DREAD — A Survival Horror game about a forest that should not exist (In-Dev)

Hello! MD here.

I currently work on this game, SCAN OR SUFFER’s release build (which won’t be projected to be ready for another two months, I have personal problems to take care of as of currently regarding my grandfather with cancer) and a game for my father to use during his classes. That said, besides SOS, this game I look forward to finishing the most, whilst giving it the care that I give to SOS.

DREAD is a game about playing as Park Ranger Rudolph, a man with a wife and child, who is tasked to stay in a forest to look after it. During your stay at Saint Caldus Reserve, you will be tasked with looking after this highly protected area that holds artifacts and secrets that have been hiding since the Crusades (Nov. 1095). Take items, craft new gadgets, fight evil that has been inhabiting the forest since, preserve your sanity and get to the bottom of what the place has in store for you before you either resign or die, plainly.

Currently, I have been focusing on making player movement and level geometry, with this having been what I got after two days of work. There’s still more for me to do, obviously, but I’m quite happy with my progress.

Feedback appreciated! Thank you for your time!

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Sounds interesting, kind of like horror Firewatch :slight_smile:

What’s the gameplay going to be like? I’m wondering if “fighting evil” is in the action sense, or more like the player mainly hides from baddies. I feel the latter is more horror-oriented, but it can feel quite oppressive.

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Hi, fancy seeing you here!

Right now, I intend for both. The player will be able to use items they find throughout their playthrough to defend themselves and blast through SOME enemies whilst still fearing others regardless of how strong they become.

My intent is for the player to eventually reach a point where they’re experienced and capable enough to take care of themselves out in the forest, whilst still having entities they should stay cautious around or outright avoid. I want players to learn to look before they leap and choose encounters based on how well-equipped and prepared they are.

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Hi! MD here, yet again!

Below are death messages I cooked up for what I have in store for the game. There’s not a lot of ways to die now, but these messages have plenty content for you to piece together and find out more about what’s in store for you!

Body located within Saint Caldus Reserve. Staff tasked with investigating the disappearance of Reserve Ranger Rudolph D. returned with a corpse identified as belonging to the Ranger. Family members notified and remains delivered. End note.

Remains identified as Ranger Rudolph ‘Rudy’ D. following delayed recovery within the confines of Saint Caldus Reserve. Subject exhibited extensive lacerations, fractures and soft tissue trauma heavily inconsistent with standard predatory wildlife behavior typically found within Saint Caldus. Death is believed to have occurred hours before recovery. End note.

Body identified as belonging to Reserve Ranger Rudolph D. Subject presented minor external trauma despite several internal abnormalities discovered during examination of spinal and nervous tissue. Samples flagged for contamination handling and remains cremated. End note.

Corpse discovered within Saint Caldus Reserve identified as belonging to Ranger Rudolph D. following an unrelated fatal incident. Subject records indicated prior successful treatment for suspected contamination exposure. Residual structural abnormalities remained present throughout spinal tissue during post-mortem examination. Body disposed of properly following belief of possible Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease attained through Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (‘Mad Cow Disease’) after cattle products were found in the Ranger’s possession prior to death. End note.

Body unidentifiable. Recovered north of Saint Caldus Watchtower during severe weather conditions. Subject displayed advanced frostbite and symptoms consistent with prolonged cold exposure. Standard field equipment recovered near the body. End note.

Report suggests recovered body belongs to Rudolph D., who operated as Reserve Ranger during time of discovery. Cause of death determined to be advanced dehydration and organ failure. Several empty water containers recovered nearby. End note.

Subject identified as Reserve Ranger Rudolph D. following response to an emergency distress signal originating from Saint Caldus Reserve. Subject expired due to catastrophic blood loss associated with extensive bodily trauma. Blood quantity recovered at the scene was considered abnormally low relative to injuries sustained. Body delivered to subject’s family. End note.

Corpse narrowly identified as belonging to Rudolph D. following abrupt loss of communication near the cavern system of Saint Caldus Reserve. Human remains believed to belong to the Ranger were recovered in fragmented condition across a wide radius. Identification achieved primarily through recovered equipment and uniform fragments. End note.

Investigation initiated following disappearance of Reserve Ranger Rudolf ‘Rudy’ D. within the cavern sector of Saint Caldus Reserve. Recovery teams located extensive organic residue and damaged reserve equipment at the site. No intact remains recovered. End note.

Body identified as belonging to Rudolph D. near Saint Caldus Watchtower following extended isolation assignment. Cause of death determined to be self-inflicted trauma. Journals recovered nearby contained evidence of severe psychological decline prior to death. End note.

This is for whoever is keeping up with the project to research while I take care of working on it. These are to reveal what you should expect from DREAD and what I plan on adding. Enjoy!

Sounds like a pretty cool project!

What’s your gameplay loop like? I’ve been tinkering on a similar dark-fantasy inspired project but I’ve been struggling with finding the fun and actual gameplay. Any tips on figuring that out for a 3d project like this?

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Hi, thank you for your time!

The path I’m looking forward to taking DREAD with is going out during the day to make sure all your systems (electricity, supplies, utilities) are running, exploring the map to find things of use, fighting any enemy that might appear and crafting items that serve for utility and combat. When night rolls around, you can still do all of the above, just with the added danger of enemies roaming around during the night and getting hostile once you’re spotted (enemies tend to stick to structures if they spawn near, in or around any). This, I feel, is to pressure the player into doing whatever they feel is important during the day, else they’d take the risk of dying or suffering injuries during the night that would take up more of their resources to treat. On top of that, DREAD will have dedicated systems that benefit the player’s survival, such as hunger, thirst, comfort and health, each with their own ways to treat and drain. This is just one part of what I feel is important for a game, because your project must have good mechanics (that lead to good replayability and loads of fun), rich environments (so long as done right. You can incorporate anything you feel that might work, like how I made the supermarket setting in my other game humorous) and a story worth piecing together/reading through.

All of this is studied. You can either take that route, read literature that fits the tone of what you’re trying to do for a game (classic, religious, etc) or you could make up your own and add your own unique, rich elements to it that could make for a fun and worthwhile composition. All it takes is inspiration, I feel. Hope this helps!

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Thank you for the great answer. Definitely lots to consider when making a game. It’s pretty amazing how difficult it can be to make something fun and engaging.

I’ve tried first person melee combat but making it feel right is hard. I was trying to stay away from ranged combat but I think it works better for that style.

Cheers bud!

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