For quite some time now, we've been developing a kafkaesque immersive-sim game about escaping the ever-watchful colossal Policeman.
Our last devlog took us through the process of shaping the game's concept, and now, we're all set to finally get to the main course. It all began with a goal: to complete the demo…
Before that, we created prototypes, designed artwork, and established the technical framework, but all the mechanics were scattered. They simply needed to be assembled into one cohesive and enjoyable game. And, Fully determined to reach the finish line, we… kept repeatedly falling into the same pattern—developing scattered ideas and prototypes. It was challenging to break free from that loop, and the situation was only intensified by a part of the team needing to relocate to another country. It felt like we were stuck, this time for good.
It might sound strange, but we don’t have any intentions of developing this game for another decade.
This means that we just needed to make a new plan - to identify the most basic mechanics of our game and shed everything slowing us down.
So what is the core of Militsioner? It's an immersive-sim about a relationship with the Law. So at that time, actively in development were: an open dialogue system with voice input, a tamagotchi-like mood system for all npc’s, a dynamic time system and a law system.
The main mechanic for elimination was pretty obvious. Keeping up with AI advancements while developing a robust dialogue system became a daunting prospect. By seriously developing an open dialogue system with voice input, we risk becoming outdated even before the game's release.
We had to abandon the voice recognition system. it was inevitable that some features we had initially aimed for would be cut. It’s natural for every project. While such decisions are typically made behind closed doors in most studios, our commitment to open development means that you get to witness it in real time. But we feel like it's crucial to maintain transparency with you about these unavoidable decisions.
Immersive-sim
There are positives to this as well – it allows us the freedom to really dive deep into the remaining mechanics. So, let’s jump right in!
All immersive-sims have some form of combat through which its immersion is revealed. Fighting the giant is not an option, so the player will have to resort to tricks - flattering, lying, stealing, giving gifts to appease the giant. His mood is the law, so as you get closer to Giant, different doors start opening up. So basically, we extend the classic immersive-sim staple of "talking your way out of the situation" in to a fully fleshed dating-sim mechanic.
Of course breaking the LAW’s heart is an option too - you can steal anything not nailed down , including chairs and even bricks from the street. For this, we've created a full-fledged store.
...Just make sure you're not caught in the act.
To pull that off, you gotta figure out his routine. The LAW needs to sleep too. Time is a key element, everything in the game world operates on its schedule.
It's very important for us that the player experiments and finds their own way to solve each task. But such an approach is very labor-intensive. Typically, in games like Dishonored, each path is crafted separately and represents a complete segment of the game that the player will never see unless they choose that specific route. We can’t afford such expenses. How to maintain freedom without adding years to the game's development?
We decided to tackle the issues in a more systematic way. We introduced universal locks that can be solved in several ways, something similar to what was done in Amnesia: The Bunker. For instance, there's a lock on a door that you can break with a brick, pick with a lockpick, or acquire a key for.
It's up to the player to decide how to get through. Each door may look the same but offers entirely different solutions depending on whether the player has a lockpick, is on good terms with an NPC who can provide a key, or if the player has swiped it from that NPC. Or even wait for the night time and discreetly break the lock with a brick.
Well, that's it for combining the core mechanics. All that was left was to test it on players, and the demo is ready! ...testing is known to be quick and easy. Games always work exactly as intended.
Numerous logical and gameplay issues arose during regular tests, which had to be promptly fixed and tested again and again and again over several months.
One of the recurring issues was that people were avoiding the game's mechanics all together. Players struggled to grasp what they needed to do in the game at all, leaning towards tactics they had already seen in other games. They were playing someone else's game.
We fought with this for a while before arriving at the simplest solution: a tutorial!
This small addition drastically transformed gameplay dynamics; people's play styles changed instantly. Mechanics began working, tactics emerged in the game, and players started engaging with tamagotchi systems, building relationships with the city's inhabitants. The demo became much more interesting to play.
After spending several months testing and making fixes, we found ourselves with a demo that felt completely different – more like a real game. We significantly changed the overall loop, tossed in heaps of new content, characters, and details to spice up the game.
The last year ended with participation in the Day of the Devs conference and a ready demo. For those who want to play, the demo is now on our Patreon.
A 10-minute gameplay video is available on our YouTube channel. We aim to keep our development process as transparent as can be, so feel free to share your feedback and join us on Discord.
Hey, this is nowhere near the final cut of the game. The tamagotchi thing still needs some tinkering, the dialogue system is on a quest for a new direction and, honestly, the game's a bit of a walk in the park right now. It's tough to be super objective – our eyes are a bit foggy, but overall, we received very positive feedback. The demo has bloomed into something way bigger than our original plan for these two years, even with the inevitable cuts. Most importantly – we've figured out where to steer this ship next.
I hope the next devlog won’t be named “our progress after another 3 years of development”. Militsioner is soon to be old enough for school; he needs to be set free.
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