Away: The Survival Series
Announcing Photomode!
A big focus of AWAY has always been the atmosphere and environments - being inspired by nature documentaries, we've consistently tried to make our world feel as alive as possible.
Our new photomode will allow you to enjoy the environments we've spent so much time on in a brand new way!
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When photomode is engaged, the sugar glider will freeze mid-motion, making action shots simple to snap! However, the glider is the only thing frozen in place - the environment will still be alive with ambient motion, keeping you immersed in the moment. And it means you'll still need to have some timing to capture the perfect pic ;)
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To provide even more control over your shot, we've included an array of options - from Depth of Field to Saturation to Noise, there's plenty to play around with. If you don't want to get into the fine details, we've also designed some pre-made filters to quickly change the feel of your picture without fiddling with the options.
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Hope you enjoy photomode as much as we do! We can't wait to see the shots you take :)
~ the AWAY dev team
Behind the Scenes: Day & Night Lighting
Hope you're enjoying the beginning of summer! As the sun rises earlier and sets later, we wanted to share a quick look at AWAY's lighting system.
Artistic liberties in the natural world
Initially, we weren't sure if we could do both day and night modes because of the challenges posed by lighting. Our first few attempts just didn't feel quite right, and it took us a bit to pin down the unexpected reason; our lighting system was *too* realistic!
When the sun neared the top of its arc across the sky, shadows formed directly under models, while the models themselves were harshly illuminated. Under these conditions, the world looked flat and unnatural. While it's more pronounced in a game world, this is a real-world phenomenon too (check out Lahaina Noon).
In order to create a more natural atmosphere, we actually had to deviate a bit from pure realism! Our Art Director created his own tool that allowed precise control over lighting conditions to fine-tune and perfect our dusks, dawns, and everything in-between. We can tweak sky colour, sun colour, sun *light* colour, and more!
That isn't to say we just went mad with power though - as with all of AWAY, we did a lot of research and amassed folders full of reference images and art to try and nail that perfect documentary feeling. Our goal wasn't to replace natural lighting, but to highlight it.
Designing the day and night
Using this custom tool, we've tweaked the daylight to look warmer, while the night looks colder. We've also programmed the sun and moon to stay closer to the horizon, avoiding the strange lighting conditions caused when the light source is close to directly overhead.
Contrasting our golden morning light, our nights are predominantly blue. With all the dark colours involved at night time, though, we needed to find a middle-ground between our art direction and functionality - namely, keeping the atmosphere of a dark night while making sure people could actually see while playing.
We ended up creating a separate light to follow the sugar glider, keeping him and his surroundings lit regardless of the environment around. Controlling both this light and the environmental lighting allowed us to guarantee players can see without breaking the nocturnal atmosphere!
So that's a bit of background on our lighting! Hopefully this cast a little light (đ) on some of the work that goes into building this natural world.
Let us know what you'd like to hear about next! We'd love to share more behind the scenes content as we near the final stages of development.
~the AWAY dev team
Happy Valentine's Day!
We're super grateful for your support these past five years, so to show our love we made some AWAY-themed valentine cards with some of our favourite animals!
Click here for the full-size versions of each card.
Please feel free to send them around and spread the love! (And reply in the comments with your favourite animal puns!)
Wishing you a wonderful Valentine's Day đ
~ the AWAY dev team
AWAY is in the Québec Steam Sale!
That's right: they are all developed here in Montréal, Québec!
As a global hub for game development, our city is home to some of the biggest games in the world, but it also has a thriving indie scene.
This is why five years ago, our founders decided to quit their jobs to follow their dream and start their own game studio.
After working at Ubisoft on games like Far Cry, Prince of Persia, and Rainbow Six, they wanted to make something new, something that hadn't been done before.
And so AWAY was born.
I'm telling you this story because today, we are proud to announce that AWAY is part of the first ever Québec Steam Sale!
Of course, AWAY is in the "Coming Soon" section, but we are so excited to be featured alongside some of our favourite games like Spiritfarer, We Happy Few, and Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey.
We feel incredibly lucky to be part of such an amazing indie community representing the city we love, and we hope this can give you a taste of what Québec has to offer!
Check out the Québec Steam Sale »
Enjoy :)
~ the AWAY dev team
P.S. Our steam broadcast is currently #2 in the entire event â a few more views could push us to #1!
Food, Stamina, and AWAY's Skill Tree
With the new year right around the corner, we wanted to give you a sneak peek at some of the game mechanics we've worked on over the past 12 months and show you how they work in AWAY.
Stamina & Food
In order to bring more realism and depth to the sugar glider experience, we've included stamina bars for each of the glider's four main skills: Sprinting, Gliding, Instinct, and Possession. Once a bar runs out, you won't be able to use that skill until it starts filling up again.
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The stamina barsâor rather circlesâappear on-screen when you start using a skill. Once used up, they generally begin to auto-refill after a couple seconds, but only up to a certain point. In order to max out your stamina, you'll have to eat some of the various foods scattered around AWAY's environments:
- Yellow foods (like cloudberries & tree gum) will refill your Gliding stamina.
- Red foods (like raspberries & red mushrooms) will refill your Sprinting stamina.
- Blue foods (like blueberries & blue mushrooms) will refill your Possession stamina, which allows you to possess other animals.
- All foods, including small prey, will refill your Instinct stamina.
Apart from refilling stamina, food will also keep you from starving and help you recover from damage faster when you're at full health. So keep an eye out for tasty plants and insects in the wild!
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Unlock New Skills
We've added a new tree into the game, but it's not one you will find in any forest... AWAY now has a skill tree!
As you advance through the game, you will unlock new abilities for the sugar glider by exploring your environments, embarking on side quests, and completing in-game challenges.
All of the core skills will be unlockable through the game's main storyline, but you can really level up your abilities if you're brave enough to venture off the beaten path!
Skills are separated into three main categories:
- Combat (Red) impacts fighting and hunting abilities, as well as health.
- Locomotion (Yellow) impacts sprinting, climbing, and gliding abilities.
- Instinct (Blue) impacts instinct and animal possession abilities.
Improved Settings
Thanks to all the feedback we received this year, we've expanded the in-game settings to include some new options. Beyond adding sliders to adjust camera sensitivity and invert your axis, we also added options to disable motion blur and depth of field.
- Motion blur refers to the slight blur that occurs when your character or camera are in motion. We originally added it to make the game feel more fluid, but many people prefer playing without it so we now allow you to disable this feature in-game.
- Depth of field refers to the blurriness that occurs in the background when you focus on something up-close. Things near you become super detailed, while everything further away slides out of focus. Again, many people requested an option to disable this feature, so you can now turn it on/off in the video settings.
What's Next?
From now until AWAY's release, our main focus will be on fixing bugs and balancing the game's mechanics. We've received a bunch of great feedback over the past few months and we'll be working hard to address all of it as we enter the final stages of development.
In the meantime, don't forget to wishlist AWAYâit really helps us out!
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year :)
~ the AWAY dev team
Introducing Nighttime Gameplay đ
Ever since our Kickstarter campaign, one of our most requested features has been to add nighttime gameplay to AWAY. We weren't sure if we would be able to pull it off, but it was an idea that stuck with us.
Over the past year our dev team decided to run a few tests on the side, just to see if it would be possible to include somehow... and today we're thrilled to announce that AWAY will feature nighttime gameplay!
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In addition to a couple nighttime missions, we've also integrated a full day-night cycle in various sections of AWAY's world. Watch as the sun sets and nocturnal life comes out, but keep an eye open as you explore by starlight â some of these nighttime denizens are less than friendly!
Nocturnal Creatures
As day turns to night, we wanted to give AWAY's environments a more nocturnal feel. While the visuals and sounds certainly play a big role in this, we also tweaked the gameplay a little by increasing the spawn rate of nocturnal creatures such as rats and spiders.
You can spot them through the foliage using the sugar glider's instinct, but better watch out as you roam the forest floor... These creatures are more dangerous than they look!
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Combat vs. Stealth
At night, stealth plays a big role in avoiding unwanted attention from dangerous enemies. Whether you're hiding in tall grass or navigating through the trees, there are many ways to explore your environments without getting spotted.
Of course, you can also throw caution to the wind and take your enemies head-on. The Sugar Glider may be small, but he can certainly put up a good fight! Just avoid doing like we did and dropping into a swarm of spiders...!
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Larger Predators
While you can take on smaller enemies, some predators are simply too big to fight. When you come across larger animals like foxes or wolves, it's best to stay safe in the trees as you make your way across their territory. One wrong move and you could become their midnight snack!
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Sunrise & Sunset
Last but not least, we couldn't implement a day-night cycle without including beautiful sunrises and sunsets. So while we haven't left the house in months, at least we can pretend to catch a beautiful morning sunrise from within our own game!
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Let us know what you think in the comments, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this new addition :)
~ the AWAY dev team
Explore the beach and play as a crab
As we approach the end of summer, we want to give you a behind the scenes preview of
AWAY's beach environment, featuring a new playable animal and a relaxing beach-themed nature soundscape (download link at the bottom).
Beware of the waves
AWAY's beaches are a far cry from its forests, with crashing waves and a view across the horizon. And those waves aren't just for show â if you don't pay attention, you'll get more than a little wet!
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While these waves may look huge, it's possible to avoid a watery fate with a bit of foresight (and some good timing!). The Sugar Glider's jump is strong enough to avoid the initial crest, as long as you plan to land somewhere above-water. The waves won't recede immediately, so jumping without planning ahead may result in an unfortunate demise.
Play as a crab
As you wander across AWAY's beaches, you will no doubt encounter a few crabby friends. Mostly harmless, they won't cause you any trouble as long as you don't bother them. But beware if you do â their claws can cause some serious harm to even the strongest sugar gliders!
With a bit of luck, you might even find some blue mushrooms that let you play as a crab, so keep your eyes peeled for those... đ
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Optimizing the frame rate
A big part of designing AWAY's ocean was ensuring it doesn't use up too many resources and kill your frame rate. Since the ocean is mostly there to set the atmosphere, we wanted to make sure it looks nice while also limiting its CPU usage to save more resources for other gameplay-related elements.
The entire ocean is comprised of a texture with many layers meant to imitate the transparent, fluid look of water. Instead of simulating an entire body of water (which is very resource-intensive), we layered the appearance of the beach under materials that provide just the right amount of reflection, distortion, and light.
The effect is a blend between the sand and the water on top of it, at much less cost than fully simulating it.
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To further optimize the ocean, we isolated several sections near the coastline that the Sugar Glider could explore. As you approach these areas, the water's texture becomes more detailed and complex while the rest continues to use a lower-resolution texture. This trick helps us keep our frame rate high without much of a graphical difference.
Free beach soundscape đ
To give you a taste of AWAY's beaches, we've prepared a relaxing nature soundscape for you that we recorded along the shoreline of AWAY.
The audio you are about to hear was generated entirely in-game. We swept a virtual microphone across the beach, capturing the gentle sounds of waves against the sand, a calming breeze, and seagulls in the distance.
So sit back, relax, and close your eyes as you transport yourself to the beachy coastline of AWAY: The Survival Series.
Get the free soundscape »
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Free Nature Soundscapes
We recently announced that AWAY will be releasing in early 2021. In the meantime, we want to give you a chance to experience AWAY's lush environments, so we've prepared some relaxing nature soundscapes recorded straight out of the game.
Each soundscape is 30+ minutes long, allowing you to immerse yourself in the sounds of a dense forest, the gentle call of birds, and the echo of a distant waterfall.
You can get the soundscapes for free at awayseries.com/nature
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These soundscapes are just a preview of the immersive realism that you will experience when you play the game. So please, give yourself a break today. Turn this up, close your eyes, and transport yourself into the lush woodlands of AWAY: The Survival Series.
Happy listening!
~ the AWAY dev team
Gameplay Reveal & Release Announcement
Last weekend we partnered with IGN to unveil AWAY's new gameplay walkthrough at Gamescom. The video takes you through one of AWAYâs side quests and showcases some of the gameâs new features and mechanics, such as:
- Fighting a scorpion
- Hunting for lizards
- Using the Sugar Glider's instinct
- Playing as a new creature... đ
You can check out the full walkthrough below:
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Release Announcement
Alongside the new gameplay walkthrough, we officially announced that AWAY will be releasing in early 2021.
This is later than we had anticipated, but we want to make sure that AWAY lives up to the promise we've made you. The remaining 6-8 months will be spent polishing AWAY's animations and mechanics, fixing pesky bugs, and optimizing the game for all platforms.
We're extremely grateful for your patience so far and we're excited to get the game in your hands!
Until then, keep an eye out for more updates as we get closer to launch, and let us know what kind of content you would like to see next! We would love to show you more of AWAY, so please share your ideas with us in the comments :)
~ the AWAY dev team
AWAY is coming to Gamescom!
This Saturday (August 29th) we're partnering with IGN to reveal an exclusive gameplay walkthrough of AWAY at Gamescom!
The walkthrough will feature two of our lead devs giving a beat by beat explanation of how the game works. We donât want to spoil the show but here are some things they are going to demo:
- How you will navigate AWAYâs environments
- How the Sugar Glider instinct mechanic works
- First look at a new playable animal and how it fits into the game
Weâre really excited to share this with you, and weâve even prepared a bonus gift for you on Saturday! So make sure you add this to your calendar:
- What: AWAY Gameplay Reveal with IGN
- When: Saturday, August 29th @ 1:00pm EDT
- Where: Gamescom: Awesome Indies show (live on IGN.com)
See you there!
~ the AWAY dev team
P.S. During the stream our development team will be answering questions on Discord. You can join us here: discord.gg/AWAY