Posted November 20, 2025 by McKinleyMassacre
#gdd #discord #technical_demo #preview #demo
Hey all! I'm happy to announce I'm finally close to actually releasing something, and have found a way to do it that doesn't stress me out too much: technical demos! I've temporarily switched from my main project to this new project, known as Archipelago Zero, to actually try to get something out there to my name, instead of hyperfocusing on making Lost Hours exactly the way I imagine it, which is...needless to say, taking forever, and I'm learning after this many years that I'm probably not going about this quite right.
I've actually been having a good time with the experience of making a tech demo; no need to worry about story or the environment so much, just working on the mechanics and UI. It's a little refreshing, and I may end up doing something similar for Lost Hours in the future since it's going so well for this project. Not sure why I didn't consider doing something like this earlier, but I suppose I got locked into the mindset of getting a perfect quality demo out there of my passion project. But instead of doing that, I think I actually prefer the workflow of getting stuff out there incrementally and allowing input and growth through a community, rather than trying to "perfect" something from the start and hoping it will do well. So, I'm opening this project (and probably some of Lost Hours in the future) to community input and testing, starting with a technical demo!
Inspired by Jurassic Park: Trespasser, Ark: Survival Ascended/Evolved and System Shock 2 (among other games), Archipelago Zero is a PSX-styled first-person exploration RPG set on...well, an archipelago! For those that may not know what that is, it's a chain of islands usually in an arc format, like Hawaii. The story is as follows...
You and your team were sent out to research a "missing" archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, seen only on old maps. Modern ones seem to omit them completely. Did they vanish with the rising ocean waters, or is something more mysterious behind the disappearance?
As you near where the islands supposedly existed, a thick fog surrounds your boat, making navigation nearly impossible. It doesn't take long before the boat strikes a set of jagged rocks, destroying its engines and forcing it to crash ashore on a strange looking beach. As the fog clears and morning dawns, you realize this is no ordinary island.
The plants are foreign to you, even as a scientist. They look...prehistoric. Even the waters seem unfamiliar and alive with strange, unknown shapes. It isn't long before you spot the first living creature, some sort of bird, gliding over the rippling ocean toward the shore.
Upon closer inspection, you realize the creature is not a bird, but a pterosaur.
It is then you see movement on the beach. A medium sized creature has wandered out of the ferns. Not anything from our familiar world, but one of millions of years past. A dinosaur.
With a feeling of dread, you realize these islands were hidden for a reason. But how was it hidden, and who did it?
With few options but to explore and find possible means of escape, you leave the relative safety of your boat with some survival essentials and set off in search of answers.
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It's worth mentioning that I am not currently looking for a team to help with this game, I'm a solo dev and build these projects on my own; however, I always appreciate input and beta testers, so if you'd like to help with the project in terms of feedback, bug hunting, suggestions, or creature ideas, please feel free to join the official Discord server below!