Stranded In Outer space
Initial Pitch : After an epic space battle the crew of an explorer class star ship is left damaged and stranded in the wreckage. The ship is in a bad shape and after seeing a first count experience of war the ship's crew is in an even worse state. The player takes charge of said ship and is tasked with the mission of surviving in this lonely void which is space. Exploring the wreckage, creating a sustainable living situation, and more importantly dealing with the physical and mental wellbeing of the ship's crew are all on the docket for the player.
This project was a the biggest learning experience for me, drawing from my experience at the time I wanted to create an game in the style of FTL but focusing on the interaction between the crew members instead of the focus on the keeping the ship working. I spent the majority of development learning UE4’s AI systems in efforts to create an AI agent that would create systemic encounters. Throughout development the gameplay focus went from a FTL style system to more akin to Deconstructeam’s “Gods will be Watching” in which you gave certain characters tasks to do each day to ensure survival. Once a player gave a task to the AI it would respond to the player via a text interface and move to the ship room and perform the task. I did this because I felt that the AI I created wasn’t really a fit with FTL’s style system, so by removing the ship to ship combat I could focus gameplay on the crews survival