Building blocks

As both a noun and an activity, this accurately describes what we have been head-down on the last few days. Now that we have a proof-of-concept on characters and animations, we are shifting focus towards building a vertical slice. Art is taking a back seat to tech, and we will likely be using FAB/Mixamo assets for much of this phase.

Now, we are neck-deep in building the systems that we will place throughout the game. None of this is completely new, but the scripts and blueprints we have crafted previously need to be tweaked a bit for an adventure that is focused on underwater exploration. some of those tweaks are simple and straightforward; some are proving… more challenging. 😅

It would be difficult to show what we have put together over the last few days, but each piece will have a place in the final product:

• Updated controls for better 3d person feel
• Updated breathing system and added it back into buoyancy calculations (player moves up and down depending on buoyancy changes based on how much air is in their lungs at a given point in time)
• Added a variable current system to allow for drift diving and more realism
• Added progress bar for experience (there will be a level system, and it will directly affect things like Surface Air Consumption rate, buoyancy control, camera control, etc.)
• Added a pressure gauge and a system tracking decrease in pressure with each breath (SAC/depth calculations aren’t in yet, but that is where we are heading)
• Added initial AI actors that detect player presence and respond; this is gonna take a lot of work with a lot of variations to get right (a triggerfish and a goby react very differently in real life… we want the game to portray a variety of creatures with moderate realism)
• Added initial teleport, respawn, and AI spawn systems

Right now, it looks like a pile of legos. We are cleaning up tech debt as we go, but it is still a bit of a jumble. Hopefully, this phase should only last another few weeks – then we can get to building in earnest.

All of this is building up to our goal to have an initial vertical slice done by mid-/late-April to support both a MegaGrant proposal and our (tentatively scheduled for) May Kickstarter campaign. Tell your friends, tell your friends’ friends, and – if this sounds like something you are interested in – keep an ear out for opportunities to playtest and contribute to the project.