Video games are best when the interactivity of the medium allows players to thoroughly explore their central themes.  Unlike non-interactive media like TV or movies, games give players the ability to not only see themes presented in the world, but to feel out how their actions fit those themes.  When it’s done right, mechanics, setting and plot all inform one another, all helping to hold the theme up on center stage.

Retrovirus’ theme is simple: give the player a take on what it might be like to be an anti-virus program fighting against a system full of viruses.  We’re working to deliver that experience on many fronts.  Mechanically, we’ve focused on the idea of what an anti-virus program actually does, that is, scanning the system for anomalies.  Scanning is core to what a real life anti-virus program does, and so too is it core to the gameplay of Retrovirus.

Scanning is the primary way that the player asks questions of the game world, doing so by casting a pulse out into the world that highlights objects of interest.  One of the core functions of the scanner is to glean information from those objects, whether it be plot-related or directly related to progression.  Our goal is to encourage players to probe their world, exploring each space to find objects that will help them discover the origins of the virus and how they might defeat it.  If we do our job right, when players get stumped on how to progress, their first instinct will be to use the scanner to look for nearby clues.  We’re using the metaphor of a police station to represent the anti-virus’ base on the system, and in a way, we’re also asking the player to play detective.

We also want to make sure that, when combat heats up, players don’t just forget about scanning.  All of the weapons in Retrovirus interact with the scanner in their own unique way, whether it’s allowing the player to create temporary obstructions in the world or to help guide projectiles to their target.  Scanning in combat helps players unlock the extra potential of their weapons, and even helps them track enemies and assess combat scenarios before running in head first. This helps to reinforce the theme by constantly remind the player that they’re an anti-virus program, and that scanning is what they do.

Some of the specific weapon interactions are pretty cool so far, and we can’t wait to show them off.  Keep following us for more details as we share them, and thanks for reading!