Stuck in space
with a parasite
and everyone has a gun
A multiplayer impostor game
What ?
Stuck in space with a parasite and everyone has a gun, that i will now refer to as Stuck in space, is a lan multiplayer game where one of the four players is contaminated by a parasite and must transmit it to stay alive.
How ?
With the other game designer, we first worked to deepen the main mechanic that is to transmit the parasite. When it was clear, we started to think about an engaging level design that made the players split and regroup often, so the host of the parasite could transmit easily.
We had a white board facing the whole team that we used everytime we had to pitch an idea. It was practical to be able to draw and show really fast.
Softwares used :
Unreal Engine : Game software & Blockout
Notion : Project management and GDD
Discord : Main communication platform
Reaper : Sound design
Who ?
It is a school project, made by a nine people team : four artists, two programmers, two game designers and one tech artist.
Why ?
For a two week workshop, we had to mix a game and a scenery/another game. We went for among us x pass the bomb, where the goal is to not be the impostor at the end or you'd die from it.
Stuck in space on Itch.io
The Process
The start
We gathered at the start and tried to come up with an idea. After some hours, we ended up going for a pass the bomb parasite game in FPS. The parasite would have a global timer (like in the original game) and the players must flee the one they think is the host of it.
We received critics from the teachers pretty fast, mentioning that it would probably just be a tag game where the host of the parasite could just run everywhere, or in the opposite, could wait for the last second to transmit then run off.
An early white board for brainstroming the "tasks' the players would do (abandonned) and some interesting thoughts on the side
The questioning
The next days, we worked to improve the game concept, adding tasks, making the parasite less visible, getting inspiration from games like "First class trouble", but it still was not it. We then arrived at an important step of the development when we thought of the gun. It is literally a gun that every player has and that lets it kill anyone at anytime, the whole point of it is to force the parasite to play it slow, talk and discreetly infect another player, exactly like the report/vote system in among us.
The white board after we received feedback from the teachers
The separation
After introducing the gun, that is where we separated our concept from the inspirations. Our game would be unique in it's way to handle the roles, since there will be no assigned for the whole game, if you are infected during a game, you change roles dynamically and become the host.
Since the one that infected you knows you are the host, he cannot shot you, and as the infected, you cannot shoot too. The players must communicate through the in-game voice chat to determine who is the host and kill him, often resulting in chaotic endings.
The organisation
At the start of the workshop and through it all, we operated a Notion for the GDD. There we compiled everything that the game had in it, making it easier for the whole team to visualize the project in a few minutes.
We also used it as a production/management tool, where we put all the backlogs of the team, sorting them using who, what, if it's done, etc...
The map
The first days were meant and used for the main concept. Then, as the other game designer continued to expand it and write about it in the Notion, i worked on the level design. I wanted the map to be different from what i knew, and it was really hard to do so, every iteration looked like it was an among us level or similar. After drawing some ideas, i asked the team their favorite, then scrapped the two worst ones, kept the two best ones, and mixed them together. Everyone liked the style of it, and after some talk with the artists, it was done.
There are some objectives for the level design :
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Vents allow players to move fast through the map, while also being a juke tool.
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The players have systems to repair, if they don't the ship will break down. It makes the players regroup and play together even thought there is an infected among them.
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Every room has at least two entry/exit routes, making it always possible to flee everyone, if not, a vent is placed inside it as a last resort.
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The corridors are rather narrow to increase the tension when you encounter another player.
The proposed level design styles.
The "final" level
The lighting
A little talk about the lighting in the game, since i have done it all myself. The main ambient for the game we were looking for is lethal company-like, where it can scare players and make them panic if they are isolated, but if they are with their friends, it transforms into a more goofy scenery.
The lighting of the game is very obscure and dim so that it emphases the main ambient. Some rooms are only lighted by their systems or decorative elements. We also first thought of a mechanic that made it so that if a system is down, instead of ending the game, it would make the corridors lights blink frenetically.
Early lighting test, using mostly the blockout map.
Final lighting (There is also interior screenshots at the top)
The playtests
We wanted to playtest the game as fast as possible, since it is primarily a social game, where the people that play create the fun out of it. I grabbed some people for a first playtest and realized that the game was still a mess and had major bugs. After one more playtest it was clear : it is more important to test the game with the team members first before calling people to help us do it, we just needed to fix the game-breaking bugs first.
Following that idea, the last 2 days were dedicated to polish the game and exempt it of its problems, mostly regarding connection issues and balancing of the systems. We couldn't playtest with other people at that time because everyone was working hard to release their game.
Finally, in the afternoon of the last day, the teachers and the students could play the games of others, and it was just amazing. Everyone enjoyed our game, we had some criticism regarding the visual and map feedback, some people were lost and didn't know where to go. But overall it was a great experience, people had fun, and enjoyed playing with their friends.
Thanks for reading !