Routine: A New Horror Game

[Paddy™]

Thomas mentioned this game today on Twitter and it looks very, very interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAcAd1fUiy8

http://www.routinegame.com/

[Bridge]

It looks freaking amazing! I'm really impressed.

However, this makes me somewhat skeptical:

Routine is a first person horror exploration game set on an abandoned Moon base. Your job is to find enough data to uncover the truth behind the strange disappearance of everyone stationed on the Lunar Research Station.

A non linear experience lets you explore any part of the fully open Moon base and find out secrets that other players may not!
Be immersed with Full body awareness, Deadzone aiming, no HUD, no health bars or points system... you must run, hide and survive the best you can against what lurks in the base.
There are no health packs or multiple lives, in Routine there is a Perma death system that will keep you on the edge!

Honestly - great ideas all of them, but a very elusive balance needs to be struck for all of them to work.

They seem to have gotten the full body awareness/immersion part down fairly well, or at least that's the impression I got from the teaser. Impossible to say at this point but I am optimistic. What fills me with doubt however is the whole secrets thing. It's easy for "secrets" to take on a sort of metagame character where players actively seek them out for 100% completion or whatever. It depends entirely on what these secrets are, maybe they are nothing material (maybe it's more plot exposition), but it's fickle at best.

Regarding the permadeath thing, I feel Justine should serve as a handy testament to the fact that permadeath doesn't really work as well as it should; that is to say unless it is certain the player absolutely won't die. Make it too easy, the players get bored and start to realize they aren't in any danger and the illusion is lost. Make it too difficult and players will have to constantly restart which of course makes the game unenjoyable, if not virtually unplayable.

[failedALIAS]

I need a spare change of space underwear.

[Deep One]

A sci-fi horror game? Looks like typical fun-game like stalker. This ego shooter can't be good because scifi is not realistic. Scifi isn't plausible because there are always lightsabers and UFOs, which are completely unrealistic. Game has to be 100% realistic, like Gothic, Silent Hill 2 or Amnesia.

Spoiler below!

this game looks fucking awesome

[Draug]

YES! Discovered this game yesterday via an oculus rift facebook post. Another game which looks to have potential to be a good horror experience.

[DavidS]

Loving this...and using one of my all time favorite engines to *geeky scream of joy*

[Danny Boy]

Thomas mentioned this game today on Twitter and it looks very, very interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAcAd1fUiy8

http://www.routinegame.com/

I'm feeling all hipster cuss I already knew about this gem for a year or so.

[Paddy™]

I'm feeling all hipster cuss I already knew about this gem for a year or so.

Damn, how the hell did I not hear about this for a year??

Here's a new interview with the head honcho of Lunar Software:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/06/...n-routine/

Amnesia and Dear Esther get mentioned about 2 sentences into it haha. As much as I adore both games I feel sorry of anyone trying to make a first-person game with heavy emphasis on atmosphere these days; the comparisons to Amnesia seem inevitable.

[Danny Boy]

I don't fucking know. I think I actually first heard from it here... One of Googleplex's various games he shered on the the forum maybe? I don't know. I do believe I learned about it around the first quarter of 2012.

[failedALIAS]

There's something wrong with your eye. . .


Again.