Category: gamedev

Science Station Epsilon

I had a bunch of time off for the holidays and nothing to do so I made this little thing to keep myself busy, as well as play around with some of the new stuff in Unity. I hope you like it šŸ™‚

You awaken on a derelict space station. The scientists aboard were researching an invasive species when something went horribly wrong, leaving them near death and unable to call for help. You are tasked with cleaning up the mess.

SSE is inspired by the mechanics of games like Super Meat Boy, and the atmosphere, openness and progression of games like Super Metroid.

In SSE there are no weapons or shooting, nor are there any push-block/switch puzzles. Instead, everything is done indirectly through the environment: lure enemies into electrified pools of water, airlocks, explosive barrels, etc.

Cosmic Ray

So Ricardo and I took a week off from Undermine to work on a small prototype. Something we could knock out fairly quickly, but with the potential to be expanded in the future.Ā The result is “Cosmic Ray“, a web-based game about exploring space in search of hospitable planets for colonization.

This is an early prototype, and of course lacks the depth and openness that we would want toĀ achieveĀ with a full version, but the basic mechanics and game loop are there.

Our goal is to knock out these smaller projects every few months while working on our primary one, for a few reasons:

  • try things out and see what “sticks”, without having to commit to months/years of dev–the ones that stick will likely be expanded in the future
  • garner some interest in our games, and start building a community for our current “big” project (Undermine)
  • fun, instant gratification, and theĀ correspondingĀ dopamine release that comes with it!

We hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave a comments, suggestions, hate mail, etc. here or on the itch.io page.

Announcing: Undermine

Having recently wrapped up Operation Hardcore, it’s time to tackle my next challenge:

Undermine is a procedurally generated survival horror game with roguelike elements. Think Spelunky meets Outlast, in virtual reality.

Concept art by Katerina Ventova

The concept is pretty simple: you play as a female protagonist who finds herself trapped in a seemingly deserted mine. As you search for a way out, you encounter clues that something has gone horribly wrong. Eventually, you come face to face with it.

Early prototype screenshot

In late 2016 I signed a publishing deal with Greenlight Games in the UK, and they were kind of enough to loan me an Oculus Rift as part of the deal.

Concept art by Ricardo Chirino

 

We’re hoping to have an early access version on the Oculus Rift store for March, and a full release within a few months of that.

As with Operation Hardcore, I’ll be keeping a devlog on TIGforums.

 

Last but not least, here’s a sneak peek at some of the original music and sound design I’ve been working on for the game:

Watch this space for more details as things progress!

Operation Hardcore transitions to full release

For the past 2+ years I’ve locked myself in the studio pretty much every weeknight/end, making pixels move, making crazy electronic sounds. Now, I know what you’re thinking. ā€œHow is this different than any other 2 year stretch of your life?ā€ Well, I suppose it’s not THAT different, except this time I actually have something to show for it: my first independent game is now in full release on Steam! Full release as in “it’s
finished”!

As with pretty much every project ever, itā€™s taken way longer than I expected, and is nowhere near as grandiose as I had initially schemed, but, itā€™s done! Another notch on my belt as an independent musician and game developer.

With any luck (and probably a lot of hard work), this is just the start of the next chapter of my life and career. Iā€™ve already lined up a publishing deal for my next game, and have been chatting with some insanely talented folks about partnering on some things in the future.

Thanks to all those who supported me through this project, helped spread the word, or were just there for me when I needed to let off some steam.

Tomorrow night, I celebrate by playing some drum & bass at The CoHo! šŸ˜‰