Sci-Fi Survivalism Game: Challenge Your Mind & Resources in Space

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the conceptual development of a space survivalism game, focusing on gameplay mechanics, environmental design, and narrative elements. Participants share ideas on creating a tense atmosphere without traditional combat, emphasizing exploration and psychological horror.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes a backstory involving a nomadic humanity and a player trapped on a malfunctioning cargo ship, emphasizing a lack of traditional enemies and a focus on psychological tension.
  • Another suggests setting air resistance to zero to prevent players from floating aimlessly, or introducing a magnetic harpoon for navigation.
  • Concerns are raised about potential boredom if the ship lacks interactive elements or encounters, suggesting that some form of engagement is necessary to maintain tension.
  • A participant discusses movement mechanics, including using limbs to navigate and interact with the environment, such as grabbing handles and using rungs to propel oneself.
  • Ideas for encounters include semi-sentient computer terminals, overgrown hydroponics, and a paranoid-inducing robot, as well as surreal interactions with a psychoanalytical program.
  • Suggestions for enhancing the horror aspect include the presence of bodies or remains of the previous crew to create a sense of danger and history.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of agreement and differing opinions on the necessity of encounters and interactive elements within the game. While some support the idea of a solitary experience, others argue for the inclusion of additional stimuli to prevent monotony.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the challenge of balancing realism with gameplay mechanics, particularly regarding movement in a zero-gravity environment and the psychological aspects of isolation.

Who May Find This Useful

Game developers, designers interested in narrative-driven gameplay, and enthusiasts of survival horror in interactive media may find this discussion relevant.

  • #31
Keep us posted on the progress :smile:
 
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  • #33
Filip Larsen said:
The first post made me instantly think about System Shock 2 ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Shock_2

And of course the Bioshock series is also produced by Irrational Games, so the games are somewhat similar.
 
  • #34
bp_psy said:
This looks like it could be very cool game. How easy will dying due to environmental reasons?
Have you considered some sort of body-part injury system ? If the game world is sufficiently brutal, the lack of a bad guy can be overlooked quite easily.

How easy? Fairly, if you don't learn how to assess risk properly during the game. Although the spaceship is designed with the safety of crew as tantamount, clearly something has gone wrong and, as is the case in the real world, you can easily wind up dead. The idea of a "hit point" system is unrealistic and should be done away with, I think, personally. A person is not a homogenous gloop that will suffer damage evenly distributed.

I hadn't considered such a thing, funnily, despite the above conviction. It's a good idea, and a great way for the player to empathise with their character more and take a less "all guns blazing" attitude to the virtual world. I guess in a malfunctioning spaceship in a near vacuum, the game world could be sufficiently brutal, yes! When you consider how many people die and are injured on a yearly basis from soft furnishings, it'd be crazy not to think that real antagonist is the universe itself.

AnTiFreeze3 said:
Keep us posted on the progress :smile:

Will do :)

Filip Larsen said:
The first post made me instantly think about System Shock 2 ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Shock_2

I guess, it's impossible to get a game that has no content repeated, but I'm hoping the plot is sufficiently different (I believe it is) that there won't be an overlap. Hopefully if this gets pitched, any developer can point out possible blatant plagiarism problems (even if it wasn't a deliberate plagiarism)... which I'm willing to compromise on.
 
  • #35
As I have recently started a job/apprenticeship training as a welder-fabricator, which is damn pleasurable when it's not insanely busy or brain numbingly slow, I've been thinking: industrial procedures in space. What if the player needs to do some maintenance on the craft by doing a spacewalk? There hasn't been much welding done in space from what I am aware, a bit of research by the Russians... How plausible would it be for the player to take a welder out and fix a few things (maybe some other stuff, like a mag drill) whilst out on a spacewalk, and which form of welding would be most appropriate? To some extent I can imagine welding working better in space than on Earth, but at the same time, I can easily believe the same things that would make it better could also make it much more difficult. Any ideas?
 
  • #36
Well, that apprenticeship didn't pay out, but the industrial environment was very inspiring.

However, I have just started a job as a 3D Technician, so I'll be getting used to 3D modelling and getting paid to do it! I have been doing some considerations on this story. I will come back.
 

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