Game Title
Changelings

Developer Name
Changelings

Short Promo Blurb
Restore balance to an enclave of nature besieged by industrialization to ensure its survival for generations.

Full Description
Changelings is an interactive ecosystem simulator that centers around death and rebirth.

As a force of nature, switch between control of 3 inhabitants whose actions have a ripple effect on one another, slowing down impeding forces that attempt to consume their home — a tale in which everyone has to take action to save their environment.

Promo Image(s)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15rTEzTmakzTbm4m_hEb-X8SL9iEsRngw?usp=drive_link

Promo Video
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15rTEzTmakzTbm4m_hEb-X8SL9iEsRngw?usp=drive_link

Artistic Statement / Use of Theme(s)
Changelings aims to ‘change the story’ of climate change by illustrating how challenging it is for individuals to be aware of our impact.
By adopting different perspectives and engaging in a collective effort, we understand our interconnectedness as inhabitants of the planet.
Our work was primarily inspired by The Egg, a short story by Andy Weir, which explores the idea that every person is a reincarnation of us and that the planet was made for us.

Development Summary
We started by brainstorming several problem statements with “How might we represent disinformation in an interactive experience” and “How might we depict a nuanced picture of the future of climate change” being the most interesting to us.
We liked the concept of depicting 3 unique and fictional species and devoted a week to modeling and animating them.
We are proud of how the models turned out, but from playtesting we could have spent more time onboarding the player with our unique gameplay.
Besides a scripted in-game tutorial, It was difficult to cut several concepts that would have deepened gameplay such as additional interactable objects and a day-night cycle.

Release Plan
The current build is playable as a prototype of our intended concept
Focus on usability, ensuring that gameplay and mechanics feel intuitive to first-time players
Add mechanics (day-night cycle, mini-objectives, and more obstacles) to extend gameplay.
Polish and add animations to current models and add a ‘Hunter’ model.