Hi. I'm a solo indie game developer who is yet to release my first PlayStation game, a split, sound adventure that launched this Wednesday on PS VR. I would like to take this opportunity to reveal the inspiration behind the game, as well as some of the challenges I faced to improve.
First, you may be wondering what I mean by the word & # 39; ambient adventure. & # 39; I've never felt comfortable with the term & # 39; walking simulator & # 39; then I thought the equivalent of the & # 39; ambient & # 39; or & # 39; downtempo & # 39; it was also present in the games. Sepgment gameplay is refreshing – testing is based on specific puzzle elements, and no time pressure. The atmosphere's atmosphere and ambience are emphasized, the details are deliberately kept secret. The board I bothered with was hard on Fumito Ueda & # 39; s PS2 classic Ico and 19th-century German landscape painter, Caspar David Friedrich (whose works evoke a sense of goodwill). I wanted to bring that experience to VR, so that I could lose myself in it. I had my reasons for doing so.
Since the death of my father in 2010, I have battled depression. I wanted to create a space where I could explore feelings of despair and loss, maybe find some purpose in the presentation. Hopefully some people will be able to contact this. There is very little narrative – it's a symbolic move and you're free to make your own conclusions about the experience. I feel like VR is ready for this in particular. Immersion strengthens the player's experience of alienation, providing a solitary experience that is increasingly rare in today's hyper-connected world.
Of course, game development is rarely straightforward. I've never done a game in VR before and my limited resources meant that I would spend many months battling technical issues over my own technology, trying to solve the problems that often require a team to roam successfully. The trip took me past my comfort zone, but I persevered, as the game doubled, thrice over its developmental plan. There was a lot to learn and I spent a lot of time simply trying to achieve a stable framerate with shaders rendering with no problem in VR.
When the money ran out, I took on temporary jobs and paid my rent. I recorded and recorded the night radio, with my heads, sitting on the kitchen table after my family went to bed. “You'll get there eventually,” gamedev friends told me at a meeting in York, but there was no doubt that life passed me through four years of working alone in the sport.
It's hard to take a break or get sick when no one else is going to advance things when you're not there. Despite many obstacles, I made progress and as the game was about to end and I wandered the desolate places of my imagination, I began to feel peaceful and welcomed into the real world I had made strong.
So, where does this lead? I hope that players find something worth exploring, even if it is watching the sun go down behind those ruined rocks, the light fades from the water to the right sound. I have learned a lot, and hopefully the game is well received, I will get the opportunity to continue building on it, maybe with a smaller team. I hope in the end of it all, someone will find their own special place in divorce.
