Hello, hello, today I want to post a bit about a game I’m planning on making someday. This is a bit of a long post as a result of more than three days of dumping info on this game I haven’t even finished the design manual for. I’ve barely even started this project, mind you, so all of what I say here is purely what I want out of it and not even anything I’ve been able to iron out the details of fully.

Earlier this year I played a video game by the name of Umurangi Generation. It’s this really fuckin awesome photography game set in New Zealand during this weird near-future alien invasion. I won’t spoil the story for you, but it’s good. The main point I have with the game though is how good it is at simulating a camera for a player, going as far as to include different lenses for the player to attach to their camera, and even including lens requirements for some of the puzzles the game has players complete by including different objects in the frame. It’s an insanely good game in my opinion, and I haven’t really managed to find another game like it.

So I figured I’d plan out a game like it. Not aiming to directly compete or anything, but to be pretty much the opposite of Umurangi. Umurangi has a lot of urban levels? We’re shoving you out in the exurbs for a bit. Umurangi has a lot of police and soldiers present? You’re going to be photographing criminals and street racers. They had you running around completing goals on a time limit? The only thing here tying you to time is the point when a hoodlum smashes open a jewelry case or a joyrider totals somebody else’s car. More of a “Liked Umurangi? Try this!” or “Liked this? Try Umurangi!” rather than a complete replacement for Umurangi’s gameplay loop and style.

So, I started planning out the idea of The Exurbians about three months ago. So far I’ve got the setting mostly hammered down. The entire game will take place in the fictional metro area of Altura, in the late 2000s, where an ecological terror attack has rendered the weather patterns extremely unstable and put most of the world in a constant state of cloud and rain. The main points of interest for the player lie outside of the urban city-center as events occur mostly in the fringe of the city, eventually working their way in during the course of the story mode.

The storyline? It’s kind of hacky at this moment in time. I’ve got some general factions of gangs, street racers, and private enforcers mucking about Altura planned out to a degree. The gist of the main game’s storyline is you playing as an embedded photographer for Altura’s local newspaper, photographing crimes in progress and getting a bit chummy with criminals afterwards in interview sessions the player can choose to complete. A couple events and levels I have blueprinted include: a smash-and-grab on a jewelry store, an armoured car hijacking, and a large multi-floor escape from a high-rise office building after the theft of a large collection of documents.

The gameplay? Oh yeah, I got that laid out. Among the cache of ideas I have are concepts for a time-rewind system to allow the player to get a picture of what just happened, in order to alleviate the need to be aware at all times or something to get a good shot. I’m also hoping to implement more than just one camera and lens system, including both film and digital cameras in multiple formats, from typical point-and-shoots to single lens reflex frames. I also hope to have a bit of an emphasis on the after-event work such as darkroom stuff or digital photo manipulation so players have the opportunity to tweak their photos within the game. That part is a big MAYBE though considering I’m not too familiar with image handling and modification in code.

So I understand this all sounds really speculative, and you may be wondering “how on earth is this fucker gonna deliver?” Good question! I don’t know. I might not even try. I have no clue at this point! What I aim to do at this point in time is finish the design document. That is my current goal considering I don’t have any experience with modern game engines. I know for a fact if I do end up putting time into it that I’ll be doing it using a current Godot Forward+ instance and putting it up as free & open-source so there’s the possibility of someone being able to fix my undoubtedly countless fuck-ups with programming or asset creation. I honestly can’t imagine putting any of my work out there as behind a price or paywall considering it wouldn’t ever be good enough to warrant someone giving me money for it.

If I do go through with actually making this, I’m hoping to assemble a small group of my friends to help me with the design and programming processes, as those are two things I am desperately in need of some lessons on to do absolutely anything with these engines and systems.

But uh, yeah. That concludes this ramble. I plan on reviewing Truckfighters’ Gravity X later this week, or possibly Favored Nations’ The Great Unknown. I’ll be seeing y’all sooner or later with that. Thanks for reading!