Weekly Report #132
[h3]Hello Stalkers![/h3]
So far, in our reports, we've talked about the genesis of the game and what path it took to release almost a year ago. So it's time to go from the general to the specific. In today’s and the following reports, we are going to tell you in the smallest detail how the individual elements for the game were created. In today's episode: monsters.
The first prototype of the monster was inspired by the "shadows" drawn in the form of graffiti on the walls (in the game, they are visible inside the buildings in the Moscow Eye). We thought it would be great if these shadows came to life. The living shadow motif is known in virtually every culture and is due to imperfections in the interpretation of the image of our brain: when we are tired, it is quite dark, we may think that we see a character's movement that looks like a "shadow", or that something has moved on the edge of our eyesight. So the concept sounded great from the conceptual point of view and fit perfectly with the atmosphere we wanted to achieve.
Unfortunately, Captain Reality has strongly verified our plans. On paper, the concept of living shadows looked great, but when it came down to creating it, it wasn't that fun anymore. Working on it was very tedious and caused only problems. The opponent was difficult to notice, the work on him was complicated, the influence on the performance of the game was quite big. Overall, it didn't work. And this despite the fact that the game at this stage was not supposed to be a typical shooter, but a more walking horror game inspired by Outlast, in which the player has to run away and hide from the opponent, not fight him.
Meanwhile, the other prototypes were doing much better. Despite the very small team, shooting with the soldiers was quite decent. And Chernobylite as the substance and the main antagonist of the game was becoming something more than just a strange crystal causing hallucinations. It can be said that what the game is now is the fruit of the inspiration of Expanse and Stranger Things.
We slowly began to understand that we simply needed more classic and physical monsters. Chernobylite, as a thinking substance began to change matter and adapt it to its needs, allowed us to make such changes. Shadow became a Borderer, a dark sack of skin filled with crystals with supernatural powers. We have replaced the chaos of the fight with a living shadow with the possibility of creating portals, and we have replaced running and hiding with classic weapons. The shadows remained only as a common name for all Chernobylite monsters. And as we mentioned, they can also be found on some walls as a graphic element.
The next monsters were just a creative use of this formula. Chernohost is actually a kind of clicker from The Last of Us whose appearance was inspired by radiation sickness and the fungus was replaced by crystals.
Duster, on the other hand, was created at a time when we felt that the scale of the game was definitely not tailored to the size and strength of the team. So we created a stationary creature with a very simplified AI that could teleport between preset points on a small area of a given level. Artistically, it was an earthworm made of crystals crossed with a spider. It could break into crystal dust at any time and regain its form anywhere else.
One more thing: we will soon be celebrating the first anniversary of Chernobylite. Get ready, we have a lot of surprises for you :)
[h3]That's it for today![/h3]
Take care, Stalkers!
[h3]Will you join us? Let us know in the comments or on Discord.[/h3]
[h3]Follow our official channels to stay up to date:[/h3]
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1016800/Chernobylite/
So far, in our reports, we've talked about the genesis of the game and what path it took to release almost a year ago. So it's time to go from the general to the specific. In today’s and the following reports, we are going to tell you in the smallest detail how the individual elements for the game were created. In today's episode: monsters.
The first prototype of the monster was inspired by the "shadows" drawn in the form of graffiti on the walls (in the game, they are visible inside the buildings in the Moscow Eye). We thought it would be great if these shadows came to life. The living shadow motif is known in virtually every culture and is due to imperfections in the interpretation of the image of our brain: when we are tired, it is quite dark, we may think that we see a character's movement that looks like a "shadow", or that something has moved on the edge of our eyesight. So the concept sounded great from the conceptual point of view and fit perfectly with the atmosphere we wanted to achieve.
Unfortunately, Captain Reality has strongly verified our plans. On paper, the concept of living shadows looked great, but when it came down to creating it, it wasn't that fun anymore. Working on it was very tedious and caused only problems. The opponent was difficult to notice, the work on him was complicated, the influence on the performance of the game was quite big. Overall, it didn't work. And this despite the fact that the game at this stage was not supposed to be a typical shooter, but a more walking horror game inspired by Outlast, in which the player has to run away and hide from the opponent, not fight him.
Meanwhile, the other prototypes were doing much better. Despite the very small team, shooting with the soldiers was quite decent. And Chernobylite as the substance and the main antagonist of the game was becoming something more than just a strange crystal causing hallucinations. It can be said that what the game is now is the fruit of the inspiration of Expanse and Stranger Things.
We slowly began to understand that we simply needed more classic and physical monsters. Chernobylite, as a thinking substance began to change matter and adapt it to its needs, allowed us to make such changes. Shadow became a Borderer, a dark sack of skin filled with crystals with supernatural powers. We have replaced the chaos of the fight with a living shadow with the possibility of creating portals, and we have replaced running and hiding with classic weapons. The shadows remained only as a common name for all Chernobylite monsters. And as we mentioned, they can also be found on some walls as a graphic element.
The next monsters were just a creative use of this formula. Chernohost is actually a kind of clicker from The Last of Us whose appearance was inspired by radiation sickness and the fungus was replaced by crystals.
Duster, on the other hand, was created at a time when we felt that the scale of the game was definitely not tailored to the size and strength of the team. So we created a stationary creature with a very simplified AI that could teleport between preset points on a small area of a given level. Artistically, it was an earthworm made of crystals crossed with a spider. It could break into crystal dust at any time and regain its form anywhere else.
One more thing: we will soon be celebrating the first anniversary of Chernobylite. Get ready, we have a lot of surprises for you :)
[h3]That's it for today![/h3]
Take care, Stalkers!
[h3]Will you join us? Let us know in the comments or on Discord.[/h3]
[h3]Follow our official channels to stay up to date:[/h3]
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitterhttps://store.steampowered.com/app/1016800/Chernobylite/