Hare House — Development Patch #3
Inventory, Weapons, Tablet UI & Gameplay Systems
Development on Hare House has continued to move deeper into actual survival-horror gameplay systems. This update has been heavily focused on building the systems the player will constantly interact with: inventory management, weapons, the tablet interface, environmental interaction, and further improvements to existing gameplay mechanics.
A lot of this work is still being actively refined, but the foundation for several major systems is now in place.
Inventory System
One of the largest additions has been the new inventory system.
The inventory is built around a grid-based system designed to make item management an important part of survival rather than simply giving the player unlimited storage.
Current work includes:
A fully functional grid-based inventory foundation.
Items can be selected and highlighted within the inventory.
Clicking an already selected item again now deselects it.
Support for locked and unlocked inventory slots.
Inventory capacity is designed to expand as the player progresses and acquires better equipment.
Item weight is now being integrated into the inventory interface.
Dedicated UI elements have been added for selected items, weight information, item previews and other inventory data.
Inventory interaction and UI behaviour are being handled through the game's C++ systems rather than relying heavily on Blueprint logic.
The long-term inventory structure allows the player's available storage to increase from the starting inventory toward the complete 42-slot layout, with the player's physical equipment changing alongside that progression.
Tablet Interface
The inventory is presented through the player's physical tablet device, which is becoming a much larger part of Hare House's interface.
The tablet is being developed as an in-world interface rather than a traditional floating game menu.
Current tablet work includes:
Inventory interface integration.
Inventory, Map, Files and Settings tab structure.
Physical switches, indicator lights and controls incorporated into the tablet design.
A dedicated item preview area.
Animated/static-style visual effects being developed for the item preview display.
Support for applying screen materials to the tablet background, allowing CRT-style effects to be layered underneath the interface.
Additional custom textures and interface elements created specifically for the tablet.
The goal is for the tablet to feel like an actual piece of experimental 1950s equipment rather than a modern videogame menu.
Health Display
The health interface has also been redesigned around the tablet.
Instead of permanently displaying a health bar, the tablet contains a mechanical health panel that extends from the side of the device.
The system currently includes:
Fine
Caution
Danger
The panel uses multiple animation frames as it extends and retracts from the tablet.
The health panel automatically extends when appropriate and can retract while the player is examining inventory items, keeping the interface readable without completely abandoning the physical-device presentation.
Additional heartbeat, glow and health-state visual elements have also been developed for the display.
Weapon System
Weapon development has also continued alongside the inventory work.
The weapon system is being built around the same survival-horror philosophy as the inventory: weapons are valuable tools, ammunition is limited, and combat is not intended to turn Hare House into a traditional shooter.
The underlying weapon framework is now being integrated with the player's broader interaction and inventory systems so weapons can properly coexist with physical objects, item management and the rest of the player controller.
This system is also being designed around the different roles enemies have within Hare House.
Carriers can be killed.
The Hare cannot simply be killed with conventional weapons, meaning firearms remain a defensive resource rather than an automatic solution to every encounter.
Weapon development will continue as more of the combat, ammunition and enemy-reaction systems are connected together.
Auto-Turret
The experimental facility's automated security systems have received additional work as well.
The auto-turret system is now functional and capable of detecting and attacking the player.
Additional improvements have been made to its movement and tracking behaviour, including fixes to how the turret pivots around its physical mounting structure.
Its overheating behaviour has also been adjusted so that the turret remains aimed toward the last location it was tracking instead of immediately returning to its passive scanning behaviour.
This prevents overheating from giving the player an unintended free opportunity to simply sprint past it.
Physics & Interaction
Physics-driven interaction continues to remain one of the central systems behind Hare House.
The player can interact with physical objects throughout the environment rather than having every objective reduced to pressing an interaction button.
The interaction framework is being built to support:
Physics-based object pickup.
Carrying objects.
Dropping and throwing objects.
Highlighting interactable objects.
Large physical puzzle objects.
Environmental objects that can become part of navigation or puzzle solving.
This system will continue to connect directly with puzzles, weapons and environmental hazards.
Puzzle Development
Puzzle design has continued to expand beyond simple key-and-door progression.
Hare House is being developed around two major types of puzzles:
Interface-based puzzles, such as wiring and machinery controls.
Physical-object puzzles, where the player must locate, transport and install objects such as large power cells or machinery components.
Generator systems and other facility machinery are continuing to be built around this philosophy.
Movement & Player Systems
Work has also continued on the player's true first-person movement framework.
The current locomotion setup has been refined around three major movement speeds:
Walking
Jogging
Sprinting
Acceleration between these states has been tuned to avoid instant videogame-style speed changes and give the player a heavier physical presence in the environment.
Additional movement systems, landing behaviour and traversal mechanics continue to be developed around the same full-body character framework.
Environmental Development
Environment work has continued alongside the programming work.
Several facility areas and environmental assets have been redesigned to better establish the game's industrial 1950s horror aesthetic, including continued work on:
Facility wall and floor materials.
Industrial metal surfaces.
Ventilation systems.
Freezer environments.
Medical and experimental areas.
Security equipment.
Rubble and blocked passageways.
Facility machinery.
Environmental fog, steam and atmosphere.
The objective is to make each area feel like part of an actual underground facility rather than a collection of disconnected horror rooms.
What's Next
Hare House is gradually moving away from isolated prototype systems and toward having those systems communicate with one another.
Inventory affects what the player can carry.
Weight affects inventory management.
Weapons have to interact with inventory and physical-object systems.
The tablet handles information without abandoning the in-world presentation.
Enemies, traps and security systems are being designed around the player's available resources instead of simply existing as scripted obstacles.
There is still substantial work ahead, but Development Patch #3 represents one of the larger steps toward Hare House functioning as the survival-horror game it is intended to become.
More development updates soon. gabagoogames.com
— GabaGoo Games