Exo Diver
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Relax, explore, and unravel the mystery.
Exo Diver is a small but immersive open world, puzzling scifi adventure. Explore the underwater realm of an alien planet, collect valuable resources for the corporation, and investigate mysterious alien technology.
The gameplay is light on puzzling with the emphasis on relaxing exploration in simple but atmospheric 2.5D. Enjoy full freedom to find your own path at your own pace with no hand holding.
Game Updates
Latest version is 0.0.2 published on April 14th, 2022.
I don't intend to update the prototype much unless it helps more people fully participate in the intended experience and offer helpful feedback. The point here is to test a game idea and determine if I want to do something more significant with it.
Feedback Wanted
This is intended as a small prototype. Feedback is very helpful. Please leave a comment below.
- What did you like?
- What seems missing?
- What needs improvement?
Live streaming and let's plays are welcome and encouraged. Commentary is preferred, but feedback in any form is appreciated.
Exo Diver™ © 2022 Drew Van Camp
Download
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Looking forward to the 3D update if it ever comes out.
The portals sure gave me a subnautica vibe.
I would want a better submarine feel to the controls, as well as upgrades or maybe crafting?
Atmosphere was the thing that really drew me in.
Awesome! Subnautica is probably an obvious influence. I really enjoy that game. The main aspects being strong atmosphere and the theme of an exotic, alien planet. Hopefully, I can find my own approach to those shared ideas.
Better controls or definitely a possibility. This was more or less a pretty basic example, so might not feel very aquatic, but if I continue development in a serious way, I'd want to revisit this. Can you tell me more specifically what you felt wasn't quite right about the sub controls as they are now?
Upgrades for the sub have been mentioned by more than a couple people already, so I think that's the favorite request at this point. I'm not sure yet what exactly I'd want to do with that, but I will definitely give it some serious thought.
Crafting hasn't been mentioned until now, but I could see that working into vehicle upgrades or even base building, and then we suddenly have Subnautica. haha So I'll definitely hesitate to do everything Subnautica does since I'm interested in doing my own thing, but at the same time, if I were to make Subnautica 1:1, it'd probably still turn out pretty differently since it'd be me making it. At least I'd like to think so.
Not sure if you are requesting that I turn it from 2.5D side scrolling to a fully 3D exploration space (again, like Subnautica) or if you meant something else by "3D update", but for now I think I'm a little more interested in 2.5D games at this time. I like how 2D spaces simplifies choices and puts an interesting design constraint on me but offering 3D visuals (and sound) provides a deeper artistic richness as a backdrop. Similar to an Ori game's visual depth without being truly fully 3D. Please let me know if there's more to what you were saying.
Would love a little more detail on the items above if you have another moment.
Thank you so much for playing and sharing your thoughts! Super helpful. (:
The thing I feel is missing the most is waterweight. Currently all movement feels like it meets no resistance.
I kinda would like it more if it was full 3D but I believe you can also make 2.5D work.
Cool! I think it would be nice to make the sub feel more like it's moving in water and experiencing more realistic physics, even if still simplified. Should I do much more, I'll definitely aim to achieve something like this.
And thanks for your vote of confidence on the 2.5D! (: I do think it could work well in a final game.
A great game that ran flawlessly for me. Gameplay-wise it needs a few things.
1: Map, both large scale full-screen and a mini-map.
2: Upgrades for the sub such as cargo capacity, speed, battery efficiency, lighting, etc.
3: More levels.
4: A reason to collect the gems such as spending them on the upgrades, or once you reach a specific amount collected in orbit, you go to the next level.
5: Wave effects off of the sub when it's on the surface.
Add this list into the game with about 30 or so levels with additional DLC and I'd happily pay for the game.
Wow! Love this. Glad it feels like a solid start to you.
I had someone else tell me they wanted gem spendable upgrades for those same sort of things. And someone else agrees with the full screen map idea.
As I was making it, I kept wanting the sub to bob on the surface of the water, as well, so I wholeheartedly agree with that. I simply hadn't got around to that sort of thing because I wasn't polishing it to that degree, but definitely will if development continues.
More levels i.e. places to explore, especially places that feel very distinct from one another is one of the big ideas behind this game concept. What you see here is essentially a single, somewhat polished "level" to test the waters. I set out to build a prototype and think I wound up with more of what some call a vertical slice of a full game.
I built it to demonstrate if the game idea and world design could be fun enough to pursue further. If I don't do something more serious with it, I don't expect to expand it with more places, but if I select this for my next commercial title, then it would definitely see a noteworthy expansion of the world (or worlds) you can adventure through.
Your breakdown of specific things you'd like to see added to Exo Diver is very insightful. I really appreciate you taking the time to play and hope you got to experience all it has to offer. I'll take your input very seriously to heart when I decide the fate of this project later on.
Thank you so very much!!!! (:
Great work so far!
I think there is great potential here for a fantastic researching game that allows for the study, of elements, atmosphere, flora and fauna. This game could really have a fun adventurous aspect to it where Scientific study can fill a codex with useful facts about different world around a galaxy. Having a land rover and a sky hopper drone to analyze things on land and in the sky would be great too! Or perhaps all of these things could be worked into the one drone.
My experience so far was totally bug free, the music was fantastic, the controls were comfortable and not glitchy in any way, the game plays smoothly so far. This is the core for something great.
Thank you so much!
Yes, I definitely want to experiment with the ability to scan and catalog every kind of thing in the world, making knowledge a valuable resource and thus emphasizing pure exploration. For now, I think it would be wise to focus the game's scope on submarine only, but I do love the idea of having various forms of traversal as a way to open things up to even more variety.
I really enjoyed watching your stream of it. And I hope you'll revisit it sometime to see what you missed. As it stands, there's a small yet complete game here. Of course, the game doesn't communicate these things super well, so I'd be interested to make that more accessible if development continues. Nonetheless, I'm glad you found it interesting and see its potential.
Is there a difference in movement up/down vs left/right? It seems that holding up and right results in a faster rise than forward motion.
I believe there is no faster diagonal movement, but up/down is slower than left/right. You have perceived well a subtle difference.
BUG - Keyboard use: number pad 0 causes the gem count to drop, then restore
Win10
When collecting gems, using the arrow keys, I tapped the 0 on the number pad. The mission box shows the number drop by one, then restore to the correct number, without actually dropping anything.
Oh that's a funny one! I don't think that's a bug per se, but possibly an unfortunate behavior. For some reason that key is mapped as an alternate for Cargo Eject, so it does pop out a gem. However, I also just noticed that sometimes a gem will pop out too close to the player sub and instantly get picked back up. This might be what you were seeing. Please let me know if there's something more to it.
Excellent choice on night run - the outline is very helpful, but not bright enough to be intrusive.
I take full credit for whatever you're talking about that is good. ~(: I'm not really sure what you're referring to, however. "Night run" does not compute, but "outline" does. I do highlight things to help you know that you can interact. If I have failed to understand, please explain further. I'd love to know what is working well.
Oh ok, I saw a picture you shared. That little edge surrounding some objects against the ocean backdrop is likely just a graphical glitch, but if someone appreciates it, then I appreciate the appreciation. (:
Yes, comments work! Test passed.
Huzzah! (: (: (: Thank you for giving that a go.