[Dev Note] An unknown threat, the Infested
Over the past few weeks in our Dev Notes, we’ve introduced the Weapons, Characters and Tools found in Remore. These three elements are what make up the Battle and Combat Strategy, but what exactly are the Survivors battling?
Today we’re going to look at the threat at the center of our story, the creatures that came to Remore, the Infested.
At the outset of development, the main concept of Remore: Infested Kingdom was “Medieval Zombie Apocalypse.” From this starting point we wanted to move beyond the typical image of a shuffling corpse and instead try something fresh and unique, so we developed the concept of human insect hybrids.
The Infested encountered at the beginning of the game somewhat resemble humans in form but are highly aggressive; however, as time goes on through the process of “Emergence” the creatures begin to change and become more twisted in appearance and with stranger and more ferocious abilities.
The Knawer has the simplest behavior out of the Infested variants; however, they can easily swarm the survivors in number and become a massive threat. Although somewhat human in appearance, their insect-like mandibles and changed skin betray their transformation.
This is the most basic enemy type we designed during the first “zombie” based game design part of development. In the image, we see a large number of Knawers. Each by itself is not overly threatening, but they can hinder the progress or retreat of the survivors, thereby increasing the value of tactics based around wide area attacks and establishing escape routes.
The Skulker is a very agile and aggressive Infested. These four-legged creatures have acute senses so can spot and rush a survivor from afar. Unlike the Knawer, the Skulker poses a great threat to a single target due to their deadly attacks and defense.
The focus while designing the Skulker was on the game’s main feature, the “visibility/awareness” system. The Skulkers' cries when spotting survivors from afar can attract a large group of Infested to the battlefield, and in response we designed ways to combat this like blinding enemies or distracting them with stones.
The Blister has a visceral appearance and is bloated with liquid which oozes from its flesh. The liquid which has built up in the creature’s intestines is volatile and highly acidic and will explode with the slightest collision causing great damage to anything nearby.
In close combat situations the presence of a Blister requires a whole new tactic. In addition to the simple approach of making sure it explodes away from Survivors, the Blister can also be used to their advantage by inflicting the damage on nearby Infested.
Today, we had a glimpse at some of Enemy Types and the thought that went into their design. Of course, this is only a taste as we don’t want to spoil the surprise of the other horrors you will face!
As you progress through the game, you’ll learn all about the Infested, why they attack humans and the processes of their change! We hope you'll have fun learning these things for yourself.
In the next Dev Note we’ll take a look at another threat to the Survivors of Remore, the Cultists.
Thank you
