; the exit is not an obvious one, like a door or a window. It is more conceptual.

The exit to the maze is the exit to the game. It is the result of a decision that can go three ways: evil killing, involuntary manslaughter, self-sacrifice out of refusal to do the manslaughter. The player is led in by the bird-bot, and the player still thinks the bird-bot is helpful or friendly. Eventually the player realizes the bird-bot is evil, but further on the player also realizes they can't get out without cooperating with the bird-bot. However the task they must cooperate on is heinous. Even if the player refuses to do what they need to do to get out, some normal act like opening a door will trigger the death of an innocent bystander anyway.

The Exit Experience

Once the user has completed their final scenario there is a brief exit experience, in which the bird bot appears and tells the user what is their greatest fear and which are their phobias.

II. Scenarios

Entry Level

1. Lake Scenario & Storyboards

2. Forest Scenario & Storyboard

Start in a hollow surrounded by hills. This should be a relatively small space, so we need fewer trees to fill it.

This is a desert-like expanse, dotted with shriveled up plants. Midway up the hillside there is a panorama indicating a tree line, but it is faint and far away. Most of the landscape has a burning-white quality, with scattered rocks, like something out of a Dali painting.

The Bird-bot leads the user to a spot near a cluster of three very shriveled up plants. Near them is a fountain with levers for turning it on and off. The Bird-bot encourages the user to turn on the fountain and water the plants.

If the user doesn't click on the fountain, he can wander around the space, but it gets harder and harder to move forward, and there is no leaving this particular space. Eventually he ends up back at the fountain. Once he clicks on the fountain water gushes out. Wherever the water goes, the ground begins to turn green.

This wave of sickly-green moss quickly covers the landscape. The sky darkens. Claps of thunder. Where ever the user moves to, the sickly green tide (only half an inch deep) follows him.

Small plants begin to pop up all around.

The plants get bigger and sprout branches. We realize that they are trees.The former desert is turning into a forest.

If the user moves, it is now pleasant to walk through. The green water has turned to a forest floor.

But the trees are still growing, and soon the space is choked with vegetation. The way is barred by the trees and hanging vines and the user cannot walk very far. Finally the user is completely caged!

With some difficulty the user will find a way through the forest and end up at the foot of the tower.

3.Tower Scenario

4. Distorted Space Scenario.

When the user first enters the Tower Room it looks like a normal nursery: a bassinet, toys lying around. Once the user moves around they will be teleported into a room where everything looks as it would to a small child: blurry, forshortened, where few of the rules of linear perspective seem to apply. Along with these disturbing visions is a sound track of a child weeping disconsolately. In order to get out of the space the user must interact with several objects. Eventually the user is transported to the Cavern Scenario.

5. Cavern Scenario

From the baby's room, the user is suddenly transported to a cavern. All around them the walls are made of solid rock. There seems to be no way out. If the user takes a few steps some glowing red eyes will appear. There are voices with the eyes that accuse the user of deliberately and maliciously ruining their world, with lines as follows:

"Oh, here's the sucker that didn't save the baby"

"What? You let a little baby drown?"

"Whatsamatter? Don't you like kids?"

"Do you know whose baby that was? You are in big trouble!"

"Yeah, wait til the parents find out!"

"What's a good punishment for a baby killer?"

"Maybe we should should do the punishing!" (goes with a swarm motion)

other lines depend on whether the user has been through the forest or not. If they have, the voices would also say things like:

"This is the same person that turned on the fountain?"

"You did that? Do you realize what you've done!?"

"That forest is still growing! Pretty soon the only way to get around here will be to fly!"

"Our whole world is getting choked up with weeds -- and its all your fault!"

In addition there should be some general insults and threats, like

"imbecile!"

"can't even walk around without getting into trouble!"

"how can your momma even let you go outside?"

Eventually it becomes clear that the eyes belong to bats, which swarm the user repeatedly while threatening punishment for all the wrong things the user has done.

Finally, magically, the sun starts to rise and it seems that the cavern walls are not solid after all, but more like a series of interconnected arches, and the user can walk out. If the user is ready for his end-experience he will be teleported to a final scenario as the bats are threatening punishment.

Final Scenario: Shipwreck

The user is teleported to the edge of the lake (a different edge from where they entered the Memesis). From where they are standing they can see a submarine in the water, with the trap open. Player enters. From an intercom on the deck the player can hear the voice of a teammate instructing them to take the submarine and get the treasure lying around loose in the wreck at the bottom of the lake.

The act of entering stimulates a cutscene (to be animated in Maya): the submarine sails around the beautiful underwater space which includes sites like a petrified forest underwater. The submarine eventually comes to rest near an old shipwreck. A talking head appears on an video screen and directs the player to use the robotic arm to remove treasure from the wreck. (The robotic arm has a camera so the player can aim the arm).

If player makes a mistake and the wreck collapses on top of player's submarine, she can use robotic arm to dig herself out, as well as taking advantage of different currents (visible by the movements of different fish within them) to get free.

Although the player will have some temporary success, eventually her submarine will be buried in rubble. The voice of a teammate will tell the user goodbye.

Final Scenario: Huanted House ("Interrupted Marriage")

This environment is a final scenario in Memesis, one the user would go to if his or her "greatest psychological fear" were seen to be "fear of failing at one's trust." This is the final scenario they get if not being able to save the drowning baby in the foyer raises their anxiety level more than anything else.

The narrative is inspired by Miss Havisham's situation in Dicken's novel Great Expectations. In that story Miss Havisham was an elderly lady who lived frozen in time, the moment her groom abandoned her at the altar. Emotionally, for all the decades of her long life afterwards, she is still there, in her white dress, paralyzed by her anger, planning her funeral where she will be laid out in her wedding dress.

In this scenario Miss Havisham's wedding is about to take place, the groom, the bride and others are present, their involvement in the marriage ritual is proceeding ahead - but then the user arrives. The user's presence disrupts the wedding by introducing a sense of betrayal and distrust in the couple. At the same time the user is subjected to various phobic stimuli, (some of them optional), which should raise their own level of dread. SOUNDS are indicated in BOLD ALL CAPS to make them easier to find. Sections that will be shot on video for rotoscoping later are in yellow. Only the most important sounds are listed; ambient sounds are not described but will need to be added as well.

SCENARIO BEGINS

EXT. GOTHIC MANSION

When the user is first transported to this environment he or she is standing in front of a small Gothic mansion with a tower room. The mansion is set in a "Capability Brown"-type landscape, an imitation of British landscapes designed to look good from multiple vantage points and to disguise the horizon. (This means good views from the mansion windows).

User enters.

INT. MAIN FLOOR

This is the living room floor. User enters into a formal foyer facing a double staircase.

Close to the user is a small table with a silver calling card platter. On the platter is a wedding invitation. If the user clicks on the invitation they can read the whole text.

When the user picks up the invitation, the foyer, formerly gloomy, lights up: light comes on in the chandelier, decorative lights on the staircase light up, and

SOUND

DISTANT MUSIC AND SOUNDS OF PEOPLE IN OTHER ROOMS CAN BE HEARD.

A voice calls out from the kitchen doorway, "Hey you! We need more champagne! Go down to the basement and get another bottle! And be snappy about it! We don't want anything to jinx the wedding this time!"

As soon as the user steps forward, the trap door to the cellar they were standing on pops open (the latch wasn't hooked properly, or something). The user falls and ends up falling right into the Well with a SPLASH.

User climbs out of the well. They will probably do this rather quickly, as the well has numerous spiders crawling around in it.

The basement is large, well stocked with crates and barrels. A mysterious machine - a water heater? A still? HUMS and THROBS in the background.

The same VOICE calls again, from the cellar trap opening this time, saying "Hurry up! The master wants his champagne!"

User looks around the basement for the champagne, notices the rack, and picks out a bottle (only one will move at first). When the user pulls this bottle out, they drop it and it BREAKS.

Where the broken bottle was, a luminous red heart-shaped jewel encased in some kind of glass can be seen. The user takes the heart. After they've taken the heart, they can take another bottle of champagne (all are now moveable). Unless they take the heart, they can't climb back out of the basement.

INT. MAIN FLOOR

If user goes to the kitchen door and opens it, they see a video of the Cook, the source of the Voice until now, who says, "What are you doing here? Are you trying to ruin everything? Take it up to the Dressing room! The bride and groom are going to have a toast before the ceremony!"

Still on the main floor, the user has several doors to choose from. Which one is the bride's dressing room?

The options:

BALLROOM

A large, lovely ballroom with several chandeliers, potted palm plants, and a circular dance floor. Tables setup all around for a wedding feast. A wedding canopy and flower arrangements show where the wedding will take place. A WOMAN in an advanced state of pregnancy stands contemplating the marriage canopy. When she hears the user enter she turns. She has tears in her eyes and is clutching an envelope with the Groom's name on it.

WOMAN

It's... beautiful, isn't it?

She turns back to contemplating the wedding setup.

WOMAN

Just as I imagined it would be.

She turns back to the user.

WOMAN

Would you do something for me?

She seals an envelope for him.

WOMAN

Please take this to him.

She holds the envelope to the user.

WOMAN

I was going to take it myself, but now... (she gestures at everything set up for the wedding) I can't bring myself to do it.

Still, I think he should know.

User accepts the envelope. User continues to search for the Bride's dressing room.

LIBRARY/MAIN ROOM

This room is two stories high, with a balcony that runs around the top. It is lined with books and portraits. There is some normal library furniture: reading tables (no more than two), easy chairs, a sofa. Along the second story is a balcony that is only accessible from upstairs as well a curving stairway in the room. No one is in the library except the user.

BATHROOM

This door is locked. When the user tries is an older male voice GROWLS at them to "Go away, I'll be out in a minute."

DINING ROOM

A long banquet table set for the feast, with another chandelier and/or candles already lit.

ANTE ROOM

If User tries to open this door, they find it is locked. User's action prompts the sound of feminine voices, giggling, and conversation. It is the bridesmaids getting dressed. When the bridesmaids become aware of the User's presence one of them opens the door just a sliver. We can't see within. She says:

BRIDESMAID 1:

Oh! That's the champagne for the bride and groom - upstairs, upstairs, they are waiting for you!

BRIDESMAID 2:

Better get it to him quick or he'll think he's jinxed and call off the wedding again!

Go on, go one, they are upstairs!

BRIDESMAID 3:

(Imitating) Go on! Go on! Wouldn't want him to be jinxed, now, would we?

BRIDESMAID 1 (to the other bridesmaids):

I'll jinx him anytime!

She has closed the door but we can now hear GIGGLES from all of them.

The user heads up the stairs.

THIRD FLOOR

Much smaller than the main floor. There are two doors:

TOP OF THE LIBRARY DOOR

The user finds themselves on the balcony on the second library level, looking down at the library below. There is no one there.

CUTSCENE A: (If USER DID NOT TAKE ENVELOPE FROM PREGNANT GIRL)

BEDROOM DOOR

This is the BRIDE's room. The room has a large double bed on which are laid out various items of clothing, including the veil and crown of flowers, the bouquet, etc. There are two large windows that look out over the grounds of the mansion below. In front of these windows is a small table with two chairs. The GROOM sits in one chair. The BRIDE is nowhere in sight.

GROOM

(to USER)

Oh! Great! You've got the champagne! Shh! Let's put it here, so it will be a surprise!

The Groom takes the champagne bottle from the user and sets it carefully on the table. He puts a cloth over it and starts to work the cork out carefully.

GROOM

You can't imagine how hard it is to get the timing for everything just right.... We almost got married twice before... but each time something went wrong... it's very important to follow all the rituals and all of the traditions.... If we do anything wrong we pay for it....

(he waves at the view out the window)

GROOM

We are connected to the land and the land is connected to us... if we do anything wrong, the land suffers and we are punished. (he works on the cork) I didn't want to jinx my marriage before it even got started.

The cork pops out with a satisfying "pop"

GROOM (smiling)

This time nothing will go wrong.

At that moment the BRIDE emerges from the Bathroom door. She is wearing a shawl over her wedding dress so the GROOM will not see it before the wedding.

BRIDE (sees the champagne)

Ooh! But - I wanted to go down and get it for you myself!

GROOM (pleased with himself that he is so well organized)

I had cook send our friend here to get it for you!

The bride looks upset. There was something else down there that she wanted, other than the champagne, but she can't tell him that. The groom is busy pouring champagne into champagne glasses. As he pours, he says:

GROOM

I want you to take a good look at that view. (He hands her the glass)

That view is our future - let's toast to it.

BRIDE (distracted)

Our future... what do you mean?

GROOM

The land, my darling, our land now. I have great plans for this place, many many things that you and I can do, together, to make this land richer, more productive. To attract more farmers and tenants. It's going to be great.

BRIDE (horrified)

But, but... darling. I thought you understood me.... I can't stay here. I have my career to think of.

GROOM

(About to respond, notices the user is still there)

What are you still doing here? Can't we have a moment in private?

BRIDE (to the user)

No, don't leave... wait!

When-when you were down there, in the cellar, did you happen to see anything else?

The groom looks up.

GROOM

Something else, like what?

BRIDE (still to user)

Something small...shiny....

She motions with her hands.

BRIDE

Could you, could you give it to me?

IF USER GIVES HER THE HEART

GROOM

You gave my heart --- to this person! (he spits out the word "person" as if it were an insult).

I trusted you with it!

I KNEW I SHOULD NEVER HAVE TRUSTED YOU!

BRIDE

No! No! I didn't give it to anyone! I just hid it in the wine cellar, to keep it safe!

GROOM

TO KEEP IT SAFE! IN A WINE CELLAR!

He is beside himself with rage. We are starting to understand that he has a very unstable temperament, to say the least.

GROOM

Give that to me!

He takes the heart from her, puts it on the table and smashes the champagne glass against it. The glass breaks but the heart is undamaged. He hurls it against the wall. The Bride rushes to pick it up.

BRIDE

Look, look, there is a chip in it now....

GROOM

More like huge gaping hole! AND ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!

He grabs it away from her, runs out the door that goes to the library balcony, and hurls it off the balcony into the room below. This time it breaks.

The sound of it shattering seems to bring him back to his senses. He runs down the curving stairway and kneels down by the mess. The user "runs" after him (camera follows him). It looks like blood is seeping from the heart.

GROOM

Oh, my god, my heart, my heart....

BRIDE (from the balcony)

If you could have just trusted me with it....

She turns and swoops out of the room.

GROOM

Wait! Come back!

But the door has slammed shut. Groom looks accusingly at the user.

GROOM

This is all your fault.

END OF CUT-SCENE HAUNTED HOUSE HEART A

If the User doesn't give them the heart:

CUT-SCENE HAUNTED HOUSE HEART B

GROOM

Are you telling me that you lost the heart I gave you? My heart?

BRIDE

No, no, I hid it to keep it safe....

GROOM

Will you hide away everything precious that I give to you?

BRIDE

No, no, I'll go get it, you'll see....

She swoops out of the room, shawl and all.

GROOM

Wait! Wait!

But she has gone down the stairs. The groom sits alone in front of the champagne. He drinks his own glass.

GROOM

Here I thought I was going to have a nice little romantic interlude with her before the wedding.... Our last moment alone before we ---

He drains his glass.

GROOM (To user)

Want some?

The user does not respond (can't) so the groom shrugs

GROOM

More for me then.

He drains the second glass, refills it, keeps drinking. We can see he has a habit of doing this.

The BRIDE appears at the door. Somewhere along the way she has lost her shawl, her hair is disheveled, there are streaks of dirt on her gown. There are also drops of blood on her hands and streaks of blood on her dress.

GROOM

Hey.... I thought it was bad luck for me to see you in your dress. (He sees the blood) Hey, what happened?

BRIDE

What difference does it make?

GROOM

You got your dress all dirty!

He is drunk enough that this only seems mildly annoying.

BRIDE

I looked all over for it, and I couldn't find it.

GROOM

Looked all over where? In the coal bin?

BRIDE

Wine cellar. There was a broken bottle, and I cut myself. Now my dress is ruined.

She picks up the now empty champagne bottle.

GROOM (a bit slow on the uptake)

In the wine cellar?!

BRIDE

It seemed the appropriate hiding place for it.

GROOM (Maudlin)

I didn't want you to hide it anywhere... I wanted to keep it by you... on your person.... At all times. In a nice warm spot. Maybe here....

He has gotten up and puts a finger on her cleavage. Then he leans over to kiss her.

BRIDE

But it's gone! Someone stole it.

GROOM

It doesn't matter. We'll find it. Give us a kiss.

She is repelled by his drunkenness.

BRIDE

No.

Groom is startled.

BRIDE

I thought of something, while I was down there, bleeding, on my hands and knees. I realized this is what it would always be like for me, if I married you. So I decided.

GROOM

Decided what?

BRIDE

Not to marry you.

GROOM

WHAT?

BRIDE

Unless.... You swear.

GROOM

Swear? Swear what? What could I swear that I haven't sworn to you already!

I GAVE YOU MY HEART AND YOU LOST IT!

BRIDE

Swear... never to take another drink.

It take her a great effort to say this. There are tears in her eyes. She knows what the answer will be.

GROOM

You're crazy.

He staggers for the door and exits. The Bride remains behind, alone. She turns to the user.

BRIDE

This is all your fault.

END CUT-SCENE HAUNTED HOUSE HEART B

IF THE USER DID TAKE THE ENVELOPE FROM THE PREGNANT GIRL IN THE LIBRARY (BEDROOM CUT SCENE B):

BEDROOM DOOR

This is the BRIDE's room. The room has a large double bed on which are laid out various items of clothing, including the veil and crown of flowers, the bouquet, etc. There are two large windows that look out over the grounds of the mansion below. In front of these windows is a small table with two chairs. The GROOM sits in one chair. The BRIDE is nowhere in sight.

GROOM

(to USER)

Oh! Great! You've got the champagne! Shh! Let's put it here, so it will be a surprise!

The Groom takes the champagne bottle from the user and sets it carefully on the table. He puts a cloth over it and starts to work the cork out carefully.

GROOM

You can't imagine how hard it is to get the timing for everything just right.... We almost got married twice before... but each time something went wrong... it's very important to follow all the rituals and all of the traditions.... If we do anything wrong we pay for it....

(he waves at the view out the window)

GROOM

We are connected to the land and the land is connected to us... if we do anything wrong, the land suffers and we are punished. (he works on the cork) I didn't want to jinx my marriage before it even got started.

The cork pops out with a satisfying "pop"

GROOM (smiling)

This time nothing will go wrong.

He notices the envelope in the USER's hand.

GROOM

What's that you've got there?

He takes the envelope from the User and READS it.

GROOM

Oh no.... I had no idea... this is terrible.... How could she have gotten pregnant.... We were so carefully... No matter what I do, I'm jinxed!

At that moment the BRIDE emerges from the Bathroom door. She is wearing a shawl over her wedding dress so the GROOM will not see it before the wedding.

BRIDE (sees the champagne)

Ooh! But - I wanted to go down and get it for you myself!

GROOM (distracted)

If the Player helps attach the bat:

Once both bat wings fit within the outline, the wall slides open. For a moment the player is looking out at empty VR space. Then suddenly player is teleported to his Exit Experience.

----

If the player stands back and does nothing or leaves the site, for example to go into another door, the bird-bot will rip the bat off the wall and throw its mangled body at the player's feet. Then suddenly player is teleported to his Exit Experience.

THE END