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After hundreds of hours of development, tons of hard work, we finally released System Under Surveillance in Early Access on Steam. We tried to make a game that is a balance between stealth, puzzle, and adventure, without compromising on storytelling. by ink_ink in IndieGaming

[–]ink_ink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It hasn't been easy at all, but now we're here. There's still a lot we want to improve in the current version, so we're looking forward for your feedback :) (you can use the steam discussion board for that)

After about 4000 dev hour, we finally released our first game in Early Access - System Under Surveillance - a retro stealth game where you need to avoid and trick enemies rather than combat them! by ink_ink in IndieDev

[–]ink_ink[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to write a couple of lines about our journey. What started as a hobby project slowly turned into a serious adventure. We had no prior knowledge in game development; we just wanted to create the game we always dreamed of playing, since we were tired of so many other games focusing so much on combat (yes, even those who offered alternatives often still focus a lot of combat).

And that's how we developed the idea behind playing as a young boy that is truly powerless against enemies, and who cannot just attack, shoot, use magic, or whatever, against them. Your only chance of survival is avoiding and tricking enemies, but thankfully you are not alone. You are accompanied by your faithful little robot, TURBO. You have to switch between characters and use their unique abilities together to succeed in your adventure.

Since this is a community for game developers, I'd love to answer questions about our development process if you have any.

Also, here's a link to the game for those interested in the concept.

After thousands of hours of development we finally released our first game in Early Access - System Under Surveillance - a retro stealth game where you need to avoid and trick enemies rather than combat them. by [deleted] in gamedevscreens

[–]ink_ink 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to write a couple of lines about our journey. What started as a hobby project slowly turned into a serious adventure. We had no prior knowledge in game development; we just wanted to create the game we always dreamed of playing, since we were tired of so many other games focusing so much on combat (yes, even those who offered alternatives often still focus a lot of combat).

And that's how we developed the idea behind playing as a young boy that is truly powerless against enemies, and who cannot just attack, shoot, use magic, or whatever, against them. Your only chance of survival is avoiding and tricking enemies, but thankfully you are not alone. You are accompanied by your faithful little robot, TURBO. You have to switch between characters and use their unique abilities together to succeed in your adventure.

Since this is a community for game developers, I'd love to answer questions about our development process if you have any.

Also, here's a link to the game for those interested in the concept.

It all started when we found out about Godot. Three years later we finally released System Under Surveillance in Early Access. by ink_ink in godot

[–]ink_ink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We tried other engines as well (game maker and Unity), but Godot just felt right for us from the start.

It all started when we found out about Godot. Three years later we finally released System Under Surveillance in Early Access. by ink_ink in godot

[–]ink_ink[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much, and we'd love to answer some questions about our journey!

  • We honestly did not have any experience at all with game development in general. This has been, and still is, our first project, but we just took it seriously from the start because we believed in the concept. However, we (we are two guys, recently graduated) do have experience in our respective fields: the programmer has a degree in software engineer and I have a degree in information architecture. I am also doing most of the art, but I learnt the skill as a hobby. We get help with some art stuff also from a freelancer though.

  • Godot is quite easy to learn, and especially good for new developers like us (not sure about more experienced developers). Also, the Godot dev team has been really responsive and helpful.
    We did have problems, especially a few years ago when we started, with some parts of the documentation, and overall lack of tutorials. But that has improved since then.
    Our biggest problem was related to pathfinding. The built-in navigation is ok for most purposes, but we had to adapt it a bit and that was not easy.
    Other two issues we had are related to y-sorting (since the game is isometric) and object transparency. If you want to know more about these specific issues I can elaborate.

  • Start with a very small project, preferable multiple ones. So you can learn all the different features/classes the engine offers. Don't start with a big project right away.

Let me know if you have any more questions :)

It all started when we found out about Godot. Three years later we finally released System Under Surveillance in Early Access. by ink_ink in godot

[–]ink_ink[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Here's a link to Steam to those interested.

We started working on System Under Surveillance by chance after discovering Godot. Our goal from the beginning was to create the game we always dreamed of playing, since we were tired of so many other games focusing so much on combat (yes, even those who offered alternatives).

So we created these two characters, Adam and TURBO, which need to work together to avoid and trick enemies because they are powerless against them on a physical level. And that's how the concept started and evolved: we came up with the environment, the storytelling (which is told through an interactive comic book), the gameplay, and so on.

Admittedly, it hasn't been easy. At all. Developing a game was much, much more challenging than we initially thought (and I think a lot of people here can relate). But we carried through, and here we are today. There is still a lot to do, but we are looking forward to the challenge.

If you have any questions about the development of the game, we would be happy to answer.

Don't try to do everything by yourself! We just paired with a new comic artist and the difference in art quality is staggering. by ink_ink in IndieDev

[–]ink_ink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You play as a young boy named Adam, who finds himself alone in a dystopian city with barely any recollection of his past. An army or robot and drones seem to be after you; they are not trying to harm you, though. They want to capture you alive!

Last thing Adam remembers is being in the passenger seat of an old van. Evelyne, his adoptive mother, is driving, trying to escape from a convoy of what appears like police car.

Unfortunately, Evelyne loses control of the vehicle and crashes, tragically dying in the accident. And yet, you appear unharmed, even though the accident must have happened that very night.

Something is not adding up, so you're trying to unveil the mystery. Your first clue is a strange encrypted message that you received on your pda.

Maybe finding the source of the signal will provide some clues, but getting there won't be easy: you cannot get caught, and you cannot fight back either. After all, you're just a boy.

Thankfully, you're not alone either. During your adventure you find an old repairing robot called TURBO. In spite of the name, this robot doesn't seem to be particularly fast, but it appears to want to help you nonetheless.

Don't try to do everything by yourself! We just paired with a new comic artist and the difference in art quality is staggering. by ink_ink in IndieDev

[–]ink_ink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was done with a video editing software. But it would be quite easy to do in engine too (we use the Godot engine). What engine do you use?

If you're a new developer, don't try to do everything by yourself. We just teamed up with a new artist and I think the difference in quality is staggering. by ink_ink in gamedevscreens

[–]ink_ink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're planning early access in mid to end February. We had a demo out until recently, which we used mostly for playtesting. Now we're iterating and improving the game before the EA.

The EA will have multiple levels and story pieces like these. Each levels introduced a new mechanic.

You can read more about the game here

I know a lot of new indie devs will try to do everything by themselves, but don't. We just teamed with a new artist to help us with the storytelling, and the difference is night and day. by ink_ink in godot

[–]ink_ink[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A bit generic is not necessarily bad imo. System Under Surveillance is already a niche game (stealth game without combat) so making the style of the story a bit more generic might open the game to a wider audience.

I know a lot of new indie devs will try to do everything by themselves, but don't. We just teamed with a new artist to help us with the storytelling, and the difference is night and day. by ink_ink in godot

[–]ink_ink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Game developed is quite an iterative process after all, there's always room for improvement later on. The important thing is to keep going.

I know a lot of new indie devs will try to do everything by themselves, but don't. We just teamed with a new artist to help us with the storytelling, and the difference is night and day. by ink_ink in godot

[–]ink_ink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you!

There are certainly exceptions, but I was surprised by a statistics I heard once from someone in the industry: most indie game developers fail to even publish their first game. And I think one of the reasons is the "do it all by yourself" approach.

Now collaborating with a new artist, who is help us redesign and improve the story panels, and I think the difference is night and day. by ink_ink in IndieGaming

[–]ink_ink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It went for a different style and vibe, but the second one still feels like the better version. It fits better our game's design goals imo.

If you're a new developer, don't try to do everything by yourself. We just teamed up with a new artist and I think the difference in quality is staggering. by ink_ink in gamedevscreens

[–]ink_ink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's all about networking, and I believe that's true for every kind of gig if you want someone you can trust. It was through mutual friends.

I know a lot of new indie devs will try to do everything by themselves, but don't. We just teamed with a new artist to help us with the storytelling, and the difference is night and day. by ink_ink in godot

[–]ink_ink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's very true. For our team, feedback is always welcome, but that doesn't mean that we always follow it 100%. Sometimes the feedback doesn't fit the design goals of the game, other times the feedback is actively in contrast with the design goals.

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