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Ludum Dare 29: Beneath the Surface

I'm halfway through making a game for Ludum Dare 29. The theme this time around is "Beneath the Surface". For once I've had an idea right from the start that's practical, fun and in keeping with the theme. It's a lovely change from my usual pattern of starting with an idea that turns out to be impractical or boring & having to start over halfway through the competition. So on that basis alone I have high hopes for this one.

Here it is: Project Tethys

It's an underwater shoot-and-rescue-em-up inspired by the likes of Defender and Resogun. You control a state-of-the-art combat submarine tasked with defending an underwater research facility from an invading army. Or at least, that's what it should be if I can finish it in time...

The controls are arrow keys or WASD to move, left mouse button to fire.

There's still loads left to do: implementing the rescue mechanic; sound effects; enemy AI; a high score table; a menu system; better models and textures; a tutorial; and lots of polishing. Here's hoping I can get it all done!

One thing that's different this time around is that I've been using Unity instead of my own Javascript framework. This is my first time doing anything serious with Unity & it's been absolutely brilliant! It's such a productive environment. The documentation is absolutely first rate and the tutorials are some of the best I've ever encountered. If anyone on the Unity team is reading this: thank you!

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