TOP DOWN TALPIDEAN SURVIVAL STEALTH ACTION
LONE MOLE
As the city grows colder, Molle - our lonely mole protagonist - struggles everyday with basic survival. The temperature is falling, food is scarce, and his home is in desperate need of renovation. Who will help him?
ROLES IN PROJECT
Product Owner
Gameplay Designer
AI & UI Scripter
ENGINE
Unreal Engine 4.26
MADE IN
4 weeks in 2022
TEAM SIZE
3 Designers
4 Artists
GAME DESIGN
CREATING A BLIND
PLAYER CHARACTER
The game features a star-nosed mole as the main character.
We designed the game and it's mechanics around the mole's behaviour and physiology.
VIBRATIONS TO SEE
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A mole is practically blind, but has an extremely keen sense of vibration.
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Elements in the environment create vibrations
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Vibrations creates a sphere that reveals the surrounding scene
THROWING ROCKS
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The player can throw rocks to create vibrations
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Simple and intuitive to use and interact with their surroundings
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They must use a combination of both the rocks and other environmental vibrations to survive and find resources
ESCAPING PREDATORS
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The player can hide in the grass to avoid predators
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Small tunnels fit for moles allows them to escape
FOOD AND WARMTH
TO SURVIVE
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Collect worms and pizza for food
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Gloves and hats for warmth
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These resources are highlighted by vibrations
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Consume to increase body temperature
PRODUCT OWNER
This project was developed with almost no overtime, using:
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Daily standup and wrap-up meetings
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A working agreement written together by the team
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A clear naming convention
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Planning and dividing all tasks using Microsoft Office's Planner
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
A DIFFICULT DECISION
Originally, the game didn't have the black and white viual style the game now has, but was instead in full color, and every asset in the game is fully textured.
Game tests showed, however, that players didn't understand that the mole was blind and used vibrations to see.
Towards the end of the project, one of the artist managed to come up with the black and white filter now present in the game, and we had to decide if we wanted to implement it.
Adding the filter meant basically throwing away almost all the work the artists spent on making textures and materials, but it made the use of the senses a lot more clear and understandable.
It was a very difficult decision to make, but we all talked through it and everyone agreed that moving to the new style would ultimately benefit the game so greatly that it was worth the sacrifice.
Making such an important decision together not only improved the gameplay, but strenghted the teams morale and belief in the game, and while feedback on the decision has been both positive and negative, it's a decision we would make again.
AI
A NATURAL ENEMY
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Our main enemy, the bagder is the natural predator of the real-life mole.
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It uses sight and smell to locate the mole
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The badger creates vibrations only when it's moving.
A TOOL FOR PATROL MOVEMENT
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A clean visual tool for setting up enemy patrol paths
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Users drag around the points in the level and the direction of the path is shown
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Users can add and remove as many point as they want
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Quick and easy to use and iterate with for level design
UI
INVENTORY
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Collected resources appear in the on-screen inventory
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Pressing the corresponding number key uses the item and raises the players body temperature
HEALTH AND TEMPERATURE
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Getting attacked causes the player to lose their hearts and die when the last one is consumed
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The player must keep their body temperature up by using resources or returning to the nest
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Meter will blink red and a heartbeat will be heard when it reaches critical levels
RETURNING TO THE NEST
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Player can leave food and clothing in the nest to fill their stockpiles
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When they're full, they have enough to last for winter and finish the game
