Dear Survivors,
We are so excited to talk to you today about something that is a huge part of our game: physics mechanics.
Physics-based mechanics have always been an integral part of God Save Birmingham from the very beginning. It was important to us that it be a key component of the gameplay experience and the sense of immersion. The realistic interactions between characters -- whether they’re human or zombie -- and the environment are what makes our game feel engaging and dynamic.
Physics-Driven Gameplay Mechanics
It’s always been one of our highest priorities to make physics actively shape your gameplay. You can interact with practically every object you encounter, whether it’s lifting, pushing, or throwing. Even your inventory is a factor, hindering your movement when encumbered or aiding your speed when empty. No detail has been overlooked on our quest for depth and realism.
Explore the world and use your imagination; you’ll be astounded by the freedom of what you can do. Need to clear a path? Move obstacles out of the way! Need to block zombies? Stack furniture to barricade a door! Want to reach a high ledge? Use a table or chair to climb up! Players and zombies can even trip over objects around the world, so watch your step!
Challenges in Implementing Physics
Integrating an advanced physics system hasn’t been without its challenges, though. While game engines have come a long way towards supporting physics, developing a seamless and bug-free system has still been demanding.
Ensuring every object has accurate collision shapes, weight, density, and friction values is a meticulous process. Unlike typical static world design, where small overlaps or floating objects might go unnoticed, God Save Birmingham requires precise physical placement, increasing the workload for our designers. To streamline this, we’ve developed specialized tools that help make this process more efficient.
Inspirations from Other Games
Playing immersive sims like Half-Life, Portal, and Dishonored -- pioneers in physics engines -- was a huge inspiration for me to include physics in GSB. I have fond memories of being able to freely pick up, push, and throw anything in the game world. In particular, the Magnesis skill and Ultrahand mechanics in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were incredibly impressive with their intuitive object manipulation and how they contributed to the gameplay.
We’re developing God Save Birmingham hoping to incorporate that same level of physical freedom, but now in a zombie survival game.
Future Enhancements
One of the features we’re most excited about integrating is a weather mechanic. Imagine all the possibilities! Fog, rain, a little sunshine (you know, your typical Birmingham weather) — all of it creating new challenges or offering new opportunities. Rain might make surfaces slippery, impacting movement. Lightweight objects might be pushed about by strong wind.
As we continue working on GSB, it’s our goal to implement physics, along with other environmental and survival simulation elements, as fully as possible into the game’s systems. If you have any ideas, feel free to share them with us!
We can’t wait to see how players use these systems creatively, and we look forward to sharing more as we continue improving the game.
Hyeonseong Cha, Creative Director