Escape Pod 612: A Descent into Darkness
Sonic College Game Jam: 45 hours, programming and audio implementation
Story
You find yourself hurtling through the cosmos, and just when you thought the trip couldn’t get any stranger, all the lights go out. Now, you’re stuck in pitch-black darkness, and there’s something out there—something hunting you.
Gameplay
In this survival sci-fi horror game, you’re given 10 glowsticks to navigate the abyss. Each throw of a glowstick becomes a tactical decision: do you light up your surroundings to find your way, or do you save it for when things get really hairy? Monsters are lurking in the shadows, so you’ve got to tread carefully. To up the stakes, we’ve thrown in different camera angles to help you survey the scene and plan your route. There is also a “look behind” feature, so you can check if those monsters are still chasing after you. The goal? Make it through the maze, dodge the monsters, and find the escape pod that promises safety from the cosmic horrors.
Coding And Mechanics
Coding this game had its challenges, especially making sure those monsters move smoothly along the path we set for them. Monsters are programmed to follow you within a certain distance, but with the clock ticking down during the game jam, we faced some quirks. Occasionally, monsters would get tangled up between you, the navigational mesh, and their next destination, leading to them getting stuck.
Given the time crunch, we had to prioritize, and we put our focus on the heart of the game—the dynamic lighting. Crafting an atmosphere of fear and suspense through the play of light and shadows became our coding priority, giving players an immersive horror experience.
The glowsticks operate like this: there are 10 hidden glowsticks the player can’t see in their inventory. When the left mouse button (LMB) is pressed, a glowstick is instantiated and propelled along the y and x axes in front of the player’s camera, effectively “thrown.” If the player wants to pick up the thrown glowstick, a raycast is initiated. If the raycast hits the glowstick, the player is within the specified range for pickup, and the F key is pressed, then that condition turns true, and the glowstick seamlessly returns to the player’s inventory.
The security cameras in Escape Pod 612 strategically occupy key points within the maze, directing their focus towards areas where monsters are likely to roam. The coding for these cameras is relatively straightforward: when buttons 1-6 on the keyboard are pressed, the main camera (player camera) and the Player Controller script deactivate, causing the player to stand still. Simultaneously, within the hierarchy, the camera corresponding to the button press activates, becoming the player’s new point of view.
This dynamic system allows players to scout potential danger zones without physically moving, introducing a strategic element to gameplay. The question becomes whether to rely on the visual information from the cameras or trust instinct in the darkness.
But it doesn’t end there. In a bid to heighten suspense, we’ve integrated audio cues. This means that, aside from visual surveillance through the security cameras, players can also depend on their sense of hearing. In situations where it’s too dark to navigate effectively, listening for the ominous sounds of approaching monsters becomes a crucial survival tactic. It’s all about crafting an immersive experience where every sense is on high alert in the face of cosmic horrors
Escape Pod 612 is a rollercoaster of creative problem-solving, offering an intense horror experience born out of a challenging game jam. Balancing light and darkness, strategic resource management, and evading monsters make for a heart-pounding journey through the unknown.