“ABSENT”: Technical Report

Mahony, Keith (2022) “ABSENT”: Technical Report. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

ABSENT is an action-adventure game set in a grounded but fictional world, with players taking on the role of a detective tracking down a missing person. The game is inspired by others that are usually referred to as immersive simulations or “immersive sims”. Examples include Thief and Deus Ex in the late 1990’s and more recently Dishonoured and 2021’s Deathloop. These games feature open-ended level design, sophisticated enemy AI and many, many ways for the player to interact with those enemies and the worlds they inhabit. Thief and Deus ex were also two of the first games to offer non-violent solutions to video game objectives –an important step for a medium which was viewed at the time (in some ways fairly) as an ultra-violent toy for (male) teenagers.

It would be impossible to match or exceed these works of art, but this project is an attempt to showcase an understanding of the design philosophies behind them, implement them on a smaller scale, and add some new ideas into the mix. I believe it’s possible to create a game with the sensibilities of Deus Ex or Dishonoured, without ever feeling the need to explain to your audience what that means. These tools will instead be used to immerse players in this fictional environment, provide them with tools to interact with it any way they see fit, and allow them to experience the story of Detective Hays in their own way.

The game has been designed from the ground up for mature audiences and will run on current and next generation consoles, plus higher end PC’s. A mobile version is technically possible but is not considered a priority.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Electronic computers. Computer science Q Science > QA Mathematics > Computer software T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Computer software G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > Games and Amusements > Computer Games. Video Games.
Divisions:	School of Computing > Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computing
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	05 Sep 2022 14:44
Last Modified:	05 Sep 2022 14:47
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5742

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