Greetings, everyone!
Doomers Team is back and today, we'd like to share how we breathed new life into the Doomer game and what motivated us to take this step. In recent weeks, we released a major update that marks the beginning of a long journey and ongoing development of the game, which has already become something personal to us.
First acquaintance with the project.
Our team got acquainted with Doomer already after its release. The game had a huge potential and interest from the Doomer community, but, unfortunately, it did not gain the popularity it deserved and was not evolving. The project piqued our cautious interest at first, but as each game session passed, we began to see its true potential.
We found Doomer to be more than just a game - it was an opportunity to escape to a place where we felt safe and comfortable. A kind of escapism. We were reinforced in this sentiment even more when together with the publisher we ultimately acquired the rights to the project. Afterwards, a wave of nostalgia and creativity surged over us, and we realized that we had a one-of-a-kind opportunity to create something unique. It was then that a team was formed and the process of planning and writing the design document began.
A time of change and nostalgia
The game takes place in the early 2000s, just as the 90s were coming to an end and the new century was just getting started. At this time, Soviet aesthetics were merging with the flood of novelty that came along with the wave of change. This creates a special mood - the mood of our childhood, when everything was simpler and more complicated at the same time. Our memories evoke those days when the world was full of opportunities and challenges, when time seemed to slow down and we were full of melancholy and anticipation for the future.
Working on the game
As we worked on the project, we realized Doomer should be more than just a simulation. It should be a deep experience that reflects a sense of loneliness, hopelessness, inner longing and nostalgia for a bygone era that is familiar to many of us.
A young man who lives alone in an apartment forms the main character of the story. In many ways, he represents the Doomer subculture: a reclusive introvert who is deeply immersed in his memories, looking cautiously into the future. He spends most of his time at his computer, watching TV, smoking, and watching trains pass by. It's more than a routine, but a chance for the hero to contemplate his emotions and face his fears.
Immersion in the world of nostalgia.
Nostalgia became the game's foundation and heart. Our goal was to allow the player to explore their own past through the lens of the game. The protagonist lives in a world where there are people, but he doesn't see or meet them. He hears muffled voices behind the door as he walks down the stairwell, he hears children cries on the playground, but these are all illusions. All that is just a light breeze on the edge of consciousness, words carried away by the wind, a life deferred.
Initially, we planned to avoid complex mechanics, leaving the player alone with his thoughts. Simple actions like turning on the computer, watching old videos, or watching trains allowed players to escape into their own memories. However, during the development process, we realized that the game world needed to be deeper and more interactive. Thus, we decided to incorporate sandbox elements, urban legends and mythology, with a sense of exploration and experimentation.
Game mechanics
Smoking will not just be a ritual, but an important gameplay element that helps the protagonist cope with the anxiety and pressure of his surroundings. Each cigarette is a moment of silence and reflection, a pause that allows the player to step away from what is happening for a while and reflect on what is happening.
The game deliberately uses sharp contrasts in its visual style. The use of dark, cold tones conveys a sense of isolation and alienation. Conversely, warm tones evoke nostalgia, as if the player is recalling something sweet and important from his past. The flickering lights of the city, the images on the TV screen, and the landscape outside create a mood of coziness and hopelessness.
First Early Access Update
With the first update, the game was filled with unique content that helped capture the atmosphere and spirit of the time. We created a large number of models of everyday objects familiar to Russians in the 90s and 2000s. There are many artifacts from that era that instantly transport you to the past and create a sense of nostalgia.
The Dendy console, which gave access to the New Reality, or the iconic VID intro, which sometimes was scary enough to frighten the children. A Nescafe can sitting on an entryway window that used to serve as an ashtray, or "Soldier's" toothpaste symbolizing the relaxed, casual way of life. We treasure small, but dear things like caps - popular collectible toys we played with at school - and "Great Dragon", a guide to the world of video games and comic books.
The atmosphere of the game is formed by all these small details. We tried to fill it with items that create a sense of time, place, and memory, rather than simply being in the character's surroundings. As a bridge between the past and the present, these things help the player return to a familiar and cozy environment - even if just briefly, but deeply immersed in a nostalgic reality, where everything has its own meaning and history.
What's next?
We took a huge step forward with this Doomer update. We continue to explore loneliness, nostalgia, and living in a world that is constantly changing. In the future, we plan to add new elements to the game that will deepen our exploration of Doomer sub-culture and our melancholy for the past.
The game is our way of sharing with the world our longings, our feelings, and our desire to return to a simpler, more complicated time. Hopefully, players will be able to stop for a moment, reflect on their experiences, and find a little bit of themselves in this game.
We all carry our pasts with us. Sometimes we just need a space where we can experience it again.
