Making To Azimuth: Keeping players on the right path (without using a map)
Hey everyone.
Time for a new post. Here we share some info on how To Azimuth will make it clear to players where they should be going. Step right this way...
Rather than having a static in-game map for the player to refer to, we instead move the camera around to give a larger view of the area around them. Here, the camera pulls back to give a long shot, which - in this instance - is for the purpose of showing the player where they should be going next (i.e. the building in the distance).
We also use the environment to highlight the direction of the next goal. In the example below, when the camera pulls back you can see how lighting signposts a path that will take the player to the objective.
We want to avoid simply marking a specific waypoint, focusing instead on guiding the player intuitively toward a destination. This will, hopefully, prevent the player from getting stuck and not knowing where they’re supposed to be going, while also avoiding an overly straightforward ‘Point A to Point B to Point C’ style of gameplay.
Thanks for stopping by. If you haven't already - and if you like the look of the game - don't forget to add To Azimuth to your wishlist.
Until next time.
Matt
Making To Azimuth: Item inspection (and cool elevators)
Hey everyone.
We're back with another post, this time to take a closer look at how we handle looking closely at objects and items that can be interacted with in the game. So let's, um, take a look. Closely.
To allow close inspection of objects, especially those that need to be read, we use a sort of split-screen camera. In this particular instance, the player checks a document. As you can see, interacting with the document causes it to slide smoothly into the active screen view, allowing its contents to be easily checked.
This zooming-in technique also allows for further interaction with some objects. In the example below, it's an elevator control panel. As the player rides the lift, it also neatly demonstrates the system of on-the-fly room generation used in To Azimuth. As gaming elevators go, we think this looks pretty cool.
Thanks for stopping by. If you haven't already - and if you like the look of the game - don't forget to add To Azimuth to your wishlist.
Until next time.
Matt
Quick look at the lighting in To Azimuth
Hey everyone.
Another post! This time we wanted to share with you a little info on the lighting in To Azimuth.
In the game's larger areas, lights brighten and dim based on the camera's location. In addition to providing a surreal aesthetic/feeling, this method also allows for more 'real-time' lighting without absolutely crippling performance.
The lighting is heavily influenced by stage lighting, allowing changes to lights in real-time that are not quite 'realistic', but instead provide a somewhat surreal and stage-like quality.
Between inside and outside areas, ambient lighting composition may change.
Hope this has been enlightening for you.
Until next time.
Matt
Quick look at on-the-fly room generation
Hey everyone.
We're hoping to start sharing more To Azimuth info with you over the coming months. The finishing touches are just being put to a new trailer, and that should be ready in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, here's a quick look at the system of on-the-fly room generation used in To Azimuth.
Rooms are arranged off screen then assembled as needed. The effect is intended to be seamless, creating a 'flow' to the area as the character moves between rooms and hallways.
As demonstrated in the clip below, camera transitions can flow from one to another with minimal jumping or cutting, so as the character moves from room to room, sections of the area smooth together, as opposed to cutting hard between transitions.
That's all for now. See you again next week.
Matt :)
To Azimuth featured in GameSpot' 'The 8 Best Upcoming Games You've Never Heard Of'
'Developer Zach Sanford is working on his point-and-click inspired adventure To Azimuth on his own, with his brother composing the somber music. The overall tone is exceedingly somber: colors are muted and lean towards warm, dark reds, browns and black. The music is soft and melancholy, a scatter of notes that lull you into an uneasy calm. And the premise is also black, as you explore the tiny world of a family who have lost one of their own--possibly to alien abduction.
Sanford says the game is somewhat inspired by five-act adventure game Kentucky Route Zero, but a majority of it comes from his upbringing in rural Alabama. To Azimuth explores his own childhood obsession with the search for aliens--he recalls clicking through Yahoo Geocities pages at all hours of the night, following conspiracy theories--as well as themes of crippling anxiety and PTSD. The characters in To Azimuth are harshly drawn, the angles sharp on their long limbs and their faces featureless, and speak harshly to one another, bickering about better times and events out of their control. It's a sobering experience, with a tense emotional uncurrent that you can't help but want to follow.'
