Introduction:
Hello there, welcome to the first Devlog in this series, where we share our progress on creating a horror game. The horror game genre on roblox has one of the best visual storytelling aspects on the whole platform. That includes games like “The Butcher,” and “REFLECTION”. One of the best examples of good visual storytelling is Apeirophobia. The game explores the world of the creepypasta “backrooms”, where you try to escape liminal spaces. What we have noticed is the impact of environmental sounds and visual cues, allowing players to deeply immerse themselves in the narrative. Horror games portray this the best in my opinion. This served as the main inspiration for the concept behind our game.
Team Introduction:
This is our first game, and thus far we have been focused on improving upon our skills. I (varenst) am the scripter of this game. I have mostly been working on shooter game systems. @Feli_Devs on the other hand is the graphics designer of the game, which includes modeling, texturing and animation.
Development:
The game is pretty early in development, but we have a pretty clear vision on what it’s gonna be about, I hope… The story is going to explore a subterranean environment, in which the player will have to explore many environments, such as bunkers, tunnels and long-forgotten underground installations. Notably, a significant focus will be placed on subway stations and labyrinthine train track tunnels. Whilst we don’t want to reveal much yet, some gameplay elements will be inspired by games like “The Last of Us” and “Metro Exodus”, so keep that in mind.
We have been actively working on this project for the last 2 weeks, with the main story idea being in the workings for a little while now. The game will be structured into levels, each lasting approximately 20 minutes during the initial playthrough. It will have similarities to TV episodes, with each level being its own story, but it will contribute to the whole narrative. A key feature of the game will be cinematic cutscenes that play a crucial role in advancing the narrative.
Initiating our development process:
To kickstart our project, we deliberated on where to begin. This was quite uncharted territory for us, given our limited experience in personal project development. So we decided to start with the lobby.
Lobby blockout:
I (@Feli_Devs ) started gathering some reference images of real life metro stations.
After that I started blocking out the environment.
I started adding visual blockout details like pipes, pillars and a train.
A good scene needs good lighting.
Keep in mind that it’s a work in progress and many things may change.
Lobby UI system:
We’ve had limited experience with UI design, as our previous projects primarily focused on realism without any UI elements. I (varenst) found it very challenging to design and structure the UI system, leading me to rework it multiple times.Hardest thing of the Lobby UI system development was designing the interactions and different screens.
We decided to take a minimalist approach to UI by focusing more on the 3D, which was inspired by “The Last of Us”. For horror games like this, we think that UI can impact the game’s immersion, so we keep it minimal. Even in a lobby setting, it remains important.
Then it was time to design the game settings, lobby browser and lobby UI. We got inspired by the Call of Duty UI for its minimalistic and visually appealing design. After finalizing, it was time to decide how the player would transition between different screens. We tried to find the most comfortable way to navigate through the UI. You can see a finalized transition flowchart here:
Now once we planned everything It was time to implement it. Every good implementation starts with a plan. Make whatever you want of it, but this is my visualized thought process when planning.
After completing the system plan, I went to script it, and I must admit that I was not having a good time. UI scripting is inherently complex due to the need to manage states, which I consider the most challenging part of the scripting process. However, after scripting, we achieved the following results:
From the creator’s perspective:
From the player’s perspective:
What’s next:
Once the lobby is completed, our next focus will be on developing the first level and cutscene. Given that the game is intended to be a first-person experience, we will start working on mechanics like including custom player movement, camera effects, a trigger module, and a cutscene system.
As for our second devlog, we already have some plans to showcase a finalized lobby map featuring notable UI enhancements. We’ll also showcase the progress made in terms of player movement and camera effects. Additionally, stay tuned for intriguing teasers that we’ll be sharing.
Conclusion:
This is our first project so It’s quite exciting to create a devlog. Also, whilst we don’t know the exact date, we plan to release the game once the first level is finished, adding more levels in future updates. We will also need to make music and audio that fits the game, and that isn’t one of our skills, so that will take some time.
Please leave some feedback and suggestions that you might have.
You can also ask us more questions in our socials and community server here - ValFel - Roblox
This devlog definitely didn’t take us the whole day to finish.
When we started -
When we ended -
