Spiderology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtlfkrQwNN8

Play On itch.io:  https://rvrproduct.itch.io/spider-so-wah

Going into the jam, I knew I wanted to engineer everything myself, but I also wanted to get my feet wet on the art side of game development. So before the jam started, I decided to dive deep into Blender, spending a lot of time learning and practicing. I definitely don’t consider myself a professional artist by any means, haha, but I really wanted to learn something new.

On the art side, I had to learn a little bit of everything: modeling, UV mapping, rigging, animation, and shading. It was a lot to take in, and man, does it take time. I have so much respect for all the artists out there. There is an incredible amount of work, time, and effort that goes into creating game-ready art.

On top of that, I wanted to improve my procedural animation skills, so I took the time to learn and implement Unreal Engine’s Control Rig system. I was then able to apply what I learned to my spider creature, allowing its legs to react to the environment and move around the world procedurally.

The GMTK Game Jam was a four-day event, and yeah... doing everything alone is extremely difficult, especially when you’re trying to completely avoid using premade assets. But that was part of the challenge I set for myself. I really wanted to see how much I could build completely from scratch.

After the jam I wanted to continue the project! One of my biggest goals was to create more tension for the player. I redesigned the level to make the environment feel more compact and claustrophobic, experimented more with lighting, and completely remodeled the player character because the original model no longer fit the direction I wanted to take the game.

I also wanted the transformation mechanic to feel much more impactful, especially when the spiders catch either the player or one of the infected survivors you’re trying to save.

In the game, your goal is to rescue captured “Infected” from the clutches of Spiderology. You must find them before the spiders do, lead them to extraction points, and successfully extract them from the area.

However, simply being inside Spiderology is dangerous. Prolonged exposure gradually causes both the Infected and the player to transform into spiders themselves. To slow the transformation, the player can find and use syringes containing an agent that temporarily pushes back its effects.

And if things get a little too intense, you can always hide inside a locker, wait for the danger to pass, and rethink your next move.

Feel free to give the game a try if you have the time! What started as a four-day game jam project has slowly turned into a little passion project of mine, and I’m considering pushing it even further