Hello, Survivors.
Two months have already passed since MEMOLITH: Forsaken by Light officially launched and was introduced to you all.
Considering we first started development in early 2020, we can't believe it's already been six years.
We've occasionally shared stories through Dev Notes about the board game “ZOMBICIDE,” which served as our early motif, and episodes of our past attempts.
Today, however, I'd like to gather these together and take a look back at the overall flow, from our very first steps to what the game has become today.
Draft #1 - The First Version: Non-Grid Turn-Based (Early 2020)
Actually, the reason we decided to write this post is that we found a video of our very first prototype from 2020 while organizing our hard drive.
During the early prototype phase, without any specific narrative other than it being a "medieval zombie game," we were trying out various methods to figure out how to compose a screen that fits our desired gameplay.
We thought a SD (Super Deformed/Chibi) would be suitable for a top-down perspective facing multiple enemies on a limited screen, but our concern was that the characters ended up looking too cute (..), which was quite different from the atmosphere we wanted.
Then, someone suggested, "What if we treat the zombie plague as an airborne infection and put masks, like plague doctor masks, on all the characters?" With the mindset of "Let's just try it out quickly!", the version we created in about a month became our very first starting point.
The concept of barricades has been around since this time. We wanted to make characters push them with their hands, but thinking we wouldn't be able to handle the animation costs, we came up with the idea: "It's a tense combat situation, so let's just make them kick it!"
Although the first version was turn-based, we didn't use a grid for the spatial concept. This was because we wanted to create a more natural look of enemies swarming together.
Since the "medieval" aspect wasn't strictly applied at this point, there was an opinion to allow things up to flintlock pistols. We also wanted to make the zombie death scenes as gory as possible, so you can see a DIE ANIMATION that we put quite a lot of effort into. In the end, this was also simplified because we couldn't handle the workload, though.
It's interesting because in some ways, it's very different from now, but in other ways—like the depiction of objects and the environment—a lot of its current look still remains.
Draft #2 - Grid-Based, Simultaneous Turn-Based AI (Late 2020 - Early 2021)
We thought the first version was quite charming in its own way, but...
- We realized it wasn't ideal to have players rely purely on "instinct" for weapon ranges in a gridless environment, nor was it good to clutter the screen with too much UI to assist with it, so we ultimately decided to go grid-based.
- As we pondered how to highlight the "medieval apocalypse" characteristic, we shifted towards a more "religion"-focused concept, and the historical backdrop serving as our narrative foundation changed accordingly.
- Also, trying to put masks on every "human" made it difficult to create character diversity or ensure the believability of NPCs, so we eventually scrapped that setting.
- Instead, we changed the character proportions to 2.5 SD and created the pixel concept art below, featuring religious figures like "Monks/Nuns" and combatants like "Errant Knights/Hunters."
There were countless changes even after this, but we set a goal to "keep the big picture based on this atmosphere."
The combat system was entirely revamped to be Grid-based, and the basic framework for weapons, including the ranges for spears, swords, and bows established in this version, was largely maintained until the end.
However, the biggest difference from the current version was that the system operated on a "control only the main character, while companions move on their own" basis. In an apocalyptic setting, we wanted to highlight elements where characters wouldn't move "completely according to your will," making their own judgments to retreat and encountering unexpected variables.
Draft #3 - Combining Real-Time and Turn-Based (Early - Mid 2021)
The biggest reason we discarded the second version was that, ultimately, we answered "it won't be easy" to the question: "Can we make this idea 'fun' as a game?"
While the expressiveness of the "companions acting on autonomous judgment" concept was definitely good, we concluded it was too difficult to balance alongside the "fun of strategy/tactics in utilizing various companions' traits to face multiple enemies."
Thus, our next attempt resulted in a version combining "real-time exploration and turn-based combat," much like stealth-type games.
Normally, enemies would move in real-time and react to "noise" by moving toward its source; if allies were spotted in their "field of vision," the game would transition into turn-based combat. This is an approach attempted in games like Mutant: Year Zero.
If detected by an enemy (similar to our current alarm system), surrounding enemies would swarm in, and the enemies would get the first attack. If you wanted the advantage of a surprise attack, you had to eliminate the enemy with a weapon attack before being spotted.
In combat during this phase, each character was given only about 4 Action Points, and attacking from the opposite direction of where the enemy was looking granted a strong damage bonus.
We didn't yet have diverse unique skills for each character or varied enemy traits like in the current version. We wanted to verify the foundational fun of the system first, and then build content diversity on top of a stable framework.
Draft #4-1 - Return to Full Turn-Based (Mid - Late 2021)
Compared to the 2nd version, the 3rd version definitely made us think, "We can make this fun."
However, when estimating the path required to finalize this framework and polish it to a "releasable" state, we questioned: "Can we really satisfy both 'the completeness of a real-time stealth game' and 'the completeness of a turn-based tactical game' simultaneously?"
More specifically, while the tension of moving to avoid zombie sightlines in real-time was certainly great, we were disappointed that the flow of the game broke with every turn-based combat transition when we actually implemented our goal of "encounters with massive hordes of zombies." In a stealth game, the tension and thrill of "eliminating everyone without being detected" are paramount, making the turn-based combat feel like an "obstacle" rather than "fun."
Accordingly, we formed a hypothesis that integrating "stealth and surprise attack elements into a turn-based experience," much like the game "Invisible, Inc.", would create a more consistent gameplay experience.
The overall system operated within turns, but basic rules were established at this point, such as throwing stones to make noise and divert enemy vision, or only allies within the enemy's field of vision getting attacked. incorporated from this point onward.
Tactical elements like trapping enemies with barricades to immobilize them before dispatching them, or pulling and pushing enemies, also began to be fully incorporated from this point onward.
Draft #4-2 - Attempting to Build a Meta Game (Late 2021 - Early 2022)
As a result, after about a year and a half, we were able to finalize the "gameplay framework." However, since we were still at the stage of repeatedly testing "Is one match fun?" within a "single stage," we now had to inject content into this framework to create a continuous experience.
If carefully escaping from countless pouring enemies using various means within a single run was fun, we now had to answer the questions: "What is the axis that continues this experience? What is the purpose of continuing the game?"
The initial framework was a kind of survival game. We tried to create a meta-game loop where players had to find food in a ruined village, and to do so, they had to risk farming in abandoned houses where zombies lurked.
In the process of taking such risks, physical and mental damage would inevitably accumulate, and while the heavily damaged characters "rested" at the hideout, other characters would go out to scavenge for supplies again.
Experiencing the clash of values in an apocalyptic setting during this process, and making players feel the resulting "human" elements, was the ultimate goal of the project. We have previously detailed this in a separate "Archive" post, so I'll leave the links below.
The Struggle to Find Our “Humanity” #1
The Struggle to Find Our “Humanity” #2
Originally, we intended to also cover the transition from Draft #4 to the initially revealed Early Access version, and the story of how it became the MEMOLITH of today in this post... However, since the post has already gotten too long, it would be better to save that story for the next post.
Did you find these past stories interesting? Looking back, it feels like we really made a wide variety of attempts, and seeing how the elements we tried left their mark on the final version in completely different forms gives me a strange feeling.
Well then, I'll see you in the next story.
Thank you,
MEMOLITH