God Save Birmingham News

[p]Survivors,[/p][p]It’s been a minute since we’ve talked about what’s been in development, hasn’t it? [/p][p]With our heads buried deep in development, we only just realized we have a whole new demo ready for Gamescom, yet we have kept you in the dark about what we’ve been working on![/p][p]We’ll go over the major gameplay features that are new to the Gamescom demo soon, but today, let’s talk about something core to God Save Birmingham: bringing realness to the survival.[/p][p][/p][p]By now, you probably know our goal is to make a medieval zombie survival game grounded in realistic physics. Sure, “medieval” and “zombie” grab attention–but it’s “realistic” that’s the real beast. [/p][p]Why? Because realism is expensive. Like, REALLY expensive. [/p][p]It takes us a lot of time and resources to bring even the most mundane parts of survival to life–making them feel grounded, tactile, and true to real-world physics.[/p][p][/p][p]Let’s take the simple action of eating an apple. Imagine a small red apple just inches away from the character’s face–about to bite in, ready to restore hunger and thirst. That apple can’t look like it’s popped out of thin air and is magically levitating like some cursed fruit, it has to sit perfectly in the hand to feel real and just right.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]Now, imagine doing that not just for an apple, but for cheese, potato, pork, ham, parsnips… You get the idea. [/p][p]Tedious? You bet. [/p][p]Necessary? Absolutely.[/p][p][/p][p]And that's just one type of interaction. There’s literally a whole world of character-object behaviors like picking things up, throwing them, dropping them, swinging them--all of which have to account for context. You wouldn’t swing an apple like you’d swing an axe, would you? [/p][p]We’re deep in the thick of working all this out right now. It feels like we’ve been working on this for years, but really, it’s only been a few months--and there’s still a long way to go. The sheer number of items and interactions tied to them make for long, slow, retina-burning workdays.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And we’re constantly tweaking and refining our animation as we go, of course. Can you spot the subtle difference in our farmer’s throwing motion from a few months ago and what’s currently in the game? [/p][p]
[/p][p] Hopefully, all the tedious work will pay off by the time we launch into Early Access so that this kind of realism becomes invisible--the kind you don’t consciously notice but feel when it’s done right. Until then, you’ll likely run into some glaring collision and animation issues when we run demos and beta tests. But please know that we are working on them, one object at a time![/p][p]
[/p][p]Speaking of throwing, falling objects are part of real physics so we’ve been working on that too. And yes, that means we’re working on how an object falls, one individual item at a time. [/p][p]They look pretty cool when they’re all together raining down from the sky like this though, right?[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]Of course, making God Save Birmingham feel more realistic also means making it more faithful to the real 14th century town. That involves a lot of research and we’ve touched on this a bit before in this blog. The research is never-ending, and in fact, the wealth of information available on Birmingham is the reason we chose it as our setting. Along the way, we’ve been picking up some nuggets of history to reflect in-game.
[/p][p]For example, if you watch our very first trailer, you can see that the St. Martin’s church’s doors are left open outward. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We’ve since then learned that medieval doors in Europe usually opened inward for security purposes. Isn’t that interesting? After this revelation, we updated the game so doors do just that--open inward. No more sticking out your entire body to close an open door, risking running into a zombie. It’s like the medieval folks were expecting a zombie apocalypse or something. ːsteammockingː[/p][p][/p][p]Well, hopefully this gives you a little peek into what we’ve been up to. It’s still only a snippet of what we’re working on so come back for the next log![/p][p][/p][p]-ODS Team[/p][p]

[/p]

[p]Gather ‘round, Survivors,[/p][p][/p][p]One year after unveiling God Save Birmingham at Gamescom 2024, we return to Cologne, Germany, bearing an all-new playable demo.[/p][p][/p][p]Step into medieval Birmingham, located in Hall 10.1 booth B081...[/p][p]And do your best to survive the horde.[/p][p][/p][p]The zombie kind like this, of course. Not the creepy humanoid render at the booth.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]If you’ll be near Koelnmesse from August 20 - 24, come visit us in the Entertainment Area and be among the very first to play the latest in God Save Birmingham.[/p][p]
- ODS Team[/p]

Survivors,

I hope you’re just as excited as we are for PAX East this week! We can’t wait to see real players get hands-on with the game and share their feedback with us real time.

That said, we realize traveling to Boston to attend an event is not in the cards for everyone right now, so we captured a full playthrough of the actual PAX demo build. This is a raw look at the game: 22 minutes of straight unedited gameplay.


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
If you are able to come by our booth at PAX, this should give you a sneak peek at what it takes to survive the full 30-minute demo. ;)

We’re working to make a playable demo available on Steam for everyone, so stay tuned and follow us here and/or socials! And if you have any questions or thoughts on the video, feel free to leave comments on the thread.

-ODS Team

Hey Survivors,

We’re back—and we’ve got some news!

It’s been a minute, but today we’re coming in hot with something you won’t want to miss.

First up: the brand-new, IGN-exclusive trailer for God Save Birmingham is LIVE!
Step into a brutal reality of 14th-century Birmingham, where you awake as the lone survivor in a city overrun by zombies—and they aren't your only enemy. This new trailer gives you a raw look at the gritty survival gameplay that awaits.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube](Just a heads-up: the game is still in development, so what you see isn't final—but it is awesome.)

Next stop: Boston!
We’re heading to PAX East (May 8–11) with a PAX-exclusive playable demo of God Save Birmingham!
If you're going to be there, swing by our booth, say hi to the devs, and be one of the first to experience the improved game hands-on.


More updates are coming soon—so stay locked in by wishlisting the game on Steam now and following us on our socials below.

We’ll catch you soon!

- ODS Team

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/3073940/God_Save_Birmingham/

Dear Survivors,

We are so excited to talk to you today about something that is a huge part of our game: physics mechanics.

Physics-based mechanics have always been an integral part of God Save Birmingham from the very beginning. It was important to us that it be a key component of the gameplay experience and the sense of immersion. The realistic interactions between characters -- whether they’re human or zombie -- and the environment are what makes our game feel engaging and dynamic.

[h3]Physics-Driven Gameplay Mechanics[/h3]

It’s always been one of our highest priorities to make physics actively shape your gameplay. You can interact with practically every object you encounter, whether it’s lifting, pushing, or throwing. Even your inventory is a factor, hindering your movement when encumbered or aiding your speed when empty. No detail has been overlooked on our quest for depth and realism.

Explore the world and use your imagination; you’ll be astounded by the freedom of what you can do. Need to clear a path? Move obstacles out of the way! Need to block zombies? Stack furniture to barricade a door! Want to reach a high ledge? Use a table or chair to climb up! Players and zombies can even trip over objects around the world, so watch your step!



[h3]Challenges in Implementing Physics[/h3]

Integrating an advanced physics system hasn’t been without its challenges, though. While game engines have come a long way towards supporting physics, developing a seamless and bug-free system has still been demanding.

Ensuring every object has accurate collision shapes, weight, density, and friction values is a meticulous process. Unlike typical static world design, where small overlaps or floating objects might go unnoticed, God Save Birmingham requires precise physical placement, increasing the workload for our designers. To streamline this, we’ve developed specialized tools that help make this process more efficient.


[h3]Inspirations from Other Games[/h3]

Playing immersive sims like Half-Life, Portal, and Dishonored -- pioneers in physics engines -- was a huge inspiration for me to include physics in GSB. I have fond memories of being able to freely pick up, push, and throw anything in the game world. In particular, the Magnesis skill and Ultrahand mechanics in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were incredibly impressive with their intuitive object manipulation and how they contributed to the gameplay.

We’re developing God Save Birmingham hoping to incorporate that same level of physical freedom, but now in a zombie survival game.


[h3]Future Enhancements[/h3]

One of the features we’re most excited about integrating is a weather mechanic. Imagine all the possibilities! Fog, rain, a little sunshine (you know, your typical Birmingham weather) — all of it creating new challenges or offering new opportunities. Rain might make surfaces slippery, impacting movement. Lightweight objects might be pushed about by strong wind.

As we continue working on GSB, it’s our goal to implement physics, along with other environmental and survival simulation elements, as fully as possible into the game’s systems. If you have any ideas, feel free to share them with us!



We can’t wait to see how players use these systems creatively, and we look forward to sharing more as we continue improving the game.

Hyeonseong Cha, Creative Director