The Icarus Incident
is a game designed and developed entirely by three students of game
design at High Point University. The game was programmed and runs on
a digital gaming platform called Scratch. The game is set aboard a
spaceship called Icarus,
which has become infested by alien lifeforms that have wiped out the
entire crew, leaving you as the sole survivor. It combines action
and puzzle elements for a fast-paced but deep gaming experience.
The Team
Ben Bailey – Programmer and Designer
Ben Thuss – Art Director and Designer
Zach Dlouhy – Sound Engineer and Designer
When we started the game design process, the concept we proposed was
“Zelda in space, with zombies.” This meant that we wanted an
isometric interface, engaging combat mechanics, and some kind of
puzzle to be included in the game. With those goals in mind, the
three of us designed a three-level long game that would feature
numerous puzzles and many different enemy types. Unfortunately, once
we got into looking at the number of unique sprites and scripts that
would require to be built in Scratch, we determined that three levels
were unfeasible within the confines of the limited program we had to
work with. Instead, we condensed our ideas into one level and
streamlined it, making it more efficient and reducing the risk of
lag.
Once the design process was complete, we each went about our
individual tasks. Ben Thuss acquired all the graphical resources we
needed. Zach Dlouhy edited together all the sounds and music for the
game. And I programmed the gameplay engine and put all the pieces
together at the end. After plenty of testing and debugging, the game
was finally completed and posted to the Scratch website. You can now
play it here.
