ScreenWhile...

Concept

We're all familiar with the "split screen" convention as seen in cinema and on TV, as well as in comics. Showing you two things at once, perhaps two separate locations where exciting events are unfolding simultaneously. A "Meanwhile...", if you will. 

This trope has many a time been comedically subverted by having characters reach across the divider or otherwise interacting with each other in a fourth wall-breaking twist.

So here's a game where that's an actual game mechanic!

Two players. Two platform games, side by side on the screen. But while the player characters cannot just waltz over into each other's games, (because the characters' worlds scroll to keep them inside their respective windows) they can pick up certain objects and throw them across the division between worlds, allowing the other player to make use of items they otherwise couldn't get their hands on.

(Click images for larger versions)

What might be a simple everyday object in one realm may be a mighty weapon in another. With each world having its own unique genre, the interactions between various universes can result in all kinds of gameplay and amusingly incongruous crossovers.

Another possibility for interaction across the "meanwhile" divider is to have mechanically analogous systems that can become continuous across both sides of the screen, if aligned correctly.

Consider a simple system of weights and pulleys. When the "ropes" of each are lined up and connect as one, big weight goes down, small weight goes up!

We have alignment!


...and so, our intrepid B-movie alien hero, played by Player One, gets hoisted up to an otherwise inaccessible area simply by having Player Two press the button that centres their half of the screen's view on their character, the Cavewoman. (Note: Images zoomed and cropped for clarity)

While only co-operative play styles are demonstrated in this mockup, the potential for competitive match-ups only depends on level design.

There could also be boss enemies that can jump between the two sides of the screen to really menace the player characters! What you've seen in this mockup is just the tip of the iceberg...

***

Background

ScreenWhile's design takes inspiration from various 4th wall-breaking comic strips, as well as spatial (dis)continuity puzzles such as those in Portal, and the thematic variety of different levels in Lemmings 2: The Tribes. 

I could see there being around eight different "realms" to match up with each other in different combinations. In addition to the "medieval manuscript", "cyberpunk dystopia", "B-movie space adventure", and "anachronistic prehistory" aesthetics on display in this mockup, I could also see such themes as "pirates" (lots of opportunities for ropes and pulleys), "spy flick" (with a focus on stealth tactics), "Looney Tunes" (with the associated cartoon cliches), and "scaled-up tiny world" (where the enemies are relatively enormous insects and the main character is like a pixie or something) going into the mix. A spooky gothic horror-themed realm might be fun, too. With the importance of contrasting worlds and art styles to this game, there really are a lot of directions it could go in, in terms of gameplay, visuals, musical soundscapes, and even narrative regarding why a bunch of distinct universes might be leaking into each other.

I happily admit that several precursors to this mockup have been rolling around in my head for... dang, well over a decade now, and the Mockup Game Jam #2 was an opportunity for me to really solidify some of these ideas by presenting them as a game. Well, a hypothetical game. Come to think of it, there may well be other games mechanically just like this out there and I simply never noticed them. But right now I'd rather play those games than make one, so let me know in the comments if you know of any such games!

Andrew Kepple, October 2024

P.S. I suppose this game really only breaks the three-and-a-halfth wall since the characters don't attempt to interact with the audience (more than any other platform game characters do), but that's harder to pronounce than "fourth wall".