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Full Yots update
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What changed
- Gameplay
- Maps
Yots changes
Ave, and welcome to our second devlog!
This time we're taking a more nostalgic route rather than a practical one. We'll look back at where Yots began and compare the project's earliest versions to what it has become today - especially from a visual standpoint.
The idea of combining survival horror with the quota horror formula quickly felt like a natural fit for our team. We had already worked on survival horror projects before, while quota horror games have become increasingly popular in recent years - and we've spent plenty of hours enjoying them ourselves.
After breaking both genres down to their core elements, the concept of Yots emerged: a gameplay loop centered around meeting quotas and managing resources, but supported by a deep combat system - something quota horror games don't usually offer.
The setting was largely shaped by the author of this post (we'll properly introduce ourselves later) and inspired by the eerie atmosphere of Hunt: Showdown. We wanted to push that feeling even further. While Hunt's setting remains relatively grounded and its monsters can easily be mistaken for zombies or mutants by newcomers, we decided to lean heavily into mysticism and the supernatural.
The interwar period of the 1930s was a time of spiritual searching, often drifting into occult practices. Mediums promised to contact husbands and sons who never returned from the Great War - but some seekers may have ventured far beyond simple séances.
So, we had the setting. We had the genre. Time to make the game?
If only it were that simple. At the start of development, we didn't have a dedicated 3D artist. As a result, our game designer created the first models himself. That's how the initial weapons, consumables, and our very first enemy came to life. The first prototype level was assembled using publicly available assets and took place on a coastal shoreline.
Later, our first trailer was also created using asset-store models and animations. At that stage, only the enemies, weapons, characters, and loot models were original creations.
You could call this the second iteration of the prototype. Our goal was to build a version of the game that matched our vision as closely as possible, both visually and conceptually.
However, we hadn't even found a separate model for our second basic enemy - the one that moves on all fours - so both enemies ended up sharing the same model.
Even then, we never intended to rely on third-party assets in the final game.
Visual identity is a crucial part of the player experience, and we wanted ours to feel authentic. Once a dedicated 3D artist joined the team, we began building our city from the ground up.
Today, there isn't a single third-party asset left in our environments. Every bench, every street corner, and every environmental detail is the result of countless hours of work by our artists.
The same goes for weapon, enemy, and character animations.
Along the way, we also added a large number of new enemies.
My personal favorite is the Assassin - an elite enemy capable of posing a serious threat to solo players. The quadrupedal leaper underwent major changes as well, as did the Resident, our weakest and most primitive enemy.
The Resident's biggest transformation wasn't visual, but behavioral. It received proper animations and combat abilities. Previously, its main talent was repeatedly chain-attacking players into an instant death.
Over time, we settled on three core survival horror enemy archetypes. Each requires a different approach from players and creates its own pace of combat. Unsurprisingly, these three were also the most challenging to implement.
More recently, we've started adding several quota horror-style enemies built around unique gameplay mechanics. They won't necessarily deepen the combat system, but they will create memorable encounters and add extra unpredictability to each run.
Enemies and visuals are important, but they're far from the only things that changed between the early versions of Yots and what you see today.
We'll talk more about those changes in future devlogs.
For now, get ready for our demo launching on June 15 during Steam Next Fest!
If you'd like to follow the development of Yots, be sure to follow us on social media, keep an eye on our Steam updates, and wishlist the game!
See you in the next devlog!
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