About
The game is very early in development and is currently being solo-developed with a very small budget. This will be my second game. My first being The Companion which released in May, 2021. I aim to have a Demo ready for this game in late 2022 and the full game completed late 2023 or early 2024.
Update Video #1:
Here is an Update Video showing some progress. FPS is choppy here as I still need to optimize the level. Some of what I will discuss below is displayed here.
Gameplay
As this is the most important topic, lets get it out of the way first. The primary gameplay loop will be to progress through the story by completing objectives and clue solving. I take some inspiration from some of the story-centric games of the 90’s that only required basic inputs from the player and required little to no fighting, but offered an immersive story. Games I feel fit this description, and which I have fond memories of from my childhood, would be the Myst / Riven series, Dragon’s Lair and Phantasmagoria.
The Companion was designed with a similar approach. Even though I am very proud of The Companion and how it was executed, because it was my first endeavor into game development, clearly it can be improved upon. What I strive to do differently with this game is to increase the amount of engagement from the player and to hopefully provide a story that is even more immersive.
Some of my initial goals are to have more objectives, clues, puzzles and more in-depth resource management. There will be death scenarios, and there will be some branching storylines.
Controls
Most of the game will take place in a Zero-G environment. Zero-G movement seems to be lacking in videogames, so it is something I am very excited to explore. Controls for a Zero-G environment has been a large focal point of my initial experiments, I believe it is in a decent spot and can be iterated upon to further improve it. As of now, animations are lacking, I’ll look to show how Zero-G movement works in the future.
To break up the free-floating movement in Zero-G, I am planning an Earth level and Moon level which each have the appropriate amount of gravity. The aim is to allow as much freedom of movement as possible in each environment.
Here is the first go at the Default Walk Cycle.
I am designing the camera system to accommodate a Third Person and First Person view. I want controls and viewpoint to have a great level of flexibility to provide the most comfortable playing experience for each type of environment.
In addition, I'm looking to leverage the power of Metahumans & Unreal Engine 5 by adding facial expressions and lip sync.
Here is an Idle Facial Animation.
The Story
“You have awakened… a lifetime too soon.”
Inspiration for this story originally came about in 2009 after seeing the movie Avatar. Now, 12 years later, I understand there is a movie, Passengers, from 2016 that also explores this topic. This story will explore loneliness, fitness, resourcefulness, mental health, and survival. Watch the Announcement Trailer to get a glimpse of what is planned.
Visuals / Art
The trailer above serves as my style guide for this game. I strive to make the gameplay look similar to what is presented in the trailer. The trailer is the culmination of 5 months of exploration into the art & design of this game. Before focusing on the programming, my goal was to nail down how it would look and feel.
Art is so important in indie games which is the primary reason I focused on it first. Another reason is because Art & Design is so subjective that there is no clear ending for it. Programming, on the other hand, has clear beginning & endings.
Music / Sound
One of the major successes with The Companion has been the Music which is composed by Hew Wagner. This game is still very early in development but I hope to go down a similar path and be just as successful with the music for this game.
However, while the Music was a great success, the Sound Design might be considered below average in The Companion. I intend to explore Sound Design quite a bit more in AFS. Whether I find someone that can assist in this area, or tackle it on my own, I intend to push the Sound Design to a much higher level.
Voiceover
Lastly, the Voiceover in The Companion has been praised as being quite good for an indie game. I am very thrilled with the performances for that game and truly hope it can be repeated in AFS. With the excellent performance by Sandra Osborne for the trailer, I feel it’s already starting from a great place. I can’t wait to dive into it more.
Conclusion
To wrap up, what you should expect from this game is a story-centric game that builds off my experience developing The Companion, and a game that tries to push cinematic elements in games even more, with top notch music, voiceover, visuals, sound, and an engaging story. As a solo-developer, I can’t promise every objective will be tackled to absolute AAA quality, but Ill strive to get as close as possible.
Reminder to please Wishlist the Game here, it helps indie developers tremendously! Wishlist A Forever Solitude on Steam.
Thanks for reading, and see you next time.