Documentation

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The initial phase of development focused on establishing core player movement and creating a basic greybox environment to test within. A first-person controller was implemented using Unity's Rigidbody system, allowing the player to walk, run, and look around using the mouse. A simple grey box structure was built as a placeholder level to test movement feel and collision before any real assets were introduced.

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A placeholder capsule was used to represent the enemy entity during early development, allowing the AI logic to be built and tested before a proper character model was introduced. This included implementing a NavMesh Agent for pathfinding, setting up patrol waypoints, and programming basic chase and search states so the entity could detect and pursue the player across the environment.

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The placeholder greybox was replaced with a fully detailed hospital asylum asset. Environmental lighting was stripped back to create a dark, oppressive atmosphere, with ambient light set to black and the directional light removed. A flashlight mechanic was introduced, attached to the player camera as a Spotlight, allowing the player to toggle it on and off and providing the only source of light when exploring the asylum

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A key collection mechanic was implemented to give the player a clear objective beyond simply surviving. Three keys were placed throughout the asylum, each randomly spawning at different locations every time the game starts to encourage replayability and prevent the player from memorising item positions. A player inventory system was created to track collected keys, displayed as a counter in the corner of the screen. Interactive doors were also added throughout the asylum, allowing the player to open and close them by pressing E when nearby, which added a layer of strategy when evading the entity. The front door of the asylum was set as the win condition, only unlocking and triggering the escape sequence once all three keys had been collected.