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Side Effects
Side Effects is a turn-based psychological game where survival depends on risk, timing, and uncertain choices. Set within a clinical test environment, two participants face off by consuming capsules whose effects are not immediately known. Each decision can shift the balance, either offering an advantage or triggering a harmful side effect. What begins as a simple selection becomes a tense contest of deduction and bluffing.
The Core System Of Pill Selection
Each round presents the player with a limited number of pills and potential actions. These pills are randomly generated with unknown properties, and players must decide whether to consume, save, or pass. Their impact may be beneficial or dangerous, and repeated consumption increases the chance of negative outcomes through a tolerance system. The goal is to remain alive while managing these unknowns better than the opponent.
Strategic Decisions And Player Control
Side Effects challenges the player not with action, but with logic and instinct. The interface is minimal, directing attention toward the consequences of each choice. Players must weigh the risks, observe patterns, and determine when to act or avoid action. Though each move may seem small, their effects build over time.
Key elements of the experience include:
- A randomized pill system with hidden properties
- A tolerance meter that tracks cumulative risk
- Turn-based structure allowing for reactive gameplay
- Tools and items that alter the effect of pills or decisions
- Simple visuals emphasizing gameplay tension
Future Possibilities And Design Potential
Though Side Effects is currently a prototype, its structure allows for expansion. New items, effects, or even alternate game modes could easily be added to increase complexity. The player experience already demonstrates how tension can be created without violence or visual horror—only through anticipation and psychological pressure.
Side Effects presents its narrative through design rather than storytelling. Every round is an abstract battle of wits, where control is limited and knowledge is partial. It is a quiet game, but one that asks the player to think several steps ahead. What you consume may change everything—or nothing at all. The only way to know is to swallow and wait.
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