Devlog # 1-Prototype
Pitching
This sprint began with team formation, then the pitching of game concepts. Everyone had a couple of days to prepare, and then we pitched to the group. We went through a couple of rounds of voting and ended on “NoRail.”
The First Team Meeting…
…was honestly a bit of a disaster. The goal was to define the concept of NoRail more, but it ended up becoming a second pitch meeting. Eventually, we lost track and focused on the wrong things, and people began to become more frustrated.
Ultimately, I believe this was beneficial. It helped us see the need for structure, roles, and decision-making processes. It also showed us that we can overcome conflict and align with our purpose.
Pre-Production
We spent a fair amount of time on Pre-Production items. Key items include our Social Contract, RACI Chart, Production Tool Setup (Miro, Trello, etc..), and beginning to form our LLC. Additionally, we developed our three design pillars (or at least what we think we’ll go with):
Action
Atmosphere
Replayability
Engineering
The engineering team focused on the basics. They set up a third-person character, a couple of basic levels, enemies with simple AI, and the background for inventory.
Art
This sprint had a lot of reference searching and discussion on our art style. We did come up with some general theming revolving around a Y2K time frame and liminal/uncanny aesthetics. You can see our concepts and references below. There was some simple VFX integration
Design
We do have a basic gameplay loop defined, with those design pillars. However, there is a lot more details about the features of our game that we have yet to determine.
Narrative
As Atmosphere will play a major role in the game, we needed to flesh out the narrative background of our story more. This plays a major role in design decisions and art decisions. The narrative summary is as follows:
A sci-fi horror action roguelite aboard a state-of-the-art space cargo train trapped in an endless loop around a dead solar system. As the only passenger, you’ll fight through warped pocket-dimension cars infested with grotesque human-robot hybrids and scavenge abandoned stations that whisper of a cosmic cataclysm. Your only hope is to reach the front and break the cycle—if escape is even possible. Is this the work of an unfathomable higher existence… or your own descent into madness?
Concept Art/Early Art
