In development · Exploration horror
SIDAR NULL
A first-person horror prototype set in pitch-black areas called Black Zones. The scanner reveals nearby geometry with sound.
The title teaser, 12 seconds. A circular signal appears from darkness before the mark is revealed.
The scanner in build 0.3
I am making it on my own: the design, the C++ gameplay systems and the audio implementation in Wwise. What runs today is the scanner.
The recording is 54 seconds of the loop as it stands. This build also removes the severe frame-rate bottleneck the earlier prototype had.
Prototype 0.3 in Unreal Engine: a scan pulse revealing the corridor blockout.
Three frames of one scan
The three moves of the scan, in the order the player meets them.
01
The dark before a scan
A Black Zone. The lit doorway in the distance is the only thing the player can see.
02
The pulse lands
The player presses a button and the blockout nearby comes back as points on the walls, floor and ceiling.
03
The way out is drawn
They move through the geometry that just became visible, then press again.
A clearer map also helps Null
Null is the hunter the player has to avoid. The planned pursuit behaviour turns scan detail into a risk: a clearer map helps the player navigate, and it gives Null a stronger route to follow. A sound somewhere else can be used as bait.
The vertical-slice design will also use microphone input and sounds already present in the environment to expose the room, so the button stops being the only way to see.
One scan drawing a wall and the opening in it.
Where the prototype stands
- Working
- The button-triggered scanner and the blockout reveal.
- In development
- Null’s scan-driven pursuit, the level, the final visuals and the audio.