(How) You discovered a secret room! (Contest- Concluded)

I appreciate the suggestion, but the idea/concept of the player finding a secret up a giant dead boss's bunghole/organic waste disposal chute in Bloodstained is something my heart is truly set on and I don't want to stray too far from my original vision. It seems like something that would look hilarious in-game.

sounds like something that would work well for a monster based off aegir, gambrinus, silenus and dionysus/bacchus, or pan

One of my favourite little things you can do in Symphony of the Night is the confession room. You sit on one of the chairs, and a ghost accompanies you--either a priest or confessor, depending on the chair. Sometimes they stab you, and sometimes they leave an item. It's a neat Easter Eggy kind of feature.

I can see this being an interesting way to enter a secret area. Just sit in a chair for a few seconds, and a bookcase opens up. Or maybe the chair descends into the floor to reveal a hidden cellar sort of place with some awesome stuff. Just sit on the chair again to return.

In combination with a day and night cycle with the crystals or stained glass being tied to the art, I could see something like this in the game. I like Indiana Jones / Legend stuff like that.

How about a place like a dog kennel or falconry or some kind of animal pen. Should you transform into said animal and act normal in it for a short wait, someone enters from a previously unrevealed door at which point you can access it.

Or a room that is hidden early in the game, that automatically unlocks later on at a triggered point without notice. When player then enters said room it looks pretty plain with an open treasure chest, attempting to dupe the player into thinking they were there already. But upon interacting with the chest it reveals to have a false bottom leading to another area.

Also. A hidden room clued by its existance via stained glass window. Early game one particularly large window depicts a fancy looking area later on in the castle that the player will not have seen by that point. In the game (until revisiting at least). But the window doesnt quite look like the real thing, and the difference is key to revealing said secret room.

There have been several ideas I really like. Even after I draw a conclusion to the contest, I hope the ideas continue.

^ wabawanga just gave me an idea.

Similarly to his suggestion, I'd find it interesting if there's a secret room that only opens up if you're damaged by an enemy. (How about if your HP is reduced to 0...but instead of dying, you're taken to the secret room somehow with partially-restored HP.)

Personally, I'd also find it cool (and possibly a "Guide Dang It") if there's a secret room that can only be accessed after a "What the Hell, Hero?" moment.  What if, for example, you had to make Miriam actually attack Johannes or some other allied/friendly character?  (Maybe use their blood to gain access to aforementioned secret rooms)

that would be perfect with one caveat, you would need somewhere in the castle to have a similar situation where an enemy can knock you into the back wall in a 'safe' manner so you know such attacks exist, like inside a rotating tower where if the guard knocks you back you go down a couple flights and have to fight your way back up
this primes you for the realisation this enemy can do the same thing, only in a much more dangerous fashion with the addition of the windows, and once the danger has been established you throw the oddity into the mix to keep players thinking about the combat and their surroundings

or could be done in a more classicvania fashion with secret branching paths since the presence of death pits informs the player to be wary of their surroundings since any attack could knock them into one, but the 'punt for distance' death animation coupled with the oddity of there being something potentially different about that spot could get the player weighing how many lives theyre willing to spend on a possible secret vs noting it and continuing on the path they know

also the attacking johannes thing isnt really a guide dang it because at some point during a playthrough people will hit the wrong button or be too early or far away for the talk prompt to show up, and end up attacking instead of talking, or attack an npc cause its there >P

qaantar Musical puzzles sounds good.

Astaroth References to real world books and only solving the puzzle by research sounds epic.

purifyweirdshard Clues in the prequel game that carry over as ways to find secrets sounds brilliant.


This idea is simple, cute and very Curry the Kid style. I might make it to where you could kill it and it would respawn by coming back, but it wouldn't attack. If this had a picture to go along with it, I would like this idea even more.

The using light and crystals to open a secret sounds very much like my kind of style. Nice neff.

I think ghaleon had a very remarkable idea with the revisited room chest that looks like it was already accessed, but leads to a secret area. That's very original.

---

Alright, that's seven of my favorites and the thread has died down. Everyone has had a fair chance, now lets see if I can pick a favorite. (Long pause... This is hard. I'm about 10 minutes into trying to pick and I'm considering making it a poll. Nah, I shouldn't do that... Hmm.)

OK, I've got it. I think Ryngar Acia's idea makes the castle feel like a lived in place with some character to it's denizens. It makes the game feel more like a real place, and hearkens back to secrets like the Mothman and Yetti. Good job! It wasn't easy for me to pick out of so many great posts.

Everyone, keep giving suggestions if you have them!