It's only been a few months since games like A Rising Bond or Blackstorm got several awards in the 2019 PlayStation Awards. Both were created in the classrooms of the University Center for Technology and Digital Art (U-tad), where they once again give the gunshot of Exit to the postgraduate projects of 2020 with a clear ambition. But exceeding the level every year is a major challenge only possible with the professional quality that this center has been demonstrating in recent years. Some of his games are have published on platforms like PlayStation 4 and have obtained the international recognition they deserve with works such as Intruders: Hide and Seek from Tessera Studios.
These achievements put them in perspective to continue opening the doors to hundreds of students looking for a future in video game development. And so they claim to be one of the leading universities in this industry at European level. «I think we can say and highlight that U-tad is the Spanish university that has specialized in videogame development in all its facets »said Gilberto Sánchez, academic director of videogames at U-tad. In that sense, Sánchez refers to the different degrees and masters who teach about art, design and programming of video games. This year, they release a new Master of Production Management for Animation and Visual Effects and Video Games, which teaches everything that is needed to treat these interactive products well. Meanwhile, they continue to learn from their own experience and this year they have concentrated their efforts on 2 postgraduate projects they have presented to the press. Called Shards of Hope and Daughter of the Forest
«As a novelty», explains project manager Dani Pastor, «This year we started a month before, so we have one more month of development to offer much better results, a more professional finish both in terms of art, design and programming». And this decision has also led them to condense the groups to «Offer higher quality products». The projects follow the U-tad method, which tries to replicate the model of a development study in the classrooms with the 3-4 areas involved (design, art, programming and production) and where the final project is the result of the collective effort.
Metroidvania where color is everything
For the first time in the U-tad classrooms, a lateral scroll meter with clear inspirations in Hollow Knight, Blasfemous or Ikaruga, which focuses on the polarity of color. That is, Shards of Hope will focus its mechanics on the color of the weapon and enemies in close combat. Each enemy will represent the children's fears, so they want the player to feel overcome in each confrontation. But that does not mean it will be easy, quite the opposite. The Banana Crunch studio wants it to be a challenge for hardcore players and convey the gloomy of nightmares through its scenarios and monsters.
All this is based on a mythological narrative in which Kyr, son of the mother night and demigods, will travel through the minds of the children to purify them of the nightmares that drag during the early phase of childhood. In their kingdom that is the night they were creating weak-minded men and women, seeking to be robbed or killed. The other son of the mother night is the one who originates those nightmares in the children. Ángel Hache, game designer of the project, explains that «We want the character to feel desolate in a corrupt world in which you have to face the ugliest dreams of children » so that t hey reach maturity. The gameplay will be fast in which the player will not have to suffer with the controls, so he will have basic metroidvania movements, fast and strong attacks in addition to a shield. Kyr will be a character very close to children and has 4 different colored lights in his possession with his own attacks to face each enemy. Light is the first thing children use when they are afraid of the dark.
They look for a very responsive control and a pleasant combat. Out of combat you can change and match colors to run enemies in the most effective way. Regarding art, they want to be inspired by a corrupt forest by those nightmares represented by forest animals or more existential fears like loneliness through very aggressive shadows. «We have based on creating thicker shapes and evolving to look for twisting, more strident figures and create that sense of constant danger»said his spokesman.
Nature asking for help
Second, the An Otter Studio group presented Daughter of the Forest, a hack and slash in third person with a differential factor that uses the same bar as life to absorb damage or mana to make attacks. But this time it does not try to kill enemies but to save the fauna and flora from corruption and for this we must know how to manage this energy. It is a very emotional story that seeks the redemption of the protagonist. Not only does he have to save the forest from this corruption but he has an internal struggle with herself realizing that it is part of the society that has allowed this decline. To convey all this, they try to generate a recognizable environment for anyone, but it will not be based on any real site. «We want anyone to feel that it is their story»
So everything revolves around the spirit bar. Combat is based on combos that will allow purify enemies once they are incapacitated with his skills and his main weapon: a cane. This will convert that energy into your own so that you can continue advancing in the adventure. They want the combat movement to be like a more agile, defensive and less aggressive dance for reflect the vulnerability of the character. However you will have a special technique called Momentum with which you will concentrate a lot of energy that you can release at once. The enemies will represent the flora and fauna of different types in a corrupt way. They can only be defeated when they are purified after disabling them.
They are still at a very early stage, but there will be designs of the enemies and scenarios in their normal and corrupt state so that at a glance that duality is shown. They are inspired by Ninja's great work Theory Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice because «They have a great experience and how one feels represented by the protagonist». The main character of this project will be a very pure being who receives the call of nature and has the ability to transfer corruption to it and use it as something positive. «We are still evaluating to make a progression of the character so that the player feels that he is improving and learning skills to overcome his problems»he clarified.
