Outworld Vivarium

Controls

Left joystick: horizontal movement

LB: fly up

RB: fly down

Right joystick: look around

What is "Outworld Vivarium"?

"Outworld Vivarium" is a self sufficient ecosystem that spreads freely through the consumption and growth of a variety of plants and critters, each with their own behaviors and interactions with one another. It is an intensely intricate system where the small propagates to feed and construct the big, which in turns restricts and defines its propagation. This game was developed by 4 second year students, over a period of roughly 4 months.

History and goals of the project

At first, we intended to have the player mix different elements freely to give rise to a multitude of events: but that didn't agree with the systemic firework we wanted to bring to the table. So we cut the player from the equation!

We started work on an independent system which was, at first, no more than multicolored puddles that periodically spewed out droplets of their own color. These would then go on to have a variety of reactions to one another upon mutual contact.

The final and by FAR most complexe iteration of this concept is, as seen in the final version of the game, a living ecosystem where 3 different types of creatures and 3 different types of plants coexist and feed one another in an endless and intricately orchestrated cycle.

Then, to add the player back in the equation: we gave them the ability to grab hold of and move around the plants. This might sound like a rather underwhelming impact over the system, but in practice: changing the position of even one element can quickly cause the system to head into a very different direction, the propagation of certain critters no longer controlled, or growth of certain plants now supported by far more resources.

Visuals and sound work

In creating a wholly alien world, separate from any worldly logic: we wanted to experiment with an audiovisual universe that would complete the player's immersion within this strange world.

We decided to experiment with a host of different shapes and arrangements to create plants that looked like a mix of geometrical aberrations, rock formations and... well: plants. As for the "animals" that populate the world, we decided to fully detach their shapes from their real world counterparts (although counterparts is pushing it, as their behaviors are only partly animal inspired). They became wholly geometrical shapes.

As for designing the soundscape of the game: we wanted to communicate the behaviors of the system more effectively without overwhelming the player with an incessant barrage of noise.

Having considered an approach where global events would spontaneously light up all of a single type of entity, with a sound effect sublimating it: we realized it was beyond our field of expertise and the scope of the project. Keeping that original vision close to our hearts, we sorrowfully implemented a traditional event system tied to each entity's actions and interactions, where each sound effect would (as previously planned) be accompanied by a flash of light on the object.

Find Marcel Gabbardo and his work at:

Check out the rest of my portfolio at: mgabbardo.com

Contact me at: m.gabbardo@gmail.com

Find me on Twitter/ X at: @GabbardoMarcel

Find Arthur Lunais and his work at:

Check out the rest of my portfolio at: arthurlunais.com

Contact me at: lunaisarthur@gmail.com

Find me LinkedIn at: @LUNAISArthur

Find Léo Chevance and his work at:

Check out the rest of my portfolio at: leochevance.com

Contact me at: leo.c25812@gmail.com

Find Indi Ozier-Lafontainte and his work at:

Contact me at: indi.ozier@gmail.com

Find me LinkedIn at: @OzierLafontaine Indi