This is a video game being developed in Unreal Engine 5.4. In it, you play as a scientist who invented a high tech sword that can absorb technology and integrate with his suit to replicate abilities it absorbed by crafting temporary upgrades. For example, after defeating a robot with lasers, you can pick up its scrap to create a wrist-mounted laser gun.
Lately, I've been in a bit of a frenzy of development, so things are getting done faster than expected for a side project. One level is complete, and a build is available, and good progress is being made for the second level. Things will probably slow back down as I get busier with other things, but for the time being, I'm on a roll.
The team size is two people. I am taking care of the majority of the programming, and JoobyG5 seems to be focusing on art. We've also been discussing plans for the course of the game.
At this time, scope seems reasonable for programming, but I am concerned that the rest is going to lag behind. I plan on finding ways to bring more visibility to the project and hopefully catch the attention of more volunteers, ideally in art and level design.
I've planned out the general route of the game's story. It will consist of "missions" containing two levels each, except for the tutorial (which will only have one) and the final mission (which may have three, we'll see.)
After the tutorial is completed, four "branch missions" will open, one for each branch of S.T.A.B. (Structures, Tools, Automation, and Biochem.) These can be completed in any order. Currently, the T-branch mission is underway. Once those are done, there will be a sequence of two additional missions to wrap up the story. These missions will tie in story elements from the branch missions and have a fixed order.
Each level will have four optional objectives for bonus points, again one for each branch. Each level should come with 1-3 "new" upgrades (that is, not having appeared in any prior levels that the player must have completed to get there.) At least one of these should be created for that level, while others may be reused from levels in non-prerequisite missions.
Eventually, I plan to add a skill tree (using credits earned from score) and a dynamic difficulty system so that you can complete the branch missions in any order and still have appropriate balancing.
For the time being, I would like to release a build each time a new level is complete. If the team expands, I'll consider including multiple new levels per build.
At the current rate, I am aware that this game will take years to complete. That's fine by me, because this is work I enjoy, and the more progress I make, the cooler the game will become, which will motivate me further and possibly inspire others to join in. This is a personal project with no deadline, but I will re-evaluate scope if circumstances require it.
At this time, I am especially looking for artists and level designers to join the team. No programming experience is required, and I can walk you through getting set up with GitHub and Unreal Engine if you need. Contact me on Discord if you're interested.
In any case, the following are always good ways to help:
For the time being, all rights are reserved. I need to take some time to consider the pros and cons of different licenses. Until then, if you want to do anything with the project, let me know. Unless you want to sell my builds royalty-free, we can probably come to an arrangement. I'm not trying to be stingy.
As per GitHub's terms of service, you do not need my permission to fork the project. I'd like to know before you help so that we don't step on each other's toes, but it's not strictly required.