🏠 Saint Aveline: Survival Horror

🎮 Game Backstory

Saint Aveline is a tense survival horror game set in the world of Yanorra.

On the small island of Saint Aveline, once a quiet refuge off the coast of the nation of Duvessa, war has arrived. As the mainland burns in civil conflict between the authoritarian Dornish Order and the insurgent Sombra-Qhari Guerrillas, the island’s fragile peace collapses overnight.

Players take the role of a family patriarch struggling to escape the siege with his wife, children, and elderly father. Trapped amid the occupation, the player must navigate shattered streets, scarce resources, and impossible moral choices while protecting the family. Every decision carries weight, and each mistake could cost a life.

🎥 Devlog

Follow the development through live streams at YouTube.

🧪 Technologies Used

Tool / Engine	Purpose
Unity 6000	Game engine
C#	Core gameplay logic and systems
NavMesh Components	AI pathfinding and navigation
TextMeshPro	UI and HUD systems
Unity UI Toolkit	Modern menus and HUD overlays
Git	Version control

✨ Key Features

• First-Person ↔ Third-Person toggle
• Permadeath survival mechanics
• Basic stealth, combat, and detection systems
• Player-controlled NPC family members
• Randomized NPC spawns and AI pursuit

🎯 Prototype Goals

• ✅ Establish basic player movement (FPS + 3rd person toggle).
  • 🔹 First Person
  • 🔹 Third Person
  • 🔹 1st/3rd Person Toggle
• ✅ Build a small portion of the tower (Ground Floor + 9th Floor + Roof).
• ✅ Implement basic AI
  • 🔹 Patrol
  • 🔹 Chase
  • 🔹 Attack
• ✅ Create initial stealth and combat mechanics.
• ✅ Set up family NPCs with basic interaction and survival dynamics:
  • 🔹 Friendly NPCs (e.g., SonNPC) use a custom C# state machine
  • 🔹 States for POC: Idle (rotates to face player) and Follow (tracks player via NavMeshAgent)
• ✅ Establish basic ending conditions (reach the roof or kill all guards).

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🏗️ 1. Foundation & Scene Setup

1. Create a New Unity Project

   • Set up a 3D scene with default lighting
   • Import basic player model, camera, and controller

2. Create Test Tower Layout

   • Build 3 floors for testing:
     • 🛡️ Ground Floor – Sandbags, entry points, 1–2 guards
     • 🏠 9th Floor – Player apartment, family interaction
     • 🚁 Roof – Flare signal point
   • Use ProBuilder or modular building assets

3. Lighting and Atmosphere

   • Use dim lighting for tension
   • Add ambient war sounds (gunfire, footsteps, wind, etc)

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🎮 2. Player & Camera Setup

1. FPS and 3rd Person Controller

   • Use CharacterController
   • Implement WASD + mouse look
   • Add jump and crouch
   • Toggle between FPS and 3rd-person modes

2. Smooth Camera Transitions

   • Use Lerp or SmoothDamp
   • Adjust FOV per perspective

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👹 3. AI and Enemy Mechanics

1. Basic AI States

   • 🟢 Patrol – NavMesh-based pathing
   • 🟡 Alert – React to noise or sight
   • 🔴 Chase – Pursue player
   • ☠️ Attack – Trigger animation or damage

2. Stealth Mechanics

   • Raycast for enemy vision
   • Line-of-sight logic
   • Detection meter UI element

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🏃 4. Survival and Combat

1. Weapons

   • Add knife or Molotov
   • Hit detection and damage logic

2. Noise Distraction

   • Player can generate sound (e.g. pututu horn)
   • AI reacts and enters alert state

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👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 5. Family Dynamics

1. Family AI

   • 👦 Pachacuti (son) follows player, uses pututu
   • 👧 Kusi-Rose (daughter) crawls through vents
   • 👴 Túpac (grandfather) helps in combat

2. Permadeath System

   • Family death is permanent and impactful

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🏆 6. Victory and Failure Conditions

1. Victory

   • 🚁 Reach roof and signal helicopter
   • ☠️ Eliminate all enemy guards

2. Failure

   • 💀 Player or essential family death
   • 🛑 Caught by enemy AI

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🎯 7. UI and Feedback

1. ❤️ Health Bar for player/family
2. 👁️ Detection Meter (stealth feedback)
3. 🎒 Ammo/Inventory UI

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🔥 8. Playtesting and Refinement

1. Test:

   • Stealth system (vision, noise)
   • AI behavior (patrol, chase, attack)
   • Combat feedback

2. Adjust difficulty and AI based on feedback

   • Polish controls and camera transitions