Hello everyone!
We’d love to hear your feedback on our current SIP project: a new horror game series based on our first production of the genre, Deep Sea.
We’re curious to know if you would be interested in playing new experiences on TSB that are closer and closer to traditional video game productions we’re all familiar with.
Here, our ambition is to produce experiences similar to those offered by survival horror classics such as Resident Evil.
What
Deep Sea episode 2 is a new experience with survival horror features inspired by Lovecraft’s universe and a new NFT collection with its release!
With the new features enabled by the 0.10, we think it possible to have experiences further closing the gap between The Sandbox and other gaming communities.
It takes place right after the events of the first Deep Sea (launched in March 2024), where you follow one of the survivors that fled and crashed in the Arctic. Aim, shoot, explore and manage your resources to face the undead and the cold of the Arctic.
With The Sandbox DAO, we would like to fund a new Saga of horror games, episode by episode, with the same level of ambition, quality production, new environments and a plot that unravels over the course of each episode.
Why
Last Winter, we self-published Deep Sea, an original license in The Sandbox, with the aim of offering the metaverse community a brand new horror gaming experience.
We were convinced that it was possible to produce dense, mature and demanding content using The Sandbox tools, which is why we highlighted the most advanced features of Game Maker (GM 0.8 and 0.9), both in terms of visuals and gameplay.
Here are some of the videos trailers showcasing the experiences:
As a result, as well as becoming a showcase for Game Maker’s capabilities, Deep Sea proved that there was a target audience within The Sandbox community who were passionate about this kind of experience.
Screenshots from Deep Sea Episode 1
On the strength of this reception, we accompanied Deep Sea with a complementary experience that we called Deep Sea: Chapter 0. Conceived as a prequel, this experience tells the story leading up to the events of the main Deep Sea experience.
Screenshots from Deep Sea Chapter 0
Today, we want to continue to explore this license that we imagined and extend its lore (freely inspired by Lovecraft’s work, The Call of Cthulhu) by offering a new experience: Deep Sea Episode 2.
Description
Presentation
Deep Sea Episode 2 is the sequel to the first Sandbox experiment. It follows the adventures of the only known survivor of the crew of the Deep Sea oil rig (events of the first experience), who escaped on board a submarine and sank in the Arctic.
A team from a scientific base not far from the wreck rescues him and discovers traces of mutilation on his body, along with an ancient artifact. What do these mutilations mean, what is this artifact and why was he shipwrecked here? These are the questions these isolated scientists will try to answer.
In Deep Sea Episode 2, the player takes on the role of one of the crew of scientists returning from a multi-week mission to explore a climatic phenomenon. On his return to base, he discovers the wrecked submarine, his base devastated and its crew mysteriously decimated.
The player must then investigate the scene in the hope of finding the missing members of his team, while a threat is about to awaken.
Objectives
With Deep Sea 2, we’re aiming to develop an even more intense experience than our previous episodes by offering a real Survival Horror thanks to the new Game Maker 0.10 features.
In fact, they give us the opportunity to build the experience around new gameplay mechanics that are key to the survival horror genre:
-
Gun battles from a distance
(enabled by Raycast functionality) -
Resource management
(item collection coupled with the inventory system enabled by the Consumables feature) -
Environmental puzzles
(based on observation and precision thanks to the Raycast function) -
Crafting system
(objects collected can be combined to create new tools or consumables: ammunition, healing packs, etc.) -
Cold management
(gauge equivalent to oxygen when the player is exposed to the cold, manageable via the various systems on display: items to craft, heat zone to activate, etc.)
These different pillars will enable us to challenge players with gameplays that are more focused on survival, and to offer a more dynamic and immersive experience.
Deep Sea Episode 2 is the ideal opportunity for us to take full advantage of the technological evolution of Game Maker, but also to contribute to the diversity of gameplay experiences offered in The Sandbox.
The Saga :
The objective is to make Deep Sea a saga with many episodes (on average 3 per year). SIP’s role is to finance the beginning of the Saga, which will then become self-financing with the sale of NFTs (NFT Pass and Utilities).
Chapter 0 (March 2024): the origins of evil
Episode 1 (March 2024): The oil station is hit by an unknown disease, investigate to find out what happened and try to save the crew members infected by a strange virus that has turned them into Zombies.
Episode 2 (October 2024): A member of the oil station manages to leave this evil place thanks to the rescue submarine. Unfortunately, he unknowingly causes the downfall of a polar research center by introducing this unknown virus.
Episode 3 (estimated March 2025): In the ruins of Teotihuacan, archaeologists discover a secret crypt containing an occult history of mankind. When they break an ancient seal, they unleash terrifying creatures that have lain dormant for millennia. As one of the archaeologists, the player must explore the ruins to restore the seal and prevent the awakening of the god Cthulhu.
Episode 4 (estimated July 2025): Set in the swampy depths of Louisiana, players take on the role of a private detective investigating a series of mysterious disappearances. When clues lead to the heart of the bayou, where ancient rituals are said to have awakened a terrifying creature that lives in the bodies of water, the player must find and stop the creature while confronting the few locals who are inexplicably hostile to the detective’s arrival.
To be continued…
Rationale and benefit
The game production will mainly be supported by The Sandbox and it is up to you to choose what new kind of game we will play on the platform.
With Deep Sea Episode 2, the community will get a fresh new experience further developing the gaming aspects possible on The Sandbox in the popular genre of survival horrors.
A new NFT collection will be on sale on which you can invest your SAND. Here are some of the proposals:
- NFT Pass to access a part of the land (secret zone giving access to additional lore and/or numerous resources: ammunition, healing, etc.).
- NFT Wearable, which makes it easier to fight the cold.
- NFT Equipment, which lets you fire your weapon without having to search for ammunition.
- NFT Cosmetics, which allows you to buy symbolic assets for the game.
- Playable Avatar
Some examples of the NFTs we could create based on Deep Sea Episode 1 & 0:
Risk analysis
We want to work on highlighting and implementing the new features enabled by Game Maker 0.10. However, this work remains to be done and we may not be able to implement all the features we want to develop.
We have different anticipated production levels with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and two key features around which we first want to focus for the experience:
- Raycast, to simulate a firearm and enable remote confrontations
- Cold Management, with a gauge equivalent to the oxygen system on land
Zombies and limited ammunition, for example, are two other important features around which we want to build the experience but which we can just as easily remove from the scope if we don’t manage to develop and integrate the feature satisfactorily (without bugs and without worrying about optimisation).
How
With a team of mainly 5 people (3D artists, game designers & a Game Maker expert) working full-time on the game for 3 months, we would be investing around 80k € in the production and marketing.
Our plan is to fund the half of the project with the DAO.
The other part would be funded by the NFT sales. With a pool of premium NFTs (higher catalyst value, special effects in-game, secret area).
In the event of a total sell-out of NFT, this will enable us to contribute to the production of the next episode of the Saga.
When
| 2024 | 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween | Finishing | Launch! | |
| October | November - December - January | February | March |
| SIP | Production of the complete Game | Polish & Debugging | Live support |
Who
Yobiké is an independent video game studio creating its own IPs on PC, VR (etc.) and has developed an expertise in metaverses, notably The Sandbox.
Here are some of the videos trailers showcasing the previous Deep Sea experiences and their TSB pages:
Experience pages:
We also carried out other experiences like:
- The Smurfs (for The Sandbox)
- Marcel Pagnol en Provence (for WhatTheProd)