Sightless Resonate - CPS 498 Senior Design Project

Instructor - Dr. Redei

Updates

Sightless Resonate is a thriller game about using stealth to achieve your goal, as combat is not an option. Enemies will hunt down the player as they try to escape, so the player must think about how they want to deal with the enemies. The goal of this project is to make a fun game that is enjoyable, while also trying to be different from other games in the same genre. It takes place in 9 AD, right after the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, where Romans were brutally ambushed by German Pagans. The player plays as a Roman officer trying to get back to an allied fort, but the fort is miles away. However, Germans are patrolling the forest looking for any survivors and killing any they find. The player can not fight back and must hide and evade the enemies to survive, while having the option of using objects and surrounding terrain to evade enemies pursuing them.

Current Model

Currently, we have a skeleton for a first level with a player character. They are able to use a sonar ping to see outlines of their surroundings, and can move throughout the level relatively freely. There is also an outline of the progression of the first level in production. 

Objectives of the Semester

There are three main objectives for the project this semester. The first is to create a playable level in which the player is able to interact with the environment, and can progress to the end of the level and beat it to the best of their ability. The second is to add enemies to the game and other horror elements, like ominous sounds and traps and war flashbacks, to create thrill in the game and push the player to act swiftly yet cautiously. The third is to iron out the echolocation ping system. This is our main feature in the game and makes it stand out compared to similar games, so it needs to work properly and be able to be unique yet effective. There may be inherent scope creep that ensues in the project, but the primary objectives to be accomplished should remain intact.

Semester Accomplishments

For our progress report for the semester, we added a lot of features to the build of our project and expanded some of our old features. For new additions, we added in the sonar feature that is the primary stimuli for the player to use to progress through the game. It utilized different colors to portray different objects and terrain the player is in close proximity to. We also added the AI feature for our roaming/patrolling enemies to make the gameplay more dynamic and impactful for the player. Additionally, we added a structure for the first interaction of the game, in which the goal of the player is to cross a bridge being patrolled by an enemy, with the help of rocks and objects around them. Rounding off the new additions, we implemented a start up screen and a death screen into the build.

For expanding upon old features, the main additions for this semester were making the map larger. There was already a plan and layout for a second area of the map to be explored. This semester, we combined the two maps and overlapped them so the map could be one, continuous explorable area.