Hey zombie killers,
A question that often comes back is "Why did you choose to have a turn-based combat in your horror game? That's unusual!" Well, we're here to answer you!
First, don't forget to try our last demo, currently available for the Turn-based Carnival! It will give you a good sense of what we're trying to achieve with these turn-based mechanics.
Share your feedback with us: https://forms.gle/jnWMY4aCL277mB6H8
Why Turn-based?
Horror games are often RTS to play on suspense, jumpscares, etc. Why did you choose to go turn-based?
We liked the idea of giving players time to think through each situation. In most RTS games, players only react to situations without the chance to pause and evaluate if there’s a better strategy.
We were also drawn to offering something unconventional regarding combat within the horror genre.
What are the turn-based games that inspired you for Vultures' combat?
The main inspîrations are Into the Breach, Colony Ship, Xcom, and the obvious Dungeon and Dragons!
How do you lean into the horror genre with the turn-based mechanics?
It all started with the idea of making a Resident Evil roguelike set on a retro 80s terminal, using text commands. We tried to distill key survival horror mechanics and translate them into a different context, like a board game.
We love retro aesthetics, so when transitioning to a 3D video game, we aimed to pay homage to classic Resident Evil games from the PS1 era.
Do other mechanics in the game (like the objects collected, resource management, story evolution, etc.) play a part in turn-based combat?
Resource management is fundamental in both genres—turn-based combat and survival horror. We kept this in mind when designing weapons and equipment that would give players more strategic options.
Spatial control is also key: the player controls a single character with high damage and movement capabilities, but in tight spaces where enemies become deadly obstacles.
Important note
We were considering having procedurally generated levels in the game but concluded that it wouldn't be the right choice for many reasons. Here is an explanation of why.
We made some prototypes and experiments using an early tool for level design. While creating the structure of a level was okay (generating a level with viable navigation, entry & exit points, and some solvable puzzles such as locked doors and keys to find around) it was a brand new challenge when it came to "populate" rooms with a realistic arrangement and good horror vibe. Managing to generate an infinite amount of coherent rooms with furniture arrangement and realistic space uses was a struggle at this stage where the environment was barely limited to the precinct area that we already had in the demo, so let's imagine multiplying the environment with a lot of various locations such as hospital, mall, underground parking, ravaged streets, offices, etc... Struggling already on the very first steps was making the full plan a too-heavy milestone to fulfill so we had to decide to cut it now since we still have time to switch plan and go for handcrafted levels before it's too late in the production.
We hope you understand our decision and that you'll give us feedback on the current demo! Don't hesitate to spam the Steam discussions!!
