From Dusk to Dawn

• Developer(s): Solo developer
• Role: Solo developer
• Engine: Unity3D
• Programming Tools: MS Visual Studio (C#)
• Platform(s): PC (Windows)
• Development Time: 5 months
• Release: November 2021 (the year of my master’s degree at Kingston University)
• Genre(s): Role-playing adventure game
• Mode(s): Single-player

Synopsis

From Dusk to Dawn is set in a medieval fantasy world in which many kingdoms have prospered and perished as a result of their endless hunger for unfathomable power (the story precedes the events of my previous work titled The Fall of Valleniya). The game focuses on the emotional and physical journey of its protagonist named Artheus, a loyal soldier of the kingdom of Valleniya. This character-driven story is told through the five-act narrative structure, two cutscenes, four levels and three locations in total.

The game was made for research purposes (of the final project) and although this research considers all aspects of video games equally important to deliver a true gaming experience, the game mainly focused on the storytelling elements in video games. The final project aimed to develop a new model to perceive the player-avatar-character relationship in single-player role-playing games. After reviewing relevant game literature and conducting a small-scale research study, the results showed that the proposed measurement criteria can be used to measure different psychological processes and game design elements responsible for developing such relationships.

Gameplay

• Play as Artheus, a powerful warrior grieving the loss of his kingdom
• Use the standard WASD movement to navigate through levels
• Use the mouse to rotate the first-person camera
• Use the “Space” key to jump, the “Shift” key to sprint, the “F” key to pick objects, the “E” key to drop them, the “Q” key to interact with objects and push them away, and the “M” key to view the map
• Adapt to new mechanics as each level has different obstacles and puzzles
• The game offers a few choices that influence the ending