The Eyes of Ara Download PC

The Eyes of Ara is a 2016 adventure game developed by the Brisbane-based, one-man independent games studio 100 Stones Interactive, founded by Ben Droste.

Development

Conception

Droste is a Senior 3D Environment Artist and Level Designer, and was in the Australian gaming industry for ten years before making this game. He was inspired by games like Myst, in the sense of a being a character dropped into a strange world, not knowing why they were there or what was going on, and to start exploring and discovering; in addition he enjoyed how the game had no jumping or running or action.

Design

Droste wanted to make a game in which the environment was the central character, through a narrative technique known as environmental storytelling. The game was built using the Unity3D game engine. In escape the room types of games, players are either: physically confined (due to doors being locked) or alternatively confined (because there is nothing else to do in the chapter). In contrast, Droste's design is more open ended and non-linear. There is much interactively with the game world beyond items required to progress in the story; clicking on items like walls and chairs reveal sound effects like taps and knocks, accompanied by a visual spurt of dust, thereby adding life and age to the space. In addition, players have to realistically interact with tools in order to use them; e.g. turning a wheel or pulling a lever rather than clicking on it. Droste begins designing a level with pen and paper, marking out all the puzzles, secrets, and a proposed progression through the room; he may also look out for a physical feature that may make the room fit a puzzle he has previously designed. He later maps the puzzle out in a 3D space.

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