Prototype Devlog - Jess

For my prototype this week, I decided to focus on creating the ambience of the game, as well as simple character movement and interaction.  

I wanted to create an empty feeling in the prototype, so I decided to keep the area the player spawns into relatively simple and small. I chose to not use background music, and instead opted for crickets chirping, to both enhance the loneliness of the area, and simply to show that it’s night-time. The skybox in the prototype is just black right now, but for the final game it should be a night sky, with minimal stars to keep the empty feeling.  

I created simple, low-poly 3D models in Blender, and added the textures onto them once I brought them into Unity. For the textures, I chose to use compressed images, to keep the older style of the game.  

For the movement, I reused a simple character controller I had made for a previous project, and just changed some of the settings, such as the character’s speed and jump height. I also implemented a flashlight mechanic, to allow the player to see better in the dark environment.  

Finally, I added a very simple item pickup mechanic, so that the playtesters are aware of what the objective in the game actually is.  

Questions for Playtesting: 
 

How did the game make you feel? 

Did you understand the point/goal of the game? 

Did the environment feel too empty/too full/just right?