[h2]Hey there, Survivors![/h2]
In today’s devlog, we want to share some insights about our inspiration for the game. Everything has a story behind it, and we hope this Devlog will give you insight into our creative process. Let’s jump right in!
[h2]From Shelter to Stronghold[/h2]
We’ve always been huge fans of survival games, but one thing consistently bothered us: in PvE sessions, base-building often felt cosmetic, like you were just decorating, rather than building something with real gameplay value. That frustration sparked a series of brainstorms around how we could make bases feel truly essential, something you rely on and interact with meaningfully throughout the game.
The concept of being stranded on an alien planet and constantly needing to defend your base, similar to the game loops of The Riftbreaker and even 7 Days to Die, immediately stood out to us as a strong foundation and inspiration for our designs
In the early stages, the game was going to focus on progressing through different technological tiers, starting with primitive tools like wood and stone before reaching sci-fi tech. But we quickly realized that most of the excitement was happening at the high-tech end, so we leaned into that and dropped the traditional early-game survival tropes.
At its core, the idea behind this game is to deliver a fresh, intense survival experience, one that’s just as engaging for a solo player as it is for a group of friends working together.
[h2]Character and Enemy Movement[/h2]
As longtime fans of top-down games, we drew inspiration from a wide range of titles like Core Keeper, V Rising, The Ascent, The Riftbreaker, and even Valheim. Each of these games brought something unique to the table in terms of movement feel, combat flow, or how enemies engage with the player.
We believe you never really know where your next great idea will come from, which is why we make it a point to keep playing and analyzing games, both as developers and as players. It’s crucial for us to stay connected to what feels good to play and what players actually enjoy.
[h2]Visual Style[/h2]
We’re honestly a bit bored of hyper-realistic games, all aiming for the same gritty look and often ending up visually similar. We wanted to break away from that. Our goal is to create something more stylized and distinctive, something that stands out immediately and supports the strange, alien world we're building.
That said, the visual direction is still very much a work in progress. We're constantly iterating, experimenting with colors, lighting, and shape language to find the right balance between stylization, atmosphere, and gameplay clarity. It’s a process of ongoing discovery, and we’re excited about where it's heading.
We're especially drawn to visual styles that use bold artistic choices to enhance immersion without relying on realism, such as games where the art tells a story on its own.
Plus, a semi-stylised approach offers us more creative freedom and helps keep production manageable while still delivering a strong, memorable look that ages well.
[h2]Music[/h2]
Our musical inspirations come from a mix of sci-fi films and games that share a similar sense of scale, mystery, and tension, titles like Prometheus, Aliens, The Three-Body Problem, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and even high-energy sci-fi like Tron. We’re aiming for a soundscape that can shift between atmospheric and adrenaline-pumping, supporting both exploration and high-stakes combat.
We’re fortunate to be working with Aleksandria Migova, the composer behind V Rising, who brings a wealth of experience and creative vision to the project. She’s helping us shape a musical identity that enhances the world, whether you’re fighting a boss, uncovering strange alien structures, or simply surviving another day. Her involvement also strengthens our workflow, allowing us to explore and iterate quickly on both thematic and gameplay-driven tracks.
[h2]Story[/h2]
The story came together through a lot of collaborative brainstorming during pre-production. While the game is primarily focused on gameplay, we’re definitely a mechanics-first team.
We wanted a narrative that ties everything together and adds meaning to the world, the enemies, and your objectives. The story helps give context to your survival, your progression, and the strange things you encounter on the planet.
It also evolved alongside the game design. As we iterated on systems and features, the narrative adapted to support those changes. We didn’t want to force a rigid plot into a dynamic game, so we allowed the story to grow organically with the mechanics, making sure it enhances the player experience rather than gets in the way of it.
Here’s a glimpse of it:You play as part of A.S.T.R.A., an elite commando unit sent to Sigma Century as a security escort for a scientific team from SC BioTech Industries. After a mysterious electromagnetic pulse disables all communications, your ship crashes, leaving you stranded and cut off from command. On the surface, you find the research team either dead or missing, and evidence of something far more sinister.
As you explore, you uncover signs of SC BioTech’s secret experiments on the planet’s Indigenous creatures, mutating and weaponizing them for their own gain. The deeper you go, the more you uncover their motives, and the more dangerous your survival becomes.
It’s not a story-heavy game, but the narrative plays a key role in anchoring the experience and giving purpose to the world, the threats, and your progression. It’s there for players who want to dig in, but never at the cost of pacing or gameplay.
[h2]Characters[/h2]
We wanted our characters to stand out from typical sci-fi designs, so we focused on creating a look that felt bold, recognizable, and unique to our world. That led us to the concept of the armor featuring long, flowing orange energy strands, something visually striking that also hints at advanced tech and identity.
It was also important for us to design a female character first, not as an afterthought or alternate option, but as the starting point. Right now, we’re working on the male version as a second skin, continuing to build a cohesive style while offering diversity in player identity.
Overall, we want our characters to feel grounded in the game’s universe but expressive enough to be memorable, both in gameplay and in visual storytelling.
[h2]Creative Process Behind the Game[/h2]
The creative process for this game has been a true collaboration from the start, constantly evolving with input from our team and external partners. We've leaned heavily on brainstorming, iteration, and playtesting. Sometimes an idea will start out small but grow in exciting ways once we start seeing it in action.
We’ve always kept player experience at the forefront, aiming for systems that feel intuitive but rewarding. Whether it's base-building, combat, or exploration, we wanted to create mechanics that make the world feel alive and interconnected, with depth that reveals itself the more you engage with it.
One of the most exciting things for us has been seeing how all the different pieces, from visual design to gameplay mechanics, are starting to come together into something that feels cohesive and unique.
It’s not just about building a game, but building an experience we’d want to play ourselves.
Early Access felt like the most logical step for us as a small indie studio. We wanted to validate the core gameplay with our community first before committing to scaling content. It gives us the flexibility to refine based on real player feedback and ensure we're on the right path, making sure the foundation is solid before expanding further.
And we’re still in the thick of it, constantly refining, tweaking, and looking for that next big idea that’ll push the game further.
