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[Soul Challenger]

that film is amazingly disturbing. kind of like a nightmare/dream ... everything kind of makes sense but overall it's just completely insane. love it!
the game seems rather creepy but I wonder if you can achieve the same level of insanity as in that film :D
great stuff!

Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed the film  It's most probably one of my "weirdest" ones. The new film, called Time Rodent (on which the game is based), is more narrative and accessible, and the insanity lies more within it's themes than it's imagery. Here's a short excerpt:

[Greipur]

I think MRDRCHAIN had fantastic imagery, and as unsettling and thought-provoking as something done by the likes of Svankmajer (and Barta, I read that you had him as a teacher, that must've been interesting).

Your driving game looks really interesting, but I'd like to hear some more about the mechanics and interaction, what is the player supposed to be doing? Driving of course, but being motorised still leaves me with a lot of questions, especially since you're cooking up such an interesting art style around it.

[Soul Challenger]

I think MRDRCHAIN had fantastic imagery, and as unsettling and thought-provoking as something done by the likes of Svankmajer (and Barta, I read that you had him as a teacher, that must've been interesting).

Thank you   Yes, Jiri Barta was my professor. It's been indeed interesting, although not in the most positive way. I got some extremely scarce feedback from him because he did not like CGI animation - and I happened to be one of the first students to explore CGI animation...

Your driving game looks really interesting, but I'd like to hear some more about the mechanics and interaction, what is the player supposed to be doing? Driving of course, but being motorised still leaves me with a lot of questions, especially since you're cooking up such an interesting art style around it.

I will be writing a more detailed post about this. Very simply put, it's about driving from A to B while avoiding getting killed and learning what happened to the game's world and where all of it's inhabitants went. Generally speaking, as of today, there is no master plan graved in stone. I'm quite new to game development and find the non-linearity to be very exciting (and still unexplored territory IMHO). I really enjoy creating universes which unfold during the creation process, sometimes leading to completely unforeseen directions.
Most of my films were created that way, except the last one, Time Rodent, which is more narrative. This one was a music video where, to me, the original music sounded like bad sex:




(with original music: youtube.com/watch?v=8EfjoIzNZ98)

And this one, walking home at night, I heard an ambulance siren in the distance and started to modify the sound into a melody in my head  :

[Soul Challenger]

Been working on stopping maneuvers the last two months (and I've also perfected further the driving behavior of the AI).

OK, so how do you stop a car with a single vehicle?

After extensive thinking and testing, it appears that the most effective way, is to perform a PIT maneuver. But then what? I need the player car to be immobilized, at least for some time, so the mean blokes can exit their car(s) and finish the job. Ideally the player car would get pushed into slippery terrain where it will take time to recover - or get pushed into a tree/building/streetlamp dealing significant damage to the car. So I came up with this enhancement where the player car will be pushed right after the PIT is performed. It's called Pit n' Push  :



Side-ramming is quite fine too, but there have to be road-side objects present for it to work:



Blocking doesn't really work with a single enemy car (+ it's somewhat annoying). With a heavier car it's better and I'll keep it, for once I start implementing multiple enemy car behaviours. For example: one car would block in front and another car at the back would perform a PIT.

[quantumpotato]

That first post video is way higher quality of code, concept & graphics than I was expecting.

Great work, keep rocking.

FWIW I'll share an aggressive driving story that you might find inspiring.

I don't remember if I had cut this car off but they zoomed ahead of me, stayed in my line then started applying brakes. This is on a huge interstate. I'd slow down to about 1/2 to 2/3 speed, realize they were just trying to get me to ram them (?), switch lanes and they'd zoom ahead and switch lanes to cover that.

Eventually I just took an exit and waited 10 minutes before resuming driving.

It was odd and reminded me of a rumor I heard from a family member years before about insurance scam squads -- cars that would box a driver in on both sides and front and maybe behind, then the one in front would slam on brakes (terrifying).

Your video reminded me of both of those so I figured I'd share. Keep unfolding!

[Soul Challenger]

That first post video is way higher quality of code, concept & graphics than I was expecting.

Great work, keep rocking.

Thank you for your feedback and your driving story. Yeah, it can get scary on the roads sometimes. Once, back in 2001, I have been chased by a truck in South Carolina - the guy must have been watching Spielberg's "Duel" too much. It was pretty scary and driving a crappy Plymouth Sundance (with a Quebec license plate) made it quite hard to escape.

[quantumpotato]

That first post video is way higher quality of code, concept & graphics than I was expecting.

Great work, keep rocking.

Thank you for your feedback and your driving story. Yeah, it can get scary on the roads sometimes. Once, back in 2001, I have been chased by a truck in South Carolina - the guy must have been watching Spielberg's "Duel" too much. It was pretty scary and driving a crappy Plymouth Sundance (with a Quebec license plate) made it quite hard to escape.

Sounds like that may have inspired this game . I'm liking the organic development too, prototyping & iterating. I think the best stuff comes that way.

Another aggro-driver.. a truck cut me off going super-fast. I turned on my brights. This guy has been shined from behind so many times he turned on his lamp mounted on his rear-view mirror to shine back! Might be a cool mechanic... burn your battery to disorient cars in front of you. The advanced ones shine back, disorienting the player. Just food for thought, you're on the right path with what you've got!

[Soul Challenger]

Started to work on the goons locomotion system. Trying to avoid animation clips and just make them move using physics only. For now it's very basic and looks quite retarded, but I thought I'd post anyway, just for laughs  :

[quantumpotato]

Started to work on the goons locomotion system. Trying to avoid animation clips and just make them move using physics only. For now it's very basic and looks quite retarded, but I thought I'd post anyway, just for laughs  :

Hah, you should team up with WobbleDog's developer and sick a physics dog on the player..

Echoing an earlier sentiment, this game looks straight out of a disturbed dream, Soul Challenger. 

[chrilley]

Hah, you should team up with WobbleDog's developer and sick a physics dog on the player..

I was thinking the same thing! Animation by locomotion is a hilarious thing.
I also see potential for some eerie and creepy movements.

[ActualDog]

Haha, yeah those physics goons are great! I did pretty much that exact cube-targeted locomotion test earlier on in my project. Definitely excited to see those guys's movement progression if you stick with the physics approach.

Also, I should say that the driving clips you're showing are insanely impressive. This looks really great.

[Soul Challenger]

Hah, you should team up with WobbleDog's developer and sick a physics dog on the player..

Echoing an earlier sentiment, this game looks straight out of a disturbed dream, Soul Challenger. 

Yeah, the physics-driven approach is all new territory to me. Lot of trial and error - it feels like the resulting organic look is worth it though.
And thanks! Yes, one of my goals is to visually oscillate between a seemingly familiar reality and one where surreal elements creep in. Just like in a dream, where everything looks perfectly normal until you decide to focus on something and realize just how disturbing it is.

Haha, yeah those physics goons are great! I did pretty much that exact cube-targeted locomotion test earlier on in my project. Definitely excited to see those guys's movement progression if you stick with the physics approach.

Also, I should say that the driving clips you're showing are insanely impressive. This looks really great.

Thanks, it's taken me years to get a satisfactory driving AI - was worth the time IMHO. For the characters, I just thought I'd simulate a puppet rig that would be dragged around by a navmesh agent and lift the legs based on velocity. Still early beginnings - it's a lot of fun, but time consuming as well. Took a quick look and love your wobbledogs!

[tortoiseandcrow]

Oh wow! This is a really exciting project. I want to echo everyone's comments on how tactile and physical the car physics and AI feel.

I'm pretty delighted to hear that you'll be adding some surreal elements. When I saw the driving, my mind immediately went to this scene from the movie The Mist:





Though I think that your aesthetic is far more interesting!

[quantumpotato]

Hello hope you are doing well!

[Soul Challenger]

Some major/minor news: Time Rodent, the short animation film, from which this game takes some inspiration, will be broadcasted on Arte this upcoming weekend (+ available for watching for 7 days). World premiere! 

http://www.arte.tv/guide/fr/051125-000-A/time-rodent

[woodsmoke]

This looks so cool. I'm a huge fan of driving game and will be stalking this.

[Soul Challenger]

Thank you for all the great feedback!

Some minor news, got deformable terrain in! With almost no negative impact on performance, which is a dream come true - been trying to achieve that for years.

First glimpses 

[Mannapi]

Looks atmospheric and cool.

The realistic car behavior is super smooth.

[quantumpotato]

Looking sweet and suitable creepy.
I'm curious if the game will be one world you drive continuously through?

[oldblood]

Wow, this all looks great. Both films and game, awesome work.