Devlog 1: Prototype

Pitching

This sprint began with team formation, then the pitching of game concepts. Everyone had a couple of days to prepare, and then we pitched to the group. We went through a couple of rounds of voting and ended on “NoRail.”

Pre-Production

We spent a fair amount of time on Pre-Production items. Key items include our Social Contract, RACI Chart, Production Tool Setup (Miro, Trello, etc..), and beginning to form our LLC. Additionally, we developed our three design pillars (or at least what we think we’ll go with):

1. Action

2. Atmosphere

3. Replayability

Engineering

The engineering team focused on the basics. They set up a third-person character, a couple of basic levels, enemies with simple AI, and the background for inventory.

Art

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This sprint had a lot of reference searching and discussion on our art style. We did come up with some general theming revolving around a Y2K time frame and liminal/uncanny aesthetics. There was some simple VFX integration.

Design

We do have a basic gameplay loop defined, with those design pillars. However, there is a lot more details about the features of our game that we have yet to determine.

Narrative

As Atmosphere will play a major role in the game, we needed to flesh out the narrative background of our story more. This plays a major role in design decisions and art decisions. The narrative summary is as follows:

A sci-fi horror action roguelite aboard a state-of-the-art space cargo train trapped in an endless loop around a dead solar system. As the only passenger, you’ll fight through warped pocket-dimension cars infested with grotesque human-robot hybrids and scavenge abandoned stations that whisper of a cosmic cataclysm. Your only hope is to reach the front and break the cycle—if escape is even possible. Is this the work of an unfathomable higher existence… or your own descent into madness?