RetroSpace News

[h2]A ship takes off...[/h2]

In January 2023, exactly one year ago, we announced the RetroSpace project. We didn't know what to expect when we unveiled our funky, groovy, crazy and surely surprising (yet strangely familiar?) trailer.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We wanted to come up with a game that was completely new and bold, yet somehow nostalgic, something we'd never played before but felt like we still knew from somewhere. Perhaps in an alternate timeline, RetroSpace has emerged as a rival to Half-Life and System Shock 2? Who knows?



In any case, our debut trailer gave us an explosive start! And on our social sites (especially Twitter, which some people now call X...) we produced numbers that we still can't believe to this day, because we never paid a single space-dollar for advertising.





Do people just love what we do? That's it? Well... Yeah. Simple as that. Which is nice!

[h2]WHAT HAVE WE DONE???!!! (in 2023)[/h2]

First of all, once we announced the game, we were very keen to make development as open as possible.





Not only do we give you a behind-the-scenes look at development, sometimes with hilariously lame and janky devroom videos, but we also often ask followers for their opinions on very serious design decisions.



Ragdoll or animated death? Interactive or static map? Endless hoarding or inventory system Tetris? Whatever the question is, the most important thing for us is to make the game you want to play! (as long as it matches what we want, of course... Muhaha!)

[h2]Behind the Art[/h2]

It was also important for us to show how things are made and how they end up in the game. So we often showed the amazing works of our artists from the first sketches to the final product.











[h2]...some things just happened to us[/h2]

Then, as the year went on and more and more of you followed us here on Steam and on social media, the requests and offers started to come in.



We were lucky enough to be featured at RealmsDeep 2023, IGN-hosted Fear Fest, and the Indie Horror Showcase, to name a few, but we also made it to the top of PitchYaGame. These are all fantastic achievements that we couldn't have dreamed of at first (not even under stasis!)

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

At the Indie Cup, we received 3 major nominations, Critics' Choice Award, Most Promising Game Award, and Most Anticipated Game Award. And that's groovy as hell! If all this wasn't enough, we were even mentioned by the one and only Charlatan Wonder in the year-end Immsim round-up.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Finally, we summed up the big achievements of the year, and we were surprised by what we saw. We were like... Funk! Those are some serious numbers, man!



[h2]Okay, so... what's to come?[/h2]



Oh, my, If you only knew, my friend...
2024 will be the year of RetroSpace! What can be expected? A public demo? That's for sure. But if all goes well, maybe an Early Access release too! A Kickstarter? That's also likely. Or... maybe much, much, much more! (wink, wink)

A lot of the work is still to be done, we're just getting the rockets fired up, and we all know how deep the black hole's ... ... ... hole is (or we don't, but maybe the game will tell us that too). Anyway... you can't imagine how grateful we are that with your help we've been able to achieve all this.



We are honored to have such a great community already! Keep on growing (or... ehm... mutating), and keep on loving RetroSpace as much as we love you, Janitors!

And never forget:
"In space, no one can hear you GROOVE!"

[h2]...the core design pillars of Retrospace.[/h2]

This dev diary will be a bit unusual, as we'll simply list - and explain a bit - the design decisions that form the backbone of RetroSpace's development and ethos. So here's the list, in no particular order of importance:

[h3]1- Don't take the player for a fool![/h3]
It is very important to assume that your player is an intelligent being with creativity and problem-solving skills. If they are stuck in a room for 30 seconds, don't poke their eyes out with a popup, quest marker arrow, or anything like that. Trust your players. They'll solve the problem and they will enjoy it much better than if you had given the solution to them right away.

[h3]2- Freedom and exploration are key[/h3]
In a game of this kind, don't take away the player's freedom for too long. Sometimes you can, and sometimes you should - because complete and uninterrupted freedom can also be overwhelming - but make sure that even in the most controlled parts of the game, the player has a basic freedom to do things the way they want.

Concept art for the garden area of the game

[h3]3- Horror can be funky and colorful[/h3]
Just because you're making a horror game doesn't mean everything has to be grey and dark. In fact! The bright and colorful parts can be particularly scary, especially since light - and its manipulation - is an important element of survival in our game.



[h3]4- Make your systems so that any simple encounter can end in something special and unique[/h3]
When designing combat and other general systems, the primary consideration should be to create organic, interesting, and unexpected situations.
It will cause QA hell? Probably...
Worth the suffering for the end result? For sure!"

[h3]5- No space zombies! you can do better than that![/h3]
Zombies are everywhere. Nothing against zombies, really, but surely we can think of something more exciting than that, right? That should be the main goal when planning your opponents. Make them unique, special, and as weird as possible. After all, even in classic science fiction pulp novels, crazier and crazier creatures scared the hell out of unsuspecting astronauts, instead of a hoard of generic space zombies. (If zombies are part of your narrative and/or gameplay, that's a different story, of course.)





[h3]6- Handholding is not cursed, but do not overdo it![/h3]
Excessive handholding can be extremely toxic and can seriously undermine the rule in point 1. Don't make your player look stupid. Of course, certain conveniences and assistive features are necessary, after all, it is not our goal to have the player get lost at every funkin' corner or have to draw a map on real paper with a real pencil (oh my god, no!), but the opposite extreme is even worse. Let's not clutter the screen with unnecessary UI elements and prompts and glowing sh*t, and let the player play the game - not the other way around...

[h3]7- Reward adaptation and creativity[/h3]
Has the player found a completely new way to solve a problem? Do not block it with invisible walls, or apply any other "punishment". In fact, try to reward his creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. After all, this is partly what the immersive sim genre is all about.

[h3]8- Let the players customize their experience[/h3]
Do some players want to play in No-HUD mode for extra immersion? Let them! Are they making it difficult for themselves? Sure, but it might make them enjoy your game more. Don't shut the player out of opportunities that can make your game a greater and more unique experience for them - and if it's not too much extra work for you as a developer, even better. That's a win-win in our book.

The No-HUD option will indeed be present in the game and the player can activate it by simply choosing not to wear the helmet, which is responsible for displaying most of the HUD elements

[h3]9- Stealth and combat should be equally effective[/h3]
It's all about balance. If you make one extreme strikingly easier than the other, you can spoil the player's experience even if he or she sticks faithfully (and willingly) to the more difficult option. Because all the while he'll be thinking "How easy would it be just to do this the other way... why am I bothering?"

Sneak behind the creature or start blasting? Both have their pros and cons...

[h3]10- No levels, but interconnected areas[/h3]
The more "classic" progression via a level-to-level approach is not for us. Let there be more and more areas opening up for a sense of progression, yes, but still have enough connectivity and freedom (and shortcuts, and side-ways) so that the player doesn't feel like they're moving from point A to B all the time.

Concept art for one of the hub areas of the game

[h3]11- Metroidvania-like progression[/h3]
There should always be a new goal (or more!) towards which the player is striving and which, by completing (or obtaining), will open one or more paths that he has seen before but which were closed to him.

Old (unused) wireframe plan for a level

[h3]12- Scripted scenes should be rare and really significant![/h3]
Scripted scenes can be very useful and can be either educational or just mood-enhancing. But they shouldn't be overdone, especially not in a way that takes control away from the player. The player should be a witness to them, but not - or not always - a participant. Even more so, the player should have the option not to look if that is what he wishes. That way the game will have a really free and ever-changing feel - of course, occasionally, and for REALLY significant parts (main narrative center-points) you can have a guided scripted scene where the player is just a spectator.

[h3]13- Safe rooms are cool![/h3]
No question! Since we use inventory, which is finite, we need to have an "island of calm" where we can rest, feel a little safe and unload the items we feel we might need later. Finding safe rooms and exploring around them can be an important element, or even the backbone, of many players' gameplay loops.



[h3]14- Make safe rooms modifiable[/h3]
This is exceptionally rare in survival horror games, so we would like to do it. With a feature like this, you can make your safe room feel a little bit more cozy so that it really has its very own feeling and style. You're on this crazy, broken space station but you also have a tiny place that's really quiet, really safe, and really yours. Players will love it (and of course, they'll exploit it - which is great!).

[h3]15- Make organic tutorials! no aggressive pop-ups[/h3]
Teach the player with clever guidance (both visual and narrative), small scripted scenes, posters, audio logos, etc. Don't poke his eyes out with a pop-up at every corner, because without even realizing why, he'll lose immersion and therefore focus.



[h3]16- Beware not to overstay your welcome! (a long game does not equal a better game)[/h3]
Too long a game length can result in the player losing interest, rushing to the end of the game because they want to get it over with, and perhaps even getting bored. Rather, build on the fact that once the game is over, he will want to play more and start again, perhaps this time with completely different player behavior.

[h3]17- Build on replayability from the start[/h3]
This applies together to point 16. From the start, design the game so that it actually makes sense to play it again. (and play it differently!) Have more options for everything, but also close off certain parts, following certain decisions, so that the player feels that their actions really have consequences - for that particular walkthrough. Players will wonder what will happen differently if they choose the other path at that particular point. In addition, randomizing certain items, loot, traps or enemy placement (in certain parts) can also be a great way to mix up the game's regular order, thus increasing replayability (not to mention challenge modes and game mutators).

[h3]18- Use a lot of indirect storytelling (via logs, notes, enviro, etc)[/h3]
A strong, good story can be the perfect backbone for a game. A hidden story to be discovered can make it even more so. In addition to the main story - some parts of which will be fixed, others optional - tell another story that the player, as an archaeologist, has to dig out from the details. Computer notes, environmental storytelling, audio logs, notes and emails, posters and graffiti, and even whole sections of a level can be the building blocks of a deeper story beneath the surface. Once the player discovers and starts to pick up the pieces, they will soak up all the details, and actively seek out these sources, forcing themselves for more in-depth exploration, which in turn means a more complete game experience.



[h3]19- Sometimes push the player out of his comfort zone but not too much and not too violently![/h3]
Players tend to get too comfortable with one style of gameplay, but they don't know what they're missing until they've had a taste of the other extreme. Sometimes try to push them out of their comfort zone a bit, so that after they've had to adapt to the new situation, they're free to return to their old style of play, or if they like what they've experienced, to incorporate the new things in their gameplay.

[h3]20- Make a game you LOVE to play and experiment with (then everything will be fine!)[/h3]
There is nothing to write about this. Yet this is the most important point...

We hope what you read was exciting and interesting, Janitors! We'll be back with more exciting information from aboard Aurora 5 soon!

Until then... don't forget to Wishlist the game and spread the word!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067820/RetroSpace/

PS: Another part of our team is working on a fabulous (and fabulously weird) dark, noir adventure game called Chicken Police - Into the HIVE!, which is a sequel to our multi-award-winning previous title. If you're interested, check it out:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2362090/Chicken_Police_Into_the_HIVE/

- The Wild Gentlemen

[h2]Bánk: Writer / Designer - "They came from the void..."[/h2]

Mothmanaut was the first opponent we came up with, so it became a kind of mascot for the project. This is totally fine because it's a great and perfect description of the game itself and the kind of enemy philosophy we envisioned for the project.



The thinking behind it was to avoid the methods used in most science fiction horror. There will be no space zombies, no Alien-like creatures, and no Lovecraftian cosmic horrors. Well... there are traces of all of them, but in terms of look, enemy behavior, and overall vibe, we wanted something unique and memorable, something like what writers and filmmakers dreamed up in the golden age of science fiction before the 80s, before Alien or Star Wars hit the silver screen. That's how the idea of the astronaut turning Mothman was born, or botanists turning into flower-headed mutants, and so on. (of course, we were also influenced by later cinema, especially The Thing, to name just one)



With Mothman, or Mothmanaut, it was clear that we wanted something that was both creepy and weird, but still had something likable, or rather, pitiable. We were looking for a feeling that perfectly balances the two. We didn't want players to just see a hideous, disgusting monster that they reflexively want to kill. We wanted the player to both fear these creatures and in some ways feel sorry for them. If we can achieve that, we've hit the target.



These creatures will attack us, but if the player observes them and what they are doing, they will notice that they are looking for something. For each other? Old friends? Family members? Their old selves? We don't know. All we see is them wandering up and down the station, calling out in their own language, as if to someone or something they can never find. Tita (2D and concept art) did a great job of bringing this dual feel to the first designs, which Beni (3D models and animations) was able to perfect even further.

Now they tell us in their own words how they created the creature.

[h2]Tita: Concept art - "Sci-fi and folklore collide"[/h2]

Mothman is inspired by the 70s sci-fi genre. As he is a half-human half-insect creature, I
tried to keep these two main features in his design. I really like Mothman's folklore by default
so I wanted ours to look similar: big red eyes, black fur, some wings, and of course lots
of insect tentacles.



From these, I created the final version, and to make it even scarier I placed the mouth
vertically on the face and painted the clothes thoroughly with a lot of blood. Of course, there
will be many versions of Mothman in the game.



One of them is this over-mutated amorphous
mass, for example. You can only see its basic features of it, everything else is a runny
mess. The idea here was to show that the concept is completely different, that requires a
different kind of movement from its faster, two-legged counterpart.



[h2]Beni: 3D models and animation - "The devil is in the details - and the lack of them."[/h2]

Modeling the 'Mothmanaut' enemy was my first task on the project. I was given a detailed visual design from Tita, which I then had to reimagine in a style that was most reminiscent of the visual world between ps1 and ps2. (and late 90's, early 2000's PC games) To achieve this I tried to create it with a relatively low polygon count.



Due to its simplicity, the model itself was not very convincing, as most of the work consisted of texture painting. It was at this point that it really took on a personality and began to look more and more like a "real" Mothman. (If there is such a thing. Although many people think there is.)



Again, I worked on a smaller scale and ensured that the more important body parts, such as the head, got more detail. My favorite part about low-res textures is the inability to paint every little detail, so the player's imagination has to fill in the missing information.



After a little dirt, the first enemy was assembled and used as a template for the other character models in the game.



Check out the Artstation pages of Tita and Beni:

• https://www.artstation.com/tpizvor
• https://www.artstation.com/benituli

Follow us on Twitter for more in-depth game dev information:

• https://twitter.com/RetroSpaceGame

Do you think there should be similar detailed posts on creatures, locations, or gameplay mechanics in the future? If so, please let us know in the comments and of course share and spread the word about the game, which will help us a lot!

[h3]Thanks for your attention, we'll be back soon! Until then, don't forget to Wishlist Retrospace![/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067820/RetroSpace/

The Wild Gentlemen

We asked Dávid, one of our illustrators and concept artists about the process of dreaming up the visuals of a location. We were impressed by how thoroughly he researches things before he gets started, so we thought this might be a quite fascinating topic to share. As an example, we have taken an important location from the game, which for the time being we'll just call the "garden area".



[h3]1. The first steps: [/h3]
So, When I receive a task like this, I get a brief description of it, and understanding what I need to do is one of the most important first steps, so I read it several times to make sure I get it. Because if I don't and then I make something random that's gonna be awkward. :) Therefore, once I read it through, usually I already have a form of concept in my mind, so with that in my mind I can go on the internet, and do the next important step, which is research!

Let's do something like this, but in space, and make it completely different!

[h3]2. Researching: [/h3]
I really like this part because I enjoy researching interesting topics, such as that lengthy NASA article about a study that stated what plants grow best in enclosed spaces like on a spaceship, or what plant produces more oxygen... I didn't have to do this, and no one asked for it, but I still did it. After doing probably too much research into mostly useless topics, I simply go on Google or Pinterest and search for images that might actually be useful in the process of inspiration.

Plants in space!

Some delicious architectural references

[h3]3. Sketching: [/h3]
After the research, I start to create a "vision board" in Photoshop from the pics I found, in this case, old '60s and 70's mostly malls and botanical gardens. Once the mood board is finished, I just start making small sketches. After I'm done with the sketches I send them with the "vision board" for feedback... and that's it.







[h3]4. Final piece: [/h3]
I make a new sketch with the corrections I got from the feedback, and then, I begin working on the final piece. In this concept, I created a central, spacious area because that's how botanical gardens typically look, but I really liked the malls of the 1960s and 1970s, which I thought looked really cozy and looked like a great place to hang out, so I combined them! The final piece begins with a sketch, followed by colors, shadows, and lights. The last step is simply adding textures and filters to it, and that's it. Then I created a second version of the final piece on top of it that captures a more overgrown scene.



One of the main halls of the "garden area" shown in two different timelines

[h3]5. Afterlife...[/h3]
Once Dávid has submitted the designs and the team and creative lead have agreed that this is the direction we are looking for, our 3D artists and level designers take the helm to finalize the vision. (through a long iteration cycle of course)

Below is an initial (and very early) look at how we tested the vision and mood laid out by the concept art in a small area - to then roll it out nicely across an entire level.



[h3]Meet Dávid:[/h3]
Dávid is a very talented young artist who was approached to join our team mainly - but not exclusively - for his amazing Bioshock-inspired pieces. The way he creates atmosphere and the thoroughness of his work has impressed us from the start, so we are very proud to have him as part of our team.





Check out his work on Artstation:
https://griefgreen.artstation.com/

We'll be back with another dev blog post soon, until then remember to take care and play a lot!
If you haven't already done so, please, Wishlist RetroSpace! ;)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067820/RetroSpace/

The Wild Gentlemen

RetroSpace team makes no secret of the fact that certain games have had a strong influence on us, and at first glance, most people would say that is System Shock 2. There is truth in that (plenty of it), but there may be some other titles whose influence may be more surprising than that and need some further explanation (and exploration).



But with RetroSpace, we want to deliver something with an impact, an experience you will never forget, so we've taken our biggest favorites as inspiration and added our wildest ideas to the mix. Meanwhile, we knew full well that making a soft-rpg immersive sim horror that includes stealth mechanics and slick gunplay is a gamedev hellhole, but we felt that if we were honest with ourselves, we had to do this and do it this way!

[h3]The Thief series:[/h3]
It probably doesn't need much explanation, but still... The Thief series (especially the first two games) has left an indelible mark on us and the gaming world. Our heroes were vulnerable and fragile as perhaps never before, but by developing our skills to control them to a master level, we became truly master thieves and in the meantime, the player became an integral part of the world. This is perhaps the most important lesson, both the sense of helplessness and the immersive nature of the world, with its meditative music, amazing (and sometimes insanely funny) voice lines, and noirishly dark but deeply developed lore, that simply absorbed the player into itself. Along with the manipulation of light and shadows, intricate level design, and environmental storytelling, these are the reasons why we decided to make this series one of our main guides. The key here is that as soon as the player enters the station (as the hero aka. the nameless janitor), they are instantly "hit in the face" by the mood of the environment and sucked into the game. And an important goal is to have a twist in RetroSpace as big and crazy as the one Garrett had when he delivered that particular artifact to those two particular clients...





[h3]Half-Life:[/h3]
While it's not an immersive sim, nor soft rpg, in many ways Half-Life made the deepest impression on us (especially the first game). The "workday gone wrong" plot, the enclosed space of chaos, the beautifully constructed tension and horror, the scripted cinematic scenes, the hazard suit, and the stunning design of the enemies all made a big impact on our team. We also drew a lot from it in terms of art style and the nature of the execution. So yes, you just can't mention Half-Life! In fact, it was because of the Half-Life's example that we decided to make our game show the day-to-day life of the station before the big disaster hits. We've always loved this kind of episode in games, but unfortunately, we see it less and less often.



[h3]The Shock games:[/h3]
As we mentioned in the introduction, we were primarily influenced by System Shock 2, which most people will immediately notice from pictures or videos. We're proud of that because we really want to achieve a very similar feel in terms of atmosphere, narrative, and a deeply immersive and customizable player experience. The fact that the player could build completely different builds for themselves and be an action hero, tech guru, or psionic "mage" became a "lighthouse idea" for us that has guided us throughout the initial preparation phase of the game. And speaking of lighthouses...



We can't go without mentioning Bioshock (especially the first two games) because, although those games had moved away a bit from the immersive sim genre, it's undeniable that they created a world and atmosphere that very few games have been able to do since. The setting for our game, the floating station of Aurora 5, is dreamed up in a similar way to Rapture, with the difference that our game will have much more traversability, openness, and backtracking. But the spirit of Rapture and its dense, almost tangible atmosphere are clearly an important influence that cannot be denied. We want to create areas that the player will never forget once they've been through them, and that represent completely different atmospheres, while still forming a coherent whole.



[h3]Void Bastards:[/h3]
Perhaps one of the most exciting, but unfortunately rather underrated games of recent years. While we weren't 100% sold on the roguelike aspect of the game, basically everything else about it completely enchanted us. The design of the opponents, the atmosphere, and most importantly, the captivating humor of the world, the weapons, abilities, and various debuffs that the player can get made a deep impression on us and we implemented some elements of this in our own design. We mainly drew on the system of death and rebirth and the negative effects (debuffs) coming from that, and of course, we mixed that with other influences and a lot of unique ideas to come up with something that (probably) hasn't been done before. We really hope it will work as well and be as surprising as we plan. But until then... play Void Bastards, folks, it is AWESOME!!!





[h3]Other mentions:[/h3]
There are quite a few other games that have influenced us in one way or another, but this blog post would be endless if we went into detail. So just to list: Deus Ex (2000), Prey (2017), Arx Fatalis, No One Lives Forever, Dishonored, Dead Space, Blood West, Gloomwood, I Am Not a Monster, Powerslave/Exhumed, some Soulsborne and Metroidvania titles, Alien Isolation, Gunman Chronicles, Ultima Underworld, Star Trek Elite Force, and CoC: Dark Corners of the Earth, not to mention the many book and movie inspirations, but we'll cover those in a separate blog post!

Blood West Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force Gloomwood I Am Not A Monster

[h3]Concluding thoughts:[/h3]
Reading through this blog post, it's easy to think that only something really chaotic could come out of all this clutter. On one hand, it's true, (controlled) chaos is part of the design, but on the other hand, much to our own surprise, elements from our favorite games start to come together in a fantastic way to create a real and totally unique mix, bound together and filled with soul by our own (often crazy) ideas.

Of course, we don't want to promise too much and we also don't want to always compare ourselves to other games, because whatever you say, in the end, the most important thing is that everything we do should be FUN to play. That's how we've approached the process of drawing inspiration: what are the best, most memorable, and most recallable parts or mechanics in the games? Why are they so good? What makes them work? What makes them so unique? How can we achieve a similar experience but still make the end result completely unique?

We hope that soon we will be able to introduce you to the crazy-ass disco-punk space-horror world we have created...

If you haven't already done so, please, Wishlist RetroSpace!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067820/RetroSpace/

The Wild Gentlemen