Description

Depth is a multiplayer game which blends heart pounding tension and visceral action in a dark aquatic world. The periods of tension separate combat - which is visceral, chaotic, bloody, and fast-paced. Divers must explore the depths of the ocean for valuable treasure while fending off attacks from ravenous sharks. Shark players stalk and bide their time for opportune windows of attack, lunging in and ripping apart unwary divers.

History

Depth began its life way back in 2009, as a student project built as a mod for Unreal Tournament 3. In the early days of Depth, the premise of the game was very different. There was a large focus on stealth gameplay, and avoidance of sharks. The earliest concept of the game was a single player action/RPG where players would go on dives to bring back valuable artifacts to sell for cash. AI controlled sharks would try to eat them, and a largely defenceless player would be forced to use stealth in order to stay alive.

Between 2010 and 2012, Depth made the transition to Epic's UDK, and became a full-fledged game rather than a mod. The focus of the gameplay remained on stealth, but the single player concept was dropped in favor of a player versus player multiplayer game type. At this time the gameplay revolved around divers finding ways to out-smart shark players so that they could grab loot and escape with it. (Divers won if they got a certain amount of treasure back to their spawn point). The game was a lot of fun to play as a Diver, as it offered a heart pounding stealth experience that was quite unlike any other stealth game. But as fun as it was to play as a diver, it was confusing, and sometimes outright boring to play as a shark. The most common questions were "Where are the divers?", or "Where should I go now"? Nobody really knew how to make the shark experience feel fun.

This wasn't an easy thing to fix, either. It went straight to the roots of the Depth gameplay and affected every part of the game. Consequently, after more than three years of development, the hard decision was made to put the project on indefinite hiatus. There was a sense that the potential of the concept was not being fully realized, and that everyone needed to take a step back from the game and get a fresh perspective on what it was we were trying to accomplish.

Fortunately that hiatus didn't last long, as Digital Confectioners, a team of experienced Unreal Engine developers out of New Zealand took an interest in the game in early 2013. A partnership with the original team was struck up, with the goal of getting the game finished and released.

The gameplay focus shifted towards fast-paced aggressive action, and asymmetrical multiplayer.