Infection - Episode 1
| Infection - Episode 1 - The ship | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author | WHAM |
| Designed by | WHAM |
| Written by | WHAM |
| Artwork by | WHAM |
| Sprites by | WHAM |
| Backgrounds by | WHAM |
| Programmed by | [WHAM]] |
| Music by | Ferrara |
| Sound Effects by | Freesoundproject |
| Testing by | Leon |
| Produced by | WHAM |
| Release date | May 07, 2008 |
| Length | Short |
| Language | English, German translation available |
| AGS Games page | |
Infection - Episode 1 - The ship is a freeware game, created with AGS. It was a solo operation by WHAM, with only the music and some of the voice acting coming from outside sources. It is a short and straightforward adventure game, with simple action and survival horror themes added into the mix. The ship is the first game ever released by WHAM, and acts as the first episode in a trilogy of Infection games.
The game borrows themes and ideas from the much praised AGS game: 7 Days a Skeptic.
Design and developement
As the game served as its developer's first foray into AGS game developement and pixel art, the project went through several iterations before taking its final shape. Originally the game was nothing but a simple male character, dressed in a green protective suit and a helmet, walking around in a small underground complex. The version consisted of two rooms and a few hotspots, and was created using the AGS 2.72's now outdated script commands and drop-down menu's.
After a while the game was moved onto a spaceship and a simple storyline, completed by a small cast of characters, was created as a foundation to be built upon in the sequels. The project gained momentum as the AGS community, through forum interactions, assisted in solving issues and adapting the old script into the new object-based scripting.
The final graphical look of the game combines two views: firstly the graphics were designed to be simple, in order to keep the amount of work for the creator in check, and secondly to emulate a certain low-resolution, low color, retro look.
Music
'The ship' features an all-original ambient soundtrack by Tony "Ferrara" Caven. The soundrtack consists of thee musical pieces: the intro, outro and main themes, and amount to over 40 minutes of music.
Story
The game takes place in the year 3118. Mankind has ventured deep into space, colonizing and terraforming worlds and setting up space stations at strategically important locations. In the years past, space was practically a warzone, as roving bands of space-pirates attacked ships and colonies alike, and the colony security fleets fought back with tooth and nail. After over a century of violence and turmoil, the colonies formed an alliance: the United Earth Federation, in order to form a centralized government and to combat the pirates.
The following military campaining lasted for decades, and resulted in making the galactic coreworlds safe for travellers and convoys. Only pirate sightings come from the furthest reaches of the galaxy, where only small mining colonies and military installation still function. As the UEF fleets became more efficient, the massive numbers of ships became useless and entire units were disbanded.
One such military installation, the now obsolete UEF research installation on a small barren moon labeled simply as LR-05, is being decomissioned. Most of its building materials will be recycled, but some of its equipment will be sent the the 'Black Hole disposal facility' in the very core of the galaxy. To transport the two containers there, the local UEF administration hires a small transportation company, hoping to avoid pirates and other attention to the shipment. The company, run by just three people with an old UEF cargo ship, takes the job, loads up the cargo and heads towards the galactic core.
Only a few weeks into the flight, still in the outer reaches, the ships automated systems awaken the crew from hypersleep, informing them of an emergency: something has exploded inside the cargo bay. The crew begins to investigate, but not everything is as it seems.