When working with a semi open world underwater exploration/action/sim game, things are not exactly simple to do
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In this blog, we will try to cover various parts of development that we would highlight as the more vital challenges that we have faced, and also challenges we anticipate during the development of the game. In addition to that, we will also talk briefly about various possible solutions that we are currently employing and experimenting with.
Aquanox Deep Descent will take place in a semi-open world. Not on a scale with open world games like Skyrim, but large enough to allow for players to really feel the reality of this world, and of course this creates challenges when working on its optimization, managing its story and also making sure that there is something going on around the player at all times. One of our primary challenges as a developer, is to create a game world that feels alive in the sense of gameplay. NPC ships traveling around including patrols, hunters, pirates, as well as fights or just events happening. We want to create a game world that feels vibrant, and that players enjoy exploring.
Creating a large underwater game is similar to that of a space sim – except that it’s not an empty space we’re creating around the player, but landscapes with many hidden secrets to be explored
Another interesting challenge we face is the solution to underwater darkness. Aquanox Deep Descent like its predecessors takes place in the deep sea, at such depths that in reality there is hardly any light. Creating a game that is pitch black however, would kill the experience of exploration, or would make it a very different game. We have spent a lot of time experimenting with various solutions in order to create something that is not too dark, not too bright, yet still enjoyable and atmospheric enough for an underwater game.
Our darkness settings are very dynamic. With this, we can create changes to the range of vision, the darkness of the water surrounding the player, the color of the water etc., all in realtime. As the players goes deeper or higher in the zone that he is exploring, the water around his ship changes. This is very important because we want to place a bigger focus on vertical gameplay than the previous titles in the series did.
In Aquanox – Deep Descent we are putting a lot of work into creating interconnecting cave systems as well as various depth layers, thus allowing the player to explore areas not just horizontally, but also vertically!
All of our zones will make great use of our vertical gameplay approach, and ship equipment will define the depths the players can explore. It will happen that the player might be unable to explore all areas of a certain zone at first, but if he upgrades his ship with better armor and ship assistance, he will be able to return to these areas and explore their deeper segments as well!
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