A Large Location (One of Many!) for Invasion Relativity

According to the plan I (somewhat honestly) laid out on the game’s page, I’m currently working on a relatively large location where a big part of the gameplay will take place. In this devlog, I want to share a few technical and gameplay-related aspects of this work.

Architecture

As a game designer (and a player), I gravitate toward “vertical” gameplay and immersion. It’s not the easiest thing to implement, but it gives players more freedom to approach situations in different ways and creates more opportunities for world exploration. So instead of building on a flat terrain, I’m designing a hilly environment with lots of ledges, pipes, and other traversal elements. My core design philosophy is that nothing should stop a new player from doing the dumbest, most direct thing first. But once that gets old, the game should offer them smarter, more creative ways to interact with the world.

The Vibe

The game I quickly put together for the jam had a twist — we were hunting the zombies, not the other way around. I want to keep that spirit alive. The player will have more tools and options, while the zombies will become smarter and far more dangerous. Basically, the zombies will be the ones living in a horror game... not the player. 

To support this, the new location includes plenty of grass, trees, and rocks. Zombies aren’t dumb — they’ll hide and blend in with the environment. The game remains a zombie hunting sim, and this map plays a big role in making that work.

Optimization

One of my main goals is performance optimization, as much as I’m able. I’m often surprised and disappointed when indie games (and even some non-indie ones) stutter and lag despite using low-poly assets, while ancient AAA games run smoothly. So I’m using every trick I can — LOD systems, occlusion culling, baked lighting wherever possible, and even a custom object manager to keep things running efficiently. Right now, the game runs comfortably on my Mac — I’d say that’s a pretty good sign.

Support the Project

I’d love to keep developing this game here on Itch, so if you vibe with the idea and style, please consider following, rating, or leaving a comment. It really helps! The next version is planned for release around June, and I’ll be posting updates about once a month.