Hello [Code_Name: MEVYE] [Location: CLASSIFIED], welcome back!

Today we will see how we make use of environmental storytelling in Noise Hunters!

As we discussed in previous posts, Noise Hunters is played in darkness. With this in mind we have to look for a way to tell a story without the use of lights.

First we have to see the setting of Noise Hunters: cyberpunk style of near future, quantum computers have broken the limits of the human race and this brought miracles, as curses. A Hive mind style of AI started to develop and pose a threat to mankind, by abducting humans and transforming them into soldiers of the hive. You are MEVYE, a special agent sent to stop an underground facility used by the hive mind, however not everything turns out to be white&black.

In Noise Hunters, we use short cinematics between levels to tell directly to player what is going on. We use this resource to tell the player important elements that, otherwise, cannot be shown with the environment. This was cause mainly because in play-testing, we saw that players did not understand certain mechanics with level and we had to tell them directly so they could continue the experience.

Now with the environment, here we have to be careful with what type of assets we use and make sure that they fit between them. As the game is in the darkness we have to rely on the shape of the elements on the environment to tell a story to the player, for example: in a lab section we make use elements with shape of tubes, tables with testing material and mechanical arms to process dangerous elements. However, this elements cannot be placed all around the level, because the player wont be able to see them. This is when the "magic" comes in, the props are positioned in places where the player will walk.

It's also important to show a "big" level, when in reality is much smaller, giving this way a sense of scale to the player. This can be done with windows that show other parts of the facility and that are not accessible, this way we transmit a sensation of big facility and without the hassle making a needlessly big level.

Thanks for reading and don’t make any noise! 🤫

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Contact:

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Mail: noisehuntersgame@gmail.com