Big experience, small budget
With Spheres by Sense of Place Games we are trying to create a big experience for the player with limited resources. To give you a better idea of how the game unfolds we've created a new video that features five minutes of typical gameplay footage.
See it in action
Here's the video
How do we do it?
Non of the action in the game is pre-orchestrated, nor is it completely procedural or random. Instead, the game creates what you see in the video by layering multiple interacting systems together over a hand crafted framework. Many of the systems are simple enough on their own, but because they are sufficiently sensitive to each other and their starting conditions they create dynamic outcomes that will be different every time the game is played.
This approach to creating complexity is inspired by the seminal work of mathematician John Conway on Game of Life (see wikipedia for an overview) from the early 1970s in which he showed how simple rules can bring about startling levels of complexity when they self interact.
All of the systems in our game (AI, physics, animation, day/night cycle, level design etc) contain a degree of randomness or variability that is carefully tuned to create a game world that is logically and physically consistent, yet dynamic enough to always present new and unique outcomes. This allows the player to develop skill and a growing understanding of the world around them while never putting them in the same situation twice.
In other news
Indie Game Magazine ran a story on our game today:
"EXPLORE A BOUNDLESS WORLD IN SPHERES" - Indie Game Magazine
Thanks for showing an interest in our project and stay tuned for more info - including a new marketing preview trailer coming soon.
