DARKDAWN: ENCOUNTERS

 

 

Game Concept:

Control a massive starship in a realtime combat game for browsers and mobile devices.

 

Role:

Single developer project.

 

Process:

Low-polygon 3d graphics modelled in Modo 601, imported to Unity game engine, programmed in C#; using NGUI for the user interface.

 

Features:

Directly control a large starship in a real-time combat game against dangerous AI opponents. Use multiple weapons, special abilities, and tactical thinking to bring down your enemies' forcefields and destroy them completely. Gamepad support in Android version.

 

Purpose:

The objectives of Darkdawn Encounters are many. First, to fill a niche in the Android market; I have wanted to play a game like this on my tablet but it simply doesn't exist. Some games that approach this concept exist in the iOs market though I've yet to find one that's precisely what I've been looking for, and to my knowledge nothing really comes close in Android.

 

Another objective is to flesh out the starship aspect of the Darkdawn universe that features in my Echoes of Terra and New Worlds projects. Finally, while the Encounters is a goal unto itself, the development of a functioning space combat model may serve as a springboard towards developing a more complex space game, perhaps along the lines of a modern-day Starflight.

 

From a formal design point of view, the main goal is to achieve a gameplay system that gives the player the impression of directly controlling a large starship, as opposed to a small "Wing Commander"-style fighter, yet without loosing direct control, as opposed to more "strategy" or "tactical" focused games such as Eve, Sins of a Solar Empire, etc.

 

Current Status:

 

Darkdawn: Encounters has launched on Google Play & Window Phone Store as an Early Access game. It currently features Survival and Quick Encounter modes, along with a set of test scenarios. Future updates will include a campaign mode as well as Windows Universal, iOS, PSVita (via PSMobile) and OUYA releases. Support for the MOGA controller will be added on applicable platforms.

 

Click here to see regular updates on Darkdawn: Encounters @ my IGN community blog!