This week has been a busy time for us as we prepared the game for it’s first showing at Gamebridge in Middlesbrough on Wednesday. It was a great event, met a load of people I’ve never met before and caught up with a few familiar faces. Also caught a glimpse of some really cool games I’d never seen before, and saw the progress of some I’ve already played (such as the brilliant Gang Beasts).
The reception to the Daedalus build we had was really positive, so thanks to all who dropped by and gave it a go, and a big thanks to Olly Bennet and Bruce Slater for organising the event!
As far as Daedalus progress is concerned we have been working on the following:
Time Trial Mode
This was created for the Gamebridge build as a way to demonstrate the core gameplay components in a short space of time. It will also appear in the finished game as a challenge mode, and it allows us to start evaluating different ways in which the game will play (speedrunning, for example). The mode takes place on a new level that is more akin to what we want to construct, in terms of level design. The level features a network of vents, natural caverns and security measures that the player must avoid while finding all the objectives in the allotted time.
The .gif below shows the player collecting a node in the time trial map. We’ve also experimented more with the areas in this map, so in addition to the corridors of an underground bunker the player can find ways to get into the natural rocky areas surrounding the base.
New Enemy Type – Automated Guard Dog
At the moment I’m working on setting up our first mobile enemy, a robotic “guard dog” inspired by Boston Dynamics’ Big Dog. These machines will patrol areas that may be unsafe for humans and carry a high caliber machine gun that will make short work of the player if they are detected. In times of high alert, they will be called in to assist human search parties in tracking the player.
They are not without their weaknesses however, the player will be able to hack them and take command of them for a short period. This will allow the player to either deal a lot of damage (but alert a lot of enemies in the process) or access areas without attracting much suspicion.
This will also appear as a playable class in the challenge modes, with some challenge modes that are unique to the guard dog.
Alert System
More of a behind the scenes update, the Alert System has been expanded to include regional alerts (so the entire base will not be alerted until the alert has reached a high enough level) as well as multiple stages of alert.
The player can avoid triggering an alert if they are quick enough, as there is a very brief window to escape a cameras view cone. If the player is spotted multiple times, then doors and objectives can become locked until the alert level has diminished.
Main Menu and HUD
We’ve started to expand and tidy up the HUD, moving away from debug text and visuals and test a few nicer looking assets out. As I posted on Tuesday, we have a basic Main Menu which has since been tweaked a little. We intend for the menus to expand the game world a bit, so that even if you haven’t started to play the game you are finding out more about the narrative through the backgrounds etc.
The next SitRep will be on Friday 8th August, but I aim to add some more info during the week. Thanks for checking out the game!
EVIL GAMES 