Media
Technical Overview
- Engine: Unity 6000.0.39f1 (URP)
- Language: C#
- Target Platform: PC (Standalone Build, WebGL prototype)
- Core Systems: Trigger volumes, door access system, object interaction, audio cue system, environmental timers, state persistence
- Visuals: Shader Graph, Post-Processing Stack, Dynamic Lighting
- Audio: Custom-composed ambient layers, FMOD planned (future)
Development Roadmap
- Pre-Production: World design, core mechanic prototyping, narrative framing (complete)
- Vertical Slice: Fully functional loop system with basic interaction and environmental storytelling (in progress)
- Expansion Phase: Modular room generation, AI-driven surveillance logic, alternate loop outcomes (planned)
- Polish & Testing: Performance optimization, accessibility, UX passes, polish lighting/audio transitions
- Release Candidate: Export standalone build for showcase and public playtesting
Game Summary
Recursion is a first-person immersive sim set within a sprawling, looping office facility overtaken by a rogue AI. The game blends exploration, environmental storytelling, and philosophical choice. Players must uncover the mystery of the facility, their role in it, and ultimately decide whether to resist or embrace the systems at play.
Core Gameplay Loop
- Explore the office complex and discover secrets.
- Solve environmental and logical puzzles to progress.
- Interact with terminals, access cards, and anomalies.
- After 30 minutes, time resets — but knowledge is retained.
Key Features
- Time-loop mechanic with persistent narrative progression
- Environmental storytelling and diegetic interactivity
- Surveillance systems and AI-controlled spaces
- Latent choice and morally ambiguous decision-making
- Physics-based object manipulation introduced later in the loop
Environmental Design: Diegetic Interaction
Dynamic lighting simulating unstable facility infrastructure. Flickering lights are used to build tension, signal environmental changes, and hint at environmental disturbances.
Environmental Design: Light Flicker
Dynamic lighting simulating unstable facility infrastructure. Flickering lights are used to build tension, signal environmental changes, and hint at environmental disturbances.
Environmental Design: Room Tracking
Dynamic lighting simulating unstable facility infrastructure. Flickering lights are used to build tension, signal environmental changes, and hint at environmental disturbances.
Setting & Themes
The facility is a brutalist office complex hiding experimental research and anomalies. While outwardly mundane, it becomes increasingly distorted as loops progress. Themes include control vs. resistance, enforced productivity, latent freedom, and the ethical use of technology.
Development Notes
Developed as part of a university capstone project. Built in Unity using C#, Shader Graph, Timeline, and custom sound design. Systems include door access control, terminals, anomaly triggers, and dynamic lighting feedback. A looping prototype vertical slice is the current milestone.
Documents
For those interested in development process, you can view the commit history and production planning below:
Game Design Document Jira Task Receipts Git Log