Players embody a scientist imprisoned in a retro-futuristic, brutalist facility. They soon discover that they have the power to rewind objects over time. Piecing together that their daughter is in the same facility, frozen in time as a result of a failed experiment, they must learn to use their time powers, locate their daughter, and escape. They do this by solving time-based puzzles to advance through rooms.
| Link to itch.io | Thumbnail |
|---|---|
| Play "Lost To Time" on the browser at itch.io |   |
To streamline & optimize our software development process, we released multiple prototype iterations to test specific features and mechanics at different stages of development. Each aimed at evaluating and refining different aspects of the game.
| Milestone | Link to itch.io | Thumbnail |
|---|---|---|
| 🚩 Basic Mechanics & Looks & feel: Tested the core gameplay mechanics of time-rewind, validated fundamental interactions, and gathered initial user feedback. | Lost To Time Playable Demo v1 |   |
| 🚩 Gameflow and Mechanics in Context: Introduced fundamental environmental interactions with conveyor belts and falling objects in a gray-box prototype. | Lost To Time Playable Demo v2 |   |
| 🚩 Level design review & PSX Looks & feel: Implemented the game's four levels with the PSX-inspired look and feel, and gathered user feedback. | LostToTime - Walkthrough Review |   |
- Unity 2022.3 LTS - URP: Ensuring long-term support and stability.
- ProBuilder: For efficient level design and grey-box prototyping.
- New Input System: Allowing for more flexible and modern input handling.
| NooИ | Samuel | Zarco | Håvard | David |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Architecture Design / Time-Keeping and Rewind Architecture / Interaction System Design / UI-HUD System Design | Game Concept / Sound Design / Rewinding Logic: Object selection and rewinding, using existing time-keeping architecture / Visual Effects / Trailer & Logo / Level Design Concepts | Sound Mechanics Programming / Environmental Programming: Conveyor Belts, Object (De)Spawning / Player-Object Interactions: Moving Platforms / Playtesting and Bug Hunting | Gameplay Programming: Grabbing Interaction / Website / Gameplay Programming: Hatch Interaction, Animation & Sound | Guided a Lean Software Development / Gameplay programming: Diegetic UI / Game Mechanic prototyping: Targeted rewind / Git flow management / Level design |
"Lost To Time" strives to reach an audience whose gaming motivations are based on immersing in compelling first-person stories and mastering complex puzzles. This target audience is looking for games where violence and fast pace are not the main drivers, instead, they crave puzzle-based and stealth challenges.
The game demo has 4 levels, each one designed to help the player get a sense of his newfound power. Each one has a specific objective:
| Description | Screenshot |
|---|---|
| Level One introduces the player to the character's backstory and to its power through environmental storytelling, setting the tone for the entire game. It also prompts the user with the first puzzle they need to solve. |  |
| Levels two and three are the scenarios of the waste disposal hub, which introduce moving objects in (2) level two and expose the player to its first real danger. |  |
| Level three (3) is the last and most challenging scenario of the Waste Disposal Hub. It introduces jumping combos with grabbing and time mechanics. In the actual release, the waste disposal hub will consist of multiple and increasingly tough puzzles that will challenge the user's problem-solving abilities. |  |
| Finally, level four (4) is a glimpse of what a transition level would look like, which introduces more context and reveals to the character that his daughter is alive. The large map is an example of an in-screen that explains how big the facility is and the character's new goal: rescue his daughter. |  |
Fonts, Models & textures and Sounds
- All in-game fonts by VileR (https://int10h.org/oldschool-pc-fonts/) Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- "Horror Game Prop Collection 1" by AlienKat (https://skfb.ly/oLHNM) Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
- "OutThere Sticky Note" by Gavin_McAllister (https://skfb.ly/otuDL) Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- "Old Computer" by SketchyBot (https://skfb.ly/oILWQ) Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- “Classic64 Asset Library” Version 0.2 by Craig Snedeker (https://craigsnedeker.itch.io/classic64-asset-library) Licensed under CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/)
- "Apple IIe Computer Boot and Load a ProDOS 5.25" Disk by SavageFX (https://freesound.org/s/388192/) Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- "Conveyor Belt.wav" by tosha73 (https://freesound.org/s/584592/) Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- "JSB_Electrical hum SWITCH OFF buzz subway.aif" by lugarshz (https://freesound.org/s/175081/) Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
- "Tick Tock" by FoolBoyMedia (https://freesound.org/s/264498/) Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
A game made in Sweden 🇸🇪