Hi, Reader. Seeing that this is the first big Itch.io post I've ever written, it's only fair that I introduce myself before I talk about Derelict.

Who am I?

Astrum Games is the name of my to-be game development studio run solely by me. I'm a fresh-faced Graduate Game Designer who finished a Bachelor of Game Development (Design Major) at the end of 2023. During that course, I had the opportunity to ideate, pitch and build dozens of prototypes of various genres and platforms including VR.

Videogames were a very important part of my childhood, and they have helped me deal with and learn a lot of things, and so I grew up with a ceaseless passion and curiosity for the medium, and now that I've finished my course I am more than excited to start making my own games with the hopes to capture the positive influence games had on me and give that to other people in the games that I make.

Derelict will be the first ever full release game that I've ever developed, meaning that I will be designing, building, marketing and publishing the game as a full paid title. Although I am currently studying a Diploma in animation full-time, I will be tirelessly and passionately developing Derelict in every moment I can spare, and I already have a solid foundation for the core movement and game play that I built over my summer break.

Although this is a big game to make as an "inexperienced" solo developer, I am not worried about it failing.

Derelict's financial success does not matter to me. Although it'd be nice if this game had 1000 or so sales, that's not important. What's important is that the few people who buy it and play it, whether that's 500, 300 or even just 50, thoroughly enjoy it through and through.

If people love it or even just really like it, than I'm happy.

Derelict is not meant to be the next Undertale or Stardew Valley, it is meant to be a starting point for my career, whether that means getting enough support to develop games full time or just using it for my portfolio to get a job in a studio.

High Concept

Derelict is a physics-based puzzle plat-former inspired by Prey (2017) and Half Life. In this game, you play as an Orbital Shipbuilder who has escape the Event Horizon, a massive colony ship/research station you were building, after an engine misfire leaves the ship stranded and damaged at the edge of the solar system. 

To escape, you will have to maneuver your way through the ship's elaborate complexes, manipulate the environment using your Shipbuilding tools, survive the hazards of the ship and space and salvage the scrap and parts of the ship to repair and control the ship's systems to your advantage. You are alone, isolated from the rest of civilization, the dangers of spaceship is dangerous and the stakes are high, but you are not unprepared.

Derelict's main inspiration for the overall feel is Prey (2017), but not for the horror elements or the gun-play, but the station itself. The quiet moments of exploration, navigating the ship and experiencing the quiet dread and horror of delving deeper and deeper into the ship throughout the game. Derelict is a game without enemies or dialogue, but even during the quiet moments there will always be a bit of tension, and that's why I'm taking inspiration from Prey's environment and level design.

When will Derelict be released?

Derelict is expected to release late December this year as a paid title, with at least one public prototype/demo builds released here on Itch at some point in development to showcase what to expect in the full release.
Depending on how much of the desirable scope I manage to fit into the final release, the price of the game will be somewhere between 5 to 20 AUD (Australian Dollars).


That about wraps up everything I felt I needed to say about Derelict. I'll be happy to answer any questions people have.
Thank you so much for reading everything here. If you're interested in the game, please follow me for all future development logs and updates regarding the game's development, or you can contact me on discord at the username coreycosmonaut.