We’re currently working on showing different “vision” modes. These are for use when Rose is exploring an area and using her hearing and smell to pinpoint things that are out of place.

The problem we are setting the foundation to solve is one where Rose can hone in on one sense at a time and doing so allows her to become aware to things that are otherwise invisible to her eyes.

One of many animal’s primary means of communication is pee and scent glands. Using these tools we’d be able to create pathways and notifications that can only be found through smell and represent the pee trails and markings of other dogs and animals. Going from normal sight to smell would de-saturate the normal post process but make the pee and scent markings stand out like neon. Rose could then interact with particular scent locations and messages. This will be especially important as Rose works to track down and discover the various spirits scattered throughout an area.

Sound works the same way. Stopping to listen will allow rose to experience things that she couldn’t experience with her eyes alone

Our first pass, shown below is the beginning of these materials that can be toggled on and off, and can be placed permanently and temporarily on objects. Eventually this will lead to a design tool that lets the designers paint scent trails and way points using these other senses.

In the video on display. Yellow is scent and blue is hearing. They’re currently placed over visible objects but they might be more often placed over invisible (without collision) objects. There is also the need to design a shader that allows of interesting ways of rendering this in the world.

Currently storing the vision/scent state in a material parameter. This will get more refined over time as we figure out the particulars of this design.

Also an object marked with the vision materials currently simply lerps between its original material and the vision material. This will get redefined in time but works for the purposes of our prototype.

I’m looking forward to showing more of this process as it gets closer and closer to what the aesthetic ideal, for use in play, currently is. While this is intended primarily as an information tool for the player, it needs to add to the visual flavor of the game experience in an interesting way.