Hardspace is... a future that we've kind of created set in the 2300s or so, not too far out.
And it really speaks to humankind's expansion into the solar system
There is a company called LYNX and they're kind of at the epicenter of this growth
and this exploration and discovery phase for humankind where they built these huge electromagnetic railgates
which connect Earth to Mars and a bunch of other planets
and resource-rich environments. It allows these ships to travel back and forth.
You're essentially playing a zero-G surgeon, working on these ships
figuring out what make them tick.
And, it's dangerous work, but it's satisfying work.
So the player has two primary tools, they've got their grapple tool which lets them move
large pieces of metal, or use it to sort of swing around the level as if they were spider-manning through it.
They've also got their laser cutter, for cutting through pieces of metal
and both of this things, you become super familiar with and you learn to master.
But you can also, through the progression system, get add-ons for these tools, or upgrades for them.
Obviously one of the main goals for the player is to become an expert and really just overcome
the challenges and the adversity they experience.
So I would say, you know, having the sense that you've overcome things and become sort of the coolest
space cowboy chopping up spaceships is enjoyable. Not just for the player but for people watching as well.
It's incredibly enjoyable to see someone that is really good at the game.
Over time, you can get more precise tools but you can also get macro and get more and more powerful tool sets,
So you can kind of pick your poison with what kind of player you want to be.
When it came time for us to design and develop the controls for this game, we knew
it was gonna be complicated for new players.
So we put a lot of effort into making sure that it was one of those sweet spots of
"easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master."
It's very important to us that the player feels like they can approch these ships however they want,
they can be creative.
So we simulate as much as we can about the physics of the ships
and we don't really dictate how they can approach them, in term of salvaging them.
So players can be really creative about how they use the physics and their tools to tear the ships apart.
To do this, we had to put a lot of effort into how are we actually simulating this many objects in the game.
Even the things that are off-screen still have to be simulated because it's affecting the whole bay,
the whole ship that you're working on.
And the more you play and the further you progress in the campaign, the bigger the ships get.
The more complicated they get.
The higher value of the pieces you can pull from it become but also, on the flip side, the more dangerous they become.
So, it takes more thinking, it takes a higher skill level. It takes you upgrading your tools and your equipment
and your helmet and your suit.
The goal with this game was not to make
say, a puzzle experience, but definitely to make people feel like they're approaching similar problems
in a different environment and from a different angle every time so they never fall into a routine
but that their routine job delivers unique challenges and experiences every time that they go through it.
So even if you're cutting up a similar type of ship, having systems working a different way
having elemental components interact in different spaces
is gonna force the player to approach things with a fresh lens every time.
Totally. And micro decision making is going to vastly change the gameplay in a second.
So you're not gonna get the same experience each time.
We really embrace this idea of systemic design which is all about providing this fertile ground
for emerging gameplay experiences, either things players are experiencing, or things that they can do
and it really rewards player creativity with experimentation.
That's something that we find really exciting. We've seen so many interesting strategies emerge
and interesting scenarios emerge as people play this game.
We're extremely excited to see more as we enter early access.
If you've ever said to yourself as a player "I want to be part of the process of making this game"
this is your opportunity. If you join us on Discord, if you join our conversations, if you give us feedback
this will be a chance to really get involved in the development of the game.
For 4 years, it's only been our studio, essentially, that's played this game
and having the opportunity to open the doors for hopefully thousands of players to come in
and start just getting more and more feedback, I mean
we think chopping up spaceships is cool with powerful tools.
And from the early kind of response from what we've put out there...
Sounds like there are some others out there! We wanna hear
what those players want out of this experience.