Download Link -
https://mager22brophybroncosorg.itch.io/in-these-caves
Story -
In These Caves is a game centered around the events of the "Limewell Incident." A group of spelunkers disappeared in Limewell Cave System in Arizona and authorities refused to search the caves which the Spelunkers were last seen heading to. A group of people who personally knew the spelunkers sent a drone into the caves to find evidence of their disappearances to show the police and convince them to conduct a search. Two days after the group left to use their drone, they were all found dead 2 miles away from the cave in the middle of the desert. The local police would not release any more information about their deaths claiming they were conducting an investigation. Over 13 years later and no more information was released to the public. This game depicts the view of possible events from the drone.
Technology -
Each game a new cave system is generated from scratch and will be completely different. To implement this I used a 3D Perlin noise library to create a chunk of data with each vertex of the chunk represented by a Boolean value. Next I used the marching cubes algorithm to construct a mesh representing the data held within the chunk. Finally I connected the chunks together to form a flowing world. This was the most difficult step as the index math regarding these connections became rather complex very quickly. To achieve the VHS style aesthetic I used an image effect shader combined with the Unity grain and color correction post processing effects along with a slight vignette effect. To ensure that each cave generated will be large enough for the game to function well I found a rather clever fix. I simulated a particle system with collision and released thousands of particles which would bounce around the cave. When the system finished I calculated the farthest particle form the origin and if it was above a threshold, the cave would be deemed large enough.
Gameplay -
You must scour the cave system searching for evidence of the explorers, marked with glowsticks. Victory is achieved by collecting enough evidence. Will you solve the case of the "Limewell Incident", or will you too be consumed by whatever force resides in the caves. Can you hear the whispers...
Note to Itch.io -
My account is still not authorize to post or comment so this is posted from an alternate account I made. I never received a reason why. Please give my account, where the game is posted, permissions again <3.