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[SomberPixel]

Lost Hope

Hello there, we are Somber Pixel!
We are developing a pixel art survival horror game called Lost Hope.
Lost Hope is a survival horror game were you can freely explore a whole city and make decisions as you try to survive a mutant catastrophe.
We take a lot from Resident Evil(1,2 and 3) and the Silent Hill franchise.

About the game

Overview
What would you do if suddenly people are turning into violent mutants? Spending your days at home waiting for everything to get solved was an option but you have already  done that for a long time and are now out of supplies.
What happens next is up to you : your objective is to escape from the city and (if you are curious enough) discover what actually happened.
Of course, we are working on great personalities for each npc you will encounter, the reason why we don't talk much about the story right now is because you will be able to tackle the game in many different ways but your main objective remains: survive and escape from the city.

Release date
Hoping for a late 2015 release!We aim to release it on  Windows, Mac and Linux.

Features

Fun and fluid combat system
This does not mean it is easy though! We want you to feel the horror of having a mutant in front of you. So if you want to play Rambo on this one...you will end up torn into pieces by a mutant because bullets are scarce. There is melee combat too! Everything in order to survive.

*The following image is a work in progress just to give you an idea, all the streets will be highly detailed in the final version.

Exploration and decisions
Explore a whole city full of rich and detailed environments from the very beginning at your own risk. You can explore the inside of every single building.Look for people full of personality, make then favors ... kill them!? wait,what? Wouldn't that destroy the game plot and make it generic? Nope, that is part of the game, in real life you would try all sort of things in order to survive a mutant catastrophe, but everything has a consequence in your ordeal,right?

Deadly enemies that will make you feel blessed for living a normal life without them
Every mutant is designed with a combat strategy in mind that goes with their design, oh and they all want to kill you. Sometimes,it is better to avoid them and find an alternate route.

Lots of items to collect
Which,again, does not break the game. We want it to be hard but enjoyable.

And more
There are more aspects of the game that we would like to share on this post but need to be refined. We will be posting our progress regularly! And about the audio... we will have in covered in the future!It is an important part in a game like this.

Meet the team

We are just 2 guys in Somber Pixel but we put all our effort and time in this game!
Left: Adolfo Jungbluth(Programmer) Right: Arturo Anci(Pixel artist)

The most important part...your feedback!

We would appreciate every single advice so that Lost Hope becomes the game you want.
A little late now that the holidays are over but: we wish this 2015 to be full of joy for everyone! Even though this Santa yells a Christmas message.

Contact us

Twitter:
Somber Pixel: @SomberPixel
Adolfo:@adolfojo777
Arturo  @Artan0728

Tumblr:
http://somberpixel.tumblr.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SomberPixel

Or directly here!

[jlauener]

This looks cool. Especially like the fluid character animation.

[SomberPixel]

This looks cool. Especially like the fluid character animation.

Thanks jlauener, glad you like it! We will be posting more animations next week so stay tuned     !

[Quicksand-T]

That convulsing enemy looks cool. Does it have a face or just a hole there?

[SomberPixel]

That convulsing enemy looks cool. Does it have a face or just a hole there?

Thanks Quicksand-T !! , well the hole in his face is his mouth , something like this :  !! 

[Quicksand-T]

Thanks Quicksand-T !! , well the hole in his face is his mouth , something like this :  !! 

Oh, I see. I thought his entire face was a hole.

[Alec S.]

This looks pretty cool.  I like the style and character designs. 

[SomberPixel]

Thanks Quicksand-T !! , well the hole in his face is his mouth , something like this :  !! 

Oh, I see. I thought his entire face was a hole.

Which idea do you like more or consider creepier? The hole in the face or the big mouth covering all the face?

[SomberPixel]

This looks pretty cool.  I like the style and character designs. 

Thanks! Words like yours are inspiring. We will continue pushing forward until Lost Hope is released!

[Quicksand-T]

Which idea do you like more or consider creepier? The hole in the face or the big mouth covering all the face?

I'd say hole for a face is creepier, for the same reason the Xenomorph from the Alien series is so creepy: because without eyes there's nothing there to relate to.

[SomberPixel]

Which idea do you like more or consider creepier? The hole in the face or the big mouth covering all the face?

I'd say hole for a face is creepier, for the same reason the Xenomorph from the Alien series is so creepy: because without eyes there's nothing there to relate to.

Interesting , you have a point there about the eyes. Alien is a great reference. Thanks for the feedback Quicksand-T.We will be discussing it this week to see what fits better with our game and the animations. 

[SomberPixel]

Update 1: Inventory System

Since we have just started here in the forums, we will be posting our updates and progress constantly.
This week we will begin talking about the inventory system from the game which was designed in order to keep everything simple but engaging.An update about this was written by us in tumblr but we better post it here so that we can receive your feedback!

Overview

Inventory system can be a pain if it is not designed correctly. We sat down a few days talking about what approach we may take.
In the end we designed a simple but interactive inventory system that merges with other elements of the game and does not feel ¨apart¨.

Pixel by pixel, our inventory started to take form

Real time inventory

Yup, real time! It is a survival horror game so it makes sense that if you are looking for some batteries to recharge your flashlight or want to use a first aid kit the time must not stop, it would go against immersion The dangers of life are not going to wait for you to be ready, so brace yourself if you want to survive!

Categories are important!

The way the items are distributed in your inventory plays an important role in the immersion. We decided to go simple with this, so we only have 3 item categories : Consumables, Weapons and Key items.
As soon as you open the inventory, you’ll have to choose a category, and a preview list of the items is displayed. It is easy to navigate through them.This is a survival horror game, there is no need for 9001 categories :D Keep it simple and clean

Limited by weight

There are 12 visible slots in the inventory, but that does not mean you can only carry 12 items per category.The maximum amount of items you can carry is based on weight. If you are carrying too much weight you will have to get rid of some stuff!
But don’t think you will have too many items… we want to make you suffer a little This game is not a loot fest but will have a big number of items that can be collected and used during your trial.


So that means… I cannot have it all? What if I am a completionist?

Worry not! if you drop an item we will make sure you can get it back.
Key items cannot be dropped of course, or well… we are evaluating it ! Lots of things can change during the development process :D

And each item has different options regarding their type?

Each item has a different set of possible options that can be acceded. “Examine” and “drop” are the most common of them all, as you can examine every item you have and a description will appear on screen.


And what is next in Lost Hope’s inventory system??

There are lots of things to polish. The inventory that is currently being shown is not a definitive version , remember this is work in progress !
We are still evaluating the option of combining items in the inventory screen… As for the font colors, some of them may change, like the item name text , or the weight.

In the end, the inventory looks and works like this, even though we still have to add the total weight.

Ignore the 5kg battery!

[TonyManfredonia]

This looks awesome. I love survival horror games, so to put it into a 2D setting is genius!

[quan]

posting to follow

[SomberPixel]

This looks awesome. I love survival horror games, so to put it into a 2D setting is genius!

posting to follow

Thanks! Glad you like our game so far amanfr01. More updates are coming soon to keep guys informed about the development.

[SomberPixel]

Update 2: Defend Yourself!!

What would you do if  your life is at risk and some mutants just want to kill you? That’s right, grab a baseball bat or a pol, or something to defend yourself and TRY to survive with it.

There is no enemy right now but he feels like bating the air anyway

This is a melee attack with a bat, it will be very useful and probably one of your best friends in the game, as ammo cannot be found so easily or in great numbers.

This is a work in progress and may change.The idea of this attack is that you have to be aware of the enemy's movement and hit with the right timing.

You don't want to be killed by this.Right?
  

[SomberPixel]

Update 3: Event System!!

In order to control events were everything plays automatically (such as a cutscene)or during dialogues we implemented an event system.

Lost Hope's event system consists on series of dialogues with animations and other triggered actions. You can have a look of how it is taking form in the gif image.

Basically, the “actors” are controlled by a script and a text is loaded from a file depending on the situation.

Testing our event system, still in progress

[MrBones]

This looks cool, nice art style dude!
Was this inspired by Lone Survivor by chance? I see quite a few similarities.

[SomberPixel]

This looks cool, nice art style dude!
Was this inspired by Lone Survivor by chance? I see quite a few similarities.

Hello Bonesy!Thanks!
Yes, Lone Survivor is one of our main inspirations for this game.Lone Survivor did a great job being a pixel art 2D survival horror!
We want to offer something different.We plan that with dynamic combat, decisions,a city to freely explore and other aspects we are still working on, Lost Hope will be a different experience :D

[chrisDeneos]

Good work, I will keep my eyes on this project.

Just a thing, I think your light effects looks a bit strange with the Pixel Art Style.
Maybe it's because there is a High contrast.
The lighning system of Binding of Isaac Rebirth  might be a good reference.


Good luck for your project