Hello, dear friends! My name is Alexander Tsvetkov, I am a game designer at ComonGames studio. Today I will tell you about the features of the Episode 2 gameplay, and Artem Netyagin will reveal the differences with the first episode. Our gameplay is engaging thanks to our small gameplay perks. You will hardly notice all of them, but together they work to build the picture. We achieve this by constantly asking ourselves the questions: what would attract the player’s attention? What would be interesting to explore? Which paths would they want to take? Which events would help unwind the story in the most accurate manner?
For example, almost every potentially interesting object can be inspected. In most cases, Emily, our protagonist, has something to say about it. One of the new game features is Emily’s smart watch. Its in-built scanner helps you see something that’s hidden from your eye at first sight. There’s a thrill of discovery in there: what will I find if I scan another portion of the world?
Other than through interactions with the environment, the game’s world is built up in dialogues. They are varied, and the decisions you take affect the whole progress. You can influence the choices of two members of your survivor group, as well as establish positive or negative relationships with them. For instance, you may have some items that aren’t crucial for the story, but you can use them to change the relationships among the team members. This encourages the player to pay more attention and develop a deeper understanding of how their actions affect what’s happening on the screen.
You will find various pop-culture references in the game. The story is set in the future, in a place which the player is not familiar with. But Easter Eggs will help one to feel surrounded by something recognizable and loved.
Artem Netyagin:
In Episode 2 we decided to go with the third-person view instead of a static one to make controls more intuitive and let you examine our world more thoroughly. It won’t make you feel as if you were playing a completely different game, because many elements have remained the same: for example, the dialogue interface, hotspots, and the action circle.
Speaking of dialogues, we’ve changed the dialogue system. Now you can go over all the available options. In Episode 1 the dialogues were non-linear, and you could select only one of the lines.
It is, of course, impossible to list all the game design changes in one update, given that we add and remove features as we're moving along the development process, refining the ultimate gameplay experience. You have tried one of the first “rough cuts” playing the tech demo. We’ll appreciate your feedback in the comments section and your opinions as to what you liked or disliked.
