Unbodied Dawn

This is an early prototype built in 8 days for the GameDev.tv summer GameJam 2023

CONTROLS

• WASD for movement (tank controls; character moves forward relative to facing direction)
• MOUSE to look around.
• B opens and closes inventory
• RIGHT MOUSE enters/exits aim mode for gun play
  
• LEFT MOUSE fires gun (in wheelchair mode, if aiming) or emits an astral ping if in the Astral dimension. In the inventory, left clicking items activates them (if possible).
• SPACE enters/exits Astral Dimension
  
• ESCAPE opens/closes pause menu

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THE GAME

Take on the role of a blind and wheelchair-bound survivor who is guided by his spirit avatar as they seek to escape the dark and twisted corridors of an underground laboratory before a black corruption consumes his sanity.

Use your guardian spirit to probe your surroundings for useful tools or sinister things in the dark.

Resources are limited and time is of the essence. Collect three key cards scattered around a dark labyrinth while scavenging for medication to keep at bay the things that claw at your flesh and mind.

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GAME PLAY MECHANICS EXPLAINED (spoiler warning if you prefer to figure things out on your own)

* Items and enemies are invisible by default. They can be revealed by entering the Astral Dimension (SPACE) and using the Astral Ping ability (LEFT MOUSE). The Ping has a limited range and costs 15 Spirit per activation. Once items and enemies are "pinged" they will stay visible for 20 seconds and then vanish from sight until pinged again.

* Your Astral Avatar is invisible to enemies and has high movement speed. He can however not pick up any items, but serves as a great way of scouting ahead and planning your route.

* Completing the level requires finding 3 key cards (red, green, yellow) and then locating the three color coded exit doors.

* Items and enemies do not respawn once collected/killed.

* Glowsticks can be used as breadcrumbs to help you navigate the maze. Once dropped (done by clicking the green sticks on the right side of the inventory, provided you found any), glowsticks last for 5 minutes before disappearing.

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Known Bugs

As this is an early prototype, there are bugs. Some of them known, some unknown. One of the major ones is that, if you die and restart the game, you may not be able to pick up items anymore. If this happens, quit the game entirely and reload the page. Apologies, this was a last hour bug we discovered shortly before the deadline.

While in gun aiming mode, your Astral Avatar will block bullets - it doesn't hurt the avatar, but it does mean that if the bullet was meant for a different target it will have been wasted. This was not intended game play.

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Sean's Thoughts

Creating a game from scratch in 8 days is not easy. We had a long list of features and ideas we wanted to include, but ultimately had to cut from the game due to time limitations. What we ended up with was a bare-bones version of what we had envisioned, yet I feel that even in its early prototype state, the game has an allure to it. It is very likely that we will keep working on it after the game jam has ended. It was a rough sprint towards the end, and I am grateful that we made in spite of me being on the verge of throwing in the towel a couple of times.

When you feel like giving up, push harder. Or some other inspirational jibberish. Peace out, take care. And have fun!

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Authors and Credits

Unbodied Dawn was conceived, concepted and created by Sean Sindahl Nielsen and Dragontear with help and feedback from Aleque.

Programming & Systems design by Sean.

Level art, character art, item art, inventory art and menu art by Dragontear.

Monster art and visual fx by Sean.

Sound design and editing by Dragontear and Sean, all sound effects are from OpenGameArt.org, modified to fit the game.

Character voice by Sean.

Help and support from Aleque and Demani. Love you guys <3