It's been a whole year now and a lot has changed. Take a look!





If you've checked the previous, now terribly outdated post, you might notice that the graphics have been improved from no-graphics-at-all to something decent. Keeping the game stylized, I added post-processing and some textures (along with realistic architectural proportions). I still think graphics don't make a game, but they sure are nice to look at. And naturally a good horror game needs some atmospheric graphics.





Okay, but what else has changed?

Shut in Panic is now aimed to be a modern indie survival horror co-op ("modern" as opposed to "retro").





Basically, what started as a retro project quickly turned into something more as I noticed the potential and realised that the game can't end up as something totally obscure. The game began with a really low bar on graphics because its idea was based on a completely text based project that I wanted to create with simple 3D graphics.





So, in practice, the controls, gameplay and graphics have all changed, along with my aims and expectations.





Don't say it, show it!

There are "floating" command prompts that you can click on now.

However, you can still type commands if you wish, which is required for some weird stuff probably.

You can hide under tables and beds and in closets.





Crafting

I opted for a system where you can drag and drop items together to gradually build more complex items, such as homemade weapons, traps, locks and much more. Hidden crafting recipes define what can be connected, in which order, and how the parts come together. In this way, the players can experiment to find new recipes. There will also be a system where books give you random recipes and bits of information about items (such as, you can load a pistol with crushed matchstick heads and a bolt).

















The Panic System

m1 to fix it before using it with m2. If you simply try to use the scrambled prompt, you'll receive panic, but it also gets fixed and requires just another click to work. So, if you have time to focus, you can easily avoid the panic, but if you're in a hurry, you can just mash it to get through a door for instance. And the more you're panicked, the more often things get scrambled. This system does not feel completely satisfying though (it feels slightly annoying actually), and may still go through a lot of changes. It is, after all, a central mechanic, and has to feel right.

Multiplayer The game has working online multiplayer now thanks to



The old panic system has evolved as well. Now, there are floating command prompts that you can click without the need to type anything. The panic system utilizes these now. Sometimes a text prompt gets "scrambled" and you need to click it withto fix it before using it with. If you simply try to use the scrambled prompt, you'll receive panic, but it also gets fixed and requires just another click to work. So, if you have time to focus, you can easily avoid the panic, but if you're in a hurry, you can just mash it to get through a door for instance. And the more you're panicked, the more often things get scrambled. This system does not feel completely satisfying though (it feels slightly annoying actually), and may still go through a lot of changes. It is, after all, a central mechanic, and has to feel right.The game has working online multiplayer now thanks to Noble Whale Studios' NAT Traversal asset , which offers NAT punchthrough and automatic port forwarding. Anyone can now just simply host a game, and I don't need to pay for Unity's expensive relay servers!

All in all, quite pleasing

This is a good bit of progress considering that I'm also trying to study at the same time. Stay tuned for some kind of teaser video in the future (next year). I just need to re-model and mo-cap the alien because it looks janky, especially in contrast with the new graphics.

Here, a makeshift pistol is crafted from a block of wood, a pipe, and a lighter. The system is physical in a way that the parts are literally combined to make something new. The new item is created according to a recipe however. Such a system where you could combine anything freely would be ridiculously complex to maintain.