Intro Welcome to the skilled channel and today we're
looking at Adr1ft. Adr1ft is a smaller scale game, but the premise is very interesting.
It's about being lost and alone in space. Mixing realism and a cinematic experience.
And I'm not usually into exploration games, but this one has me curious. Let's look at
7 reasons why Adr1ft looks unique.
Premise (Drifting Through Space) Adr1ft is the story of an astronaut floating
through a destroyed space station with no memory of what just recently happened. Set
in the year 2037, players assume the role of Commander Alex Oshima, a female astronaut.
If you found yourself lost in space what would be your first move? Survival of course. You'll
have to float your way through the space station and along the way you find clues to what happened
and who was on board the ship with you. The environment is very open, but ironically there
are realistic limits based on the situation. Important things like managing your oxygen
levels can prevent you from venturing too far.
Gameplay (Exploration) Adr1ft is often compared to walking simulator
games like Everybody's Gone To The Rapture or Firewatch, but the developer denies this
comparison. It's first person and it's exploration, but it's a sci fi experience about being lost
and hopeless. There are no guns and there's no combat.
Adam Orth, the lead game designer, described the balance of survival aspects:
�We have a very cool movement mechanic. Oxygen is a shared resource between health
and movement. You have this damaged EVA suit, but your propulsion pack is also damaged.
You�re taking your oxygen and using that as a resource for movement and staying alive.
Your suit is very slowly leaking oxygen, always. When you use your propulsion, that depletes
it faster. You have to make little decisions about, �Do I go for this oxygen canister,
or do I keep going over here?� All these micro-decisions. If nothing else, it�s stressful.�
Decision making will be a big part of the adventure which determines your survival.
This is just the premise and the setup of the story, the rest has been kept under wraps
because it's the most important part of the game. This is a story driven exploration game,
the highlight is about you experience the discovery for yourself.
Everything in the game is about balance. From controls, to capabilities, everything is limited
just enough to give you this feeling of helplessness but still keep the game engaging. It's more
about the experience than it is about being a space simulator.
Concept (Developing The Idea) The concept for Adr1ft comes from a few very
surprising events. Adam Orth is the lead creator on the game and he came up with the idea after
losing his position at Microsoft. The situation was highly controversial. He was let go after
a problem with several discontent fans on twitter. He created the idea of an astronaut
lost in space as a metaphor for his own life. It's based on actions, consequences, and redemption.
Many people compare the game to the movie gravity which is also about a female astronaut
alone in space. And also other highly regarded space movies such as 2001: A Space Oddssey
and the recent hit Interstellar. Orth claims his idea was completely original and not influenced
by Gravity, but he acknowledges the comparisons.
What's also interesting is that the game has been produced by a core team of just six developers.
Previously Orth worked on big budget titles, not just for Microsoft, but for other well
known companies. So it's a different development cycle than what this team is used to.
Storytelling (Alone In Space) As you could imagine from what you have heard
so far, the storytelling of the game will be unique. The story is revealed based on
finding clues in the environment, but the order of information you get will be non linear.
So you'll be piecing together and interpreting the story in your own head.
The history and personality of the other astronauts that are missing or deceased will mostly come
in the form of audio logs. You'll listen to these logs as you drift your way to a solution.
We already mentioned that there would be critical decision making for survival, but there's
also decision making for moral choices. Like how do you handle the bodies of the deceased
astronauts?
And most important of all the ending is supposed to be very surprising. In fact many of the
story elements will be open to interpretation. Orth explained this in a detailed way without
creating any spoilers.
Quote �There is one for me, but it�s open to
interpretation. That was intentional. The ultimate thing, what I would love, is that
when people finish the game, they had a moment to say, �Wow. Something in there resonated
with me. There was a parallel in my life. Maybe I can learn something.�
Experience (Like Watching A Movie) The game intends to
have a price point that's less than the typical $60 retail cost. And that's because it's only
going to be about 3 to 4 hours long in it's experience. The developers are comparing it
to an interactive movie. It is a short experience that you'll probably only play once and some
gamers are content with that. But there are many people that argue whether or not they
are getting enough content for their dollar. Do you think an experience that is only 3
to 4 hours for sub $60 is worth it? Let us know in the comments if game length is critical
to your purchase decision.
Soundtrack (Music & SFX) Another standout feature of the game will
be the soundtrack. Orth is actually experienced in composing and he built most of the music
in the game. But interestingly enough there were contributions from the band Weezer and
they even tweeted about the game to give it a little promotion.
The sound effects were also produced by Skywalker Sound the music recording division of George
Lucas' Digital Motion Picture Group. Beyond Star Wars, Skywalker Sound has produced soundtracks
for tons of movies and a few games.
And the soundtrack itself should be interesting alternating between music, silence, and the
mechanical robotic sounds of a space station.
https://twitter.com/weezer/status/484475573256060928
Virtual Reality(& Immersion) Adr1ft was always meant to be immersive, but
it took time and development changes to fine tune it. The prototype was developed in just
ten weeks by only three people in order to demonstrate it to publishers. The game was
originally developed on Unity, but the team made the switch to Unreal Engine 4. Planned
to launch in 2015, but it was delayed to add Oculus Rift compatibility and have it release
alongside the Rift launch in 2016.
It's obvious that introducing virtual reality in this first person space experience would
change the feel of the game, but Orth seems to think it really produces a strong emotional
response. Orth described it recently in an interview:
�Initially I just approached the VR [virtual reality] thing as extra immersion, �immersion
plus,� which it does give you. But what I wasn�t prepared for was how it actually
elicits emotions when you�re having � well it�s really hard to describe. It connects
you to the game in a fundamental way because everyone knows, or has their own idea, of
what being stranded out in space feels like. When you�re able to even challenge the way
someone thinks about that, or meet it, it�s very powerful.
Adr1ft will be launching on PC, PS4, and Xbox 1 Q1 2016 and you don't need a Rift to play
it, but it may enhance the experience.
Outro Adr1ft has a lot of potential to get viewers
engaged in a story that is ultimately what you make of it. Granted it will be a short
experience, but I'm ok with that IF it is really exceptional. What are your thoughts
on Adr1ft? Do you have any interest in playing it on the Oculus Rift or any interest in playing
the game at all for that matter? Let us know in the comments and subscribe to the skilled
channel for more interesting upcoming games previews.