Dust Remains is a first-person action game in which you explore a deserted landscape in search of eight targets to eliminate. When I started making this game, I had a few very clear goals I wanted to aim for: create varied, challenging boss fights; recontextualize fail states to avoid repeating content; and create a systemic combat system to encourage player experimentation. To maintain that vision, I also set some restrictions on myself for the game's design. I think it's worth sharing those restrictions so you can know what features will not be in my game. I would not have any other enemies or NPCs; no stats or leveling mechanics; no skill trees or resource management; no cinematics or nondiegetic UI elements; and no arsenal of weapons-- just one highly versatile weapon. Some of these restrictions were in service of scope, but others were in service of immersion. I wanted to make a game which never felt like an arcade game or a movie. An experience that never pulls you away and reminds you that the game world is manufactured. With my goals and these restrictions, I think I set myself up to achieve that aim. It's up to you to decide if I really did or not. If you're reading this from top-to-bottom, I'd encourage you to stop reading and try the game yourself. Of course, that's easy for me to say as someone who already knows what the game is about and isn't spending money on it. If you're still uncertain if you'd like to try the game out, then hopefully reading further will give you more insight into what you're in for.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this game-- or at least I think so-- is the enemy A.I. Looking across the FPS genre, it's surprising how simple minded most artificial intelligence is in most games. As I got into to game development, it became more and more clear why so many games hopped on the zombie trend: it's really easy to program a brain-dead beast with one goal. Creating a complex, intelligent being is a far greater challenge. Look no further than Chess A.I. to see an example of how complicated these things can get. So I needed to figure out how to craft intelligent enemies. Ones which could understand what you're about to do and plan accordingly. Now, not every enemy is this smart-- some are stupid, shortsighted, or careless. But most importantly, each boss is unique in the way it thinks. I felt like this was integral to making the experience more authentic: to have each boss behave in a way which is true to its character. For you, the player, this means that you can't always go into each fight with the same tactic. Ideally, you'll have to study your opponent just as they are studying you. Each enemy will have strengths and vulnerabilities, but it won't always be crystal clear from the outset. My hope is that this will make for varied, tactful combat which will avoid falling into repetition as the game continues.