Update #8 - Designing wrecks

Hello there!

Sorry for the delay between updates, but I was away on holiday for two weeks which cut my workflow dead. It was sorely needed though. 

Ever had a break from work where it kind of 'resets' your brain? It's been weird getting back into work-work as well as my personal work, but in a good way. My head is clearer and I feel my actions are more purposeful. Also I'm not as sleepy cat in the mornings, and can hear giant tentacled monsters talking to me from the void at night for some reason... anyway, highly recommend the lovely seaside town of Innsmouth for your next holiday!

So, what have I been doing since I got back? Designing wrecks, that's what! 

I have a spreadsheet (actually I have a dozen, and they are my children - don't judge) which I've been updating for several weeks, that lists all the wrecks you will visit in the game, and the main items, upgrades and story beats you find there. During that 'clear mind' period after returning from hols (it was Hong Kong if you really want to know - Innsmouth was just too expensive at this time of year) I decided I knew enough about the 'why' of the spaces but not enough about the 'what'. What do these wrecks look like? What is the feel, the mood I want to convey for each one? Fear? Curiosity? Sadness? Panic?

So I started writing about the atmosphere of each wreck level, and set about sketching some ship designs. This isn't really the 'level design' stage yet, as that is more about the internal spaces (although for some wrecks clambering around the outside is just as important), this was more visual concept sketching to try and figure out what the player will see when they arrive on the scene. Setting the mood.

Some concept sketches of spaceships - most will be damaged and broken, so this is me just finding out their original forms before I completely ruin them! :D

I do have a rough idea of some of the scenarios I want the player to experience at each wreck, particularly when it comes to trying to get the big tech items from inside to outside the ships, but that stage is yet to come. For now I want to make a proof of concept containing the player's home base, and a handful of key wrecks to prove out various different game mechanics. And it will help if each one has a different visual style, a different feel too.

And that's it for now. Hopefully next update I will have some very rough blockouts of these vessels to show you. Bye!

Tony.