“The Abandoned Presence” is a solo-developed 2.5D side-scrolling Metroid-Vania game that delves into narrative concepts such as curiosity and escape. The storyline revolves around the protagonist, ‘Zoey,’ who finds herself trapped within the confines of an industrial city devoid of nature. The game unfolds as Zoey’s curiosity drives her to explore beyond the city walls.
The game integrates real-time 3D open-source technologies such as Unreal Engine, alongside Adobe’s Substance Painter and Blender. As a solo developer, I wanted to explore into various aspects of game development, including level design, world building, character designs, blueprint programming, environment lighting, concept sketches, and art styles for game environments.
The long sketch of what all I want to see as a player was the starting and most interesting part of the game making. I started with a thought, whats the imagination for a person who has never seen forests in particular. The city would then need to have a contrast to the forests.
The a dense, chaotic environment that invokes a sense of puzzled nature was then the results of the contrast. I wanted the sketch to be of a combination of elements, making up the dead city and how these elements inform the traversal in the game. I think of world building not as a backdrop but more of a guiding force for the game progress, in specific to the movements.
I refer to the final game as a prototype of this sketch consisting of a larger narrative. Personally, from the start to till date, the sketch remains the most interesting memory of the game.
I would put the explanation for character design as the protagonist, Zoey, navigating the toxic ruins of the old city, replaces her impaired biological arm with a mechanical one. In a world plagued by radioactive emissions and deformities, her new arm becomes both a weapon for survival and a vital tool for exploration.
The game features a simple progression system, allowing players to adapt as they advance. The protagonist wields two weapons: a heavy wrench for high damage at the cost of stamina and a lighter rotator blade for faster, low-damage attacks. Collectibles like coins and flasks unlock enhanced combos and damage upgrades, while defeating enemies rewards money, enriching the in-game economy.
The game utilizes cel shading for its unique visual style. As a 2.5D side-scroller, it uses strategic lighting and depth of field to create the perception of a vast, immersive world in the background.
After 16 months of solo development, the game was launched as a kickstarter campaign, reviewed by numerous press articles and content creators. Released as a 40 min game demo published on steam, the game failed to achieve its necessary target sum for a successful campaign.
I summarize the reviews of the content creators and articles as follows:
The game serves a great experience as the first gist of what it can be, however it fails to showcase the incentives to play it. The mechanics and response on the controller offers nothing new. The worldbuilding is unique with a lot of potential to be included in the game mechanics.
My most valuable learning was ‘make it functional’, that in itself is the first step of create an appealing produc to the audience.
