Is a haunted house still scary if you can't see anything inside it?
That's what The Deep End Games is going for in its debut effort, Perception. Just launched on Kickstarter, the upcoming game tells a haunted house story from the perspective of Cassie, a blind woman who "sees" using echolocation.
The Deep End is a new studio founded by ex-Irrational Games designer Bill Gardner. Irrational created the BioShock series under Ken Levine's direction, and Gardner honed his talents over the 12 years he spent there.
Perception follows Cassie whose dreams are haunted by an abandoned mansion. When she learns that the dream location is a real place in northern coastal Massachusetts, she sets out to uncover the mysteries hidden away there.
The Estate at Echo Bluff has some dark doings in its past. As Cassie explores the grounds and pieces evidence together, her journey takes her back in time to earlier moments in Echo Bluff's history. Determining the source of evil in each era is key, as knowledge is Cassie's only hope of escape.
Gardner is joined on Perception by writer/producer Amanda Gardner and an assortment of fellow Irrational veterans. The BioShock studio may be gone, but it's been something of a launch pad for a lot of today's great and/or up-and-coming indie talents (see also: Gone Home).
The Deep End is targeting a funding total of $150,000 before the Kickstarter ends on June 25. The funding total was just shy of $7,000 at time of this writing.