Hello my name is Mikael Henriksson, founder of Clovetastic Interactive.
I'm currently making a story driven singleplayer first person shooter with a tactical approach to the game's pacing. Made with Unreal Engine 5. Some of the inspiration comes from games like: Battlefield/Call of Duty ( singleplayer storytelling), Far Cry 5 (music and environment/setting) and Stalker 1 (inventory/equipment). The development started in october 2022, why has it taken this long though? I've been making this as a solo project during my free time. I am currently preparing a playable tech demo for the game.
I've been wanting to play a first person shooter that is easy to learn and play like for instance Battlefield or Call of Duty, but has a slower gameplay allows you to do with your character. With that I mean things like changing your outfit, pick up objects and use consumables. I'm also a huge fan of how stamina affects the gamplay in milsims. Milsims are sadly a bit too complicated to be considered “easy” to learn and play.
So I decided to try to make a game that is somewhere in the middle, and make a singleplayer game where the it's possible to explore, take in the environment and proceed at your own pace. The game will be somewhat linear but with open larger areas made for exploration.
So what's the story and setting? The story takes place in a rural/small town area in North America in the near future during a tumultuous era. Poverty and the crime rate is as bad as it's ever been in the country. Regular people are forced to join criminal gangs to survive, gangs are getting bigger, even combining forces. The Police is not enough to keep control of large areas of the country. While the military is occupied with a conflic elsewhere, private military companies are hired to keep the peace. You are a member of one of these companies. But there are more factions than just violent street gangs in the area…
I believe in giving the Player calmer moments during the game. Time to explore, take in the sights, listen to the sounds of the environments and reflect on recent more action filled moments. I'm planning on filling these calmer bits with ambient accoustic guitar music. Possibly resonator guitar music which might fit the setting nicely.
Features so far:
-This is a true first person shooter, only one body mesh. No fake legs of shadows.
-Movement speeds: Walk, jog, crouch walk, crouch speed and sprint. It is possible to switch between walking and jogging whenever the player wants, even while aiming. Jogging makes it more difficult to aim and it drains stamina.
-Player inventory: Change clothes/armor and weapons. Pick up ammo, consumables, books, letters and other objects. Choose what you want to wear during the game. Want to play through the game barefoot or without any pants? Go for it! Although the AI can hit the Player in the head which of course makes more damage, wearing a helmet is optional but recommended!
-Everything that the Player has equipped and is in the inventory adds weight. Carrying alot of items = drains stamina more quickly. Jogging and sprinting drains stamina. Some consumables can boost stamina, like bottles of water.
-Low stamina means more arm sway. Sprinting head first into combat unprepared might make things more difficult.
-The bullets are actually fired from the barrel of the weapon, not from the middle of the screen which is common for alot of first person shooters. The arm sway acts similar to how it works in Arma 3.
-An animation will play when using consumables, a feature I love in other first person games.
-It is possible vault over objects at a medium height.
-It is possible to check the amount of ammunition left in the equipped weapon. The amount will be written and a voice line will be played. Reloading a weapon with a magazine means losing the ammo left in the magazine.
-Different versions of the weapons will be available to find or purchase during the game. The weapons might have different sights, grips or other attachments, sometimes combined.
-Different weapons can shoot through certain materials.
-Weapons can jam if the condition of the weapon is low. It is possible to repair the equipped weapon with repair kits.
-Crafting (testing at the moment.
-Close combat, useful if your run out of ammo.
-Grenades. At the moment only frag grenades.
Thank you for reading and I hope to hear what you think of the progress so far. I will be making a devblog during the rest of the development.
Take care!
/Mikael Henriksson, Clovetastic Interactive