In 2015 the development of Render began, not as a game, but as a game engine developed from scratch. The goal of this project was to increase the understanding of low level engine implementation as well as improving comfort in working with these systems in the future. The main areas that were focused on in this project were: rendering objects using a programmable pipeline, working with 3D models fully rigged with bones and animation data, 3D collision detection and reaction, networked multiplayer, and having all of these features fully functional on both Windows and MacOS. The following libraries/APIs were used to assist in exploring and implementing these features:
OpenGL and GLFW (graphics)
OpenAL (audio)
SOIL (loading images as OpenGL textures)
Assimp (model loading)
glm (math)
non-boost asio (networking)
Freetype (loading fonts)
While working on the physics aspect of the engine it became a lot of fun to run around as our avatar and punch stuff. From here on out it was hard to test new features in the engine without thinking of gameplay designs and what types of mechanics could be implemented. After adding a few more attacks the avatar became able to juggle objects by stringing hits together. Hitting a punching bag got a little boring so some basic AI was created for the placeholder object so it could fight back a bit. At this point it became clear that the engine project was shifting into a full game development project. In 2018 Obsidian Valley Studios was founded to develop Render.
Now that the decision was made to create a full game the true exploration of game design began. After much deliberation the following focus points were established and they became the core of design.
What Render is about:
Player exploration, experimentation, discovery, and growth
Player immersion through gameplay instead of graphical fidelity
Enjoying unique and engaging combat alongside incredibly high player mobility
Traversing platforming challenges in unique levels
No hand holding and minimal GUI
What the players will do:
Explore unique levels
Fight enemies with a novel blend of ranged and melee combat mechanics
Conquer powerful and engaging bosses
Find new weapons and abilities
Solve puzzles
Traverse platforming challenges
Experiment to find out how to interact with the world
Improve effectiveness by improving player skill instead of increasing a number
Discover the story behind who/what you are and what is happening
Play with friends or by yourself
The style of Render is incredibly minimalistic. The models are low poly, there are only a couple colors in each level, and as much gameplay information as possible is displayed in the world without the use of a HUD. This approach to the visual design enables the creation of truly surreal levels while still being able to focus the attention of the player on necessary information such as enemies, important places, and other objects of interest. In this way player immersion is achieved not with graphical fidelity but with gameplay mechanics and the interface with which the player controls their avatar to interact with the world.
Now that the foundations have been laid and reinforced it’s time to start building up. More combat options will be added, more levels to explore, more enemies to fight, more puzzles to solve, and more upgrades to find. It’ll be exciting to share how Render continues to grow.