Descending - PSX Style Indie Game
Descending is a PSX style horror game where the player manages information while operating drills for an unknown organization. The game is set in a warehouse at the bottom of a giant hole that houses your living quarters and the drills you manage.
Game can be played here: https://leth4.itch.io/descending
Gameplay footage can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs9Aqk1W3hA
Descending was featured on the websites of PCGamer and 80LV. Links to the articles here:
https://80.lv/articles/discover-the-secret-hidden-under-a-drill-in-this-short-horror/
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/descending-is-a-free-iron-lung-style-horror-game-where-you-drill-a-giant-borehole-for-the-glory-of-your-country/
Collaborators:
Game Designer - Eugene Radaev
Music and Audio - Maxim Panchenko
Warehouse exterior
Elevator Structure
Elevator during a gas storm.
Elevator Cab
Warehouse Interior
Main Interior Room - The Game Designer and I collaborated on this space to make the size and placement of props facilitate the gameplay.
Control Panel - The majority of the panels are disabled at the beginning of the game. As the game progresses, more panels activate for the player to manage.
Control Panel Detail
Battery Storage and Water Cooler - The color red was used to mark interactive objects around the warehouse.
Living Quarters
There are full ashtrays and empty food cans in the living quarters from the previous worker.
Food Canister Detail
I love secret collectables in games, so I added a secret compartment to the locker.
The Basement - The main area where the drilling equipment is stored. There are two drill wells and a large soil pumping machine.
A big part of the lighting design was getting the grated floor to cast shadows over the basement. We added transparent meshes over the top floor so light would come through without making the warehouse too visually noisy.
This machine was based on a horseshoe crab. I love when machines have organic design elements, it makes them seem more eerie to me. I liked the idea of the machine having a shell and scurrying parts underneath it.
Crane Elevator - This prop was created to solve the design problem of how to get the player to the bottom of the hole for the ending. I enjoyed creating the folded up version of this prop and the animation when it unfolds.
The Hole - Ending location of the game. I used cold lighting to emphasize the chilling twist.
To make the ending more impactful, I decided to go with a more realistic style for the corpse than I had seen in other PSX style games.
(Warning: Audio is loud.)
All models used in the game.
Posters created for the game. Painted in Photoshop. I was inspired by Soviet-era posters and constructivism.