Thanatophobia

Overview

A self-funded, internationally developed, and episodic three-part indie survival-horror game being developed by a fellow GiantBomber named Warrozo, Thanatophobia ("fear of death/dying") strives to bring back the key elements of the genre back into the forefront while staying away from elements that make the game too "gamey" and action-y. There will be combat elements to it, but that is not the main focus of the game. Instead, the game will focus more on providing the player with an atmospheric sense of fright and psychological thrill. There will be puzzles to solve as well, but not like those found in games like Myst, but those found in games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil (early versions). Puzzles will require some detective work to be solved. Basically, this game will be in the spirit of old school survival-horror action/adventure games with modern technical elements.

Each episode carries its own unique style, portraying the characters’ deepest fears. Combine items, solve riddles and combat disturbing enemies to overcome your fears.

Release date has been slated for late 2012. For now, the PC platform will have exclusive release for this game; if market for the game is promising, it may be released on the Xbox 360 as well. A demo for the PC release will be released soon.

Story

As the player progresses throughout the game, the player will unveil more about the protagonist's story little by little. What's known at this point, is that the character is an ex-cop who is tracking down a serial killer; he has just recently been given a hot tip which has drawn him to a certain key location, which will be an important place in the game.

The name, "Sam DeHaven" has been released as being that of one of the characters in the game, but who that is is not known to the public as of yet.

Gameplay

Designed with a cinematic feel in mind, gameplay will incorporate fixed camera angles just like those found in the Resident Evil series. However, these fixed camera angles will be utilized... with a twist. What this twist will be, has not been discussed in public yet.

The player's character is a retired cop who has a great deal of experience with firearms, including a Remington 12-Gauge shotgun. Players will be able to delve into shooting, but he/she will have to decide when/if they should fire their weapon, as ammunition will be scarce. Furthermore, players will have only a limited space to carry items, and will have to arrange them to fit their inventory.

RE: Episodic Content

In terms of Thanatophobia's episodic content format, the developers have said that the first episode being released will be its own story, and will not necessarily feed into the two subsequent episodes. What will happen to the two other episodes is not known as this time.

The reasoning behind releasing the games as episodes is that the developers have enough story content for three episodes. The first episode will be a full game, with a beginning and and end. They do not want to repeat the same mistakes other studios have done where funding or interest waned, leaving an incomplete title for its fans.

Developer's Studio

Thanatophobia is developed using the May 2011 build of the Unreal Development Kit (Unreal Engine 3)