Story

The story is simple: a robot tries to communicate with his partner, but due to a malfunction, he has to reboot his speech system. While he struggles with this, his partner gets angrier by the second. If the anger maxes out — game over. The real (and very dumb) excuse is that the protagonist just wants to find out if Half-Life 3 came out.

Gameplay

The player’s movement is on rails; the only actions they can perform are jumping and switching lanes. The goal of the game is to destroy all the orange viruses, which can be eliminated using energy shields collected throughout the level. Once that’s done, the player must reach the end of the level and reboot the speech system to finish the game.

Level design

The player starts on a safe rail (with no enemies), and as soon as they begin moving automatically, the core game mechanics are introduced. The player picks up a shield, and in the next moment, they destroy an orange virus — which is the main objective of the game. In contrast, purple viruses cannot be destroyed and must be avoided, as they pose a threat.

There are six lanes, each with a specific function:

1. The starting lane is a safe zone.
2. The aerial lane adds verticality and encourages exploration.
3. The energy shield lane is where players collect the shields needed to destroy orange viruses.
4. The lane adjacent to the starting lane contains large amounts of health.
5. The virus lane holds most of the orange viruses.
6. The final lane leads to the end of the level.

Final thoughts

This is one of my oldest projects, and I know that if I had to remake it today, I would approach it very differently. I’d also add more functionality to the single-button mechanic — for example, by taking advantage of actions like holding the button down.

Design

The core pillars of this project are:

• The AI system for the security cameras, which behave intelligently and react to the player’s actions.
• Environmental interaction, where weapons are used more as tools than simple combat devices.
• The use of terminals, which can be accessed to gather information or hacked to open doors and disable electronic devices.

Security cameras

There are two types of cameras: fixed and mobile. Mobile cameras move along rails but otherwise behave similarly to the fixed ones, with the key difference being that they will always be patrolling along a railway.

If a camera detects you, an alarm is triggered and the doors in the current room will lock, trapping you inside. Cameras with a visible halo are also capable of attacking: if you’re within their range, they will engage. If you’re outside their attack range, they enter a heightened surveillance mode.

Camera halos indicate their current state:

• Blue = looking for anomalies
• Orange = combat mode
• Red = attacking
• White = deactivated

Cameras can be destroyed, but attacking them will trigger the alarm. The most effective method is to find a terminal and shut them down remotely. Alternatively, an EMP device can disable them temporarily. If their power source is exposed, you can destroy it to completely shut them down, leaving them in a catatonic state.

Hacking

The hacking system is very simple. Once you acquire the hacking device, you need to press the action key when the cursor is over the green arrows. If you press it on a red arrow instead, you lose health. This system is inspired by BioShock 2.

Story

The story is very simple: the player’s character wakes up in a hostile environment. Later, it’s revealed that you’re in an abandoned underground facility where the systems are still functioning. Your only ally is a set of nodes connected to the main network, whose sole purpose is to help people.

Much of the information is delivered to the player through markings on the walls — similar to the Ratman messages in the Portal series. I regret this choice a bit, as it ended up being too explicit and needed more subtlety to truly convey the atmosphere I was aiming for. Furthermore, I know for sure that I overused the technique.

Final thoughts

I think that when I started developing this game, it was beyond my skill level at the time — but despite everything, I learned some valuable lessons about programming and storytelling.

One of the things I believe I achieved with this project was creating a disturbing atmosphere using ominous music, red lighting, and a claustrophobic, ascending level design that occasionally shows the sky — but always just out of reach.

By “atmosphere,” I refer to the combination of environmental elements in the game world that work together to evoke a specific emotional response — in this case, a sense of unease, deliberately crafted by the designer.

Choice design

There are a few paths to explore in the game. I wanted to include even more, but within that tight timeframe, it was impossible.

Level design

All the levels serve as environments to create atmosphere. In every one of them—except for the cabin and the final level—it’s raining. This is a way to show the player that they’re inside the storm. When they reach the end, the player finds themselves in the eye of the hurricane: everything seems calm on the surface, but the worst is yet to come.

The car level features a looping road and serves as a metaphor for the player’s state. It also functions as a level-saving technique, similar to the train scene in Uncharted 2.

In the final level, the player can no longer move freely; player are dragged against their will by a mysterious force and forced to face their fate, whether they want to or not. For this reason, the atmosphere I aimed to create is akin to an unholy sacrifice to a god. When the ancient god appears, the screen distorts as if the game itself is malfunctioning. The player sees the beast from a low-angle shot that emphasizes their feeling of inferiority.

Final thoughts

For a short window of time, I’m very happy with what came out. I was able to mix some assets to create a solid experience. Even though I’m pleased with the result, the esoteric part of Lovecraftian horror needs more work, and some dialogues could use improvement.