Barotrauma

Barotrauma is a 2D multiplayer resource management game currently in development by Undertow Games. The game was released for free as a pre-alpha version on July 31st 2015, and has received regular updates since then. Initially, a full commercial release was slated for 2016-2017, however the game remains in development. The game's source code can be found on GitHub.

Development

After the success of Joonas ("Regalis") Rikkonen's SCP - Containment Breach, he was encouraged to begin pursuing a career in game design and to start his own company, Undertow Games. He would later begin working on an entirely new game which deviated greatly from his previous works.

Barotrauma draws inspiration from several different sources. The resource management aspects of the game were inspired by Space Station 13, and may have intentionally given Regalis the idea to make the game two dimensional rather than 3D.

The horror aspects and underwater setting of the game were inspired by Pressure. Pressure is a game concept that originated from 4chan's video game board /v/. The game woud've taken place in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean inside a research lab. The lab is then attacked by underwater sea creatures and it is then up to the player to try and escape the lab. Several developers have attempted to make an actual game based on the concept, but so far none of them have been completed. The idea of having lovecraftian monsters be the main threat in the game most likely also inspired the enemies in Barotrauma as well.

The game's art style is said to be inspired by Link-Dead, a 2D side-scrolling shooter which had also been in development for a while before being presumed dead.

The game's wiring mechanic was inspired by Minecraft's redstone mechanics and MechComp in Space Station 13.

Plot

Barotrauma's time period takes place several hundred years in a future, during an era where humanity is technologically advanced enough to achieve manned interplanetary space travel.

The setting of the game is on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, which has become colonized during the space age. Due to the surface of the planet being too irradiated for survival, colonies and outposts have been established under the layer of ice which covers the surface of the moon. Beneath the ice layer is a vast ocean used as a transport network between colonies and as a source for natural resources. The ocean also allowed for the creation of transportation shafts which interconnect the colonies throughout the moon.

The ocean itself is inhabited by a number of aquatic creatures, as well as natural forming cave systems.

Gameplay

Controls

This is a list of the default controls. The keys can be customized in the options menu.

Action	Button
Activate, deactivate or pick up an item.	E
Movement	WASD
Sprint	L-SHIFT
Crouch	L-CONTROL
Use Equipped Item	MOUSE1 Left-Click
Aim Equipped Item	MOUSE2 Right-Click
Attack	R
Ragdoll Controlled Character	SPACE
Chat	TAB
Radio Chat	OemTilde (Key above TAB)
AI Crew Orders	C
Open the console.	F3 Fn+F3

Objective

See also: Maintenance

The primary goal in the Quest Mode of Barotrauma's game types, is to maintain and build a submarine. This is done by hiring and controlling all of the crew members individually. Each crew member can be given a specific job; the job chosen affects which skills the character excels at and performs badly in, although the actual percentage is randomized within a set range.

In addition, Barotrauma also has what is arguably the antagonists of the game, aquatic-based creatures which are capable of damaging your submarine and killing your crew, both intentionally and by consequence of damaging the ship. The secondary objective can be considered defending the submarine from these creatures and repairing damage by them before your ship sinks.

The game also features other game modes, with different goals or styles.

GUI

Inventory

File:7d203a9175.png

The inventory consists of 17 slots. Seven of those slots are for equipped items, as indicated by the icons displayed on them; one slot each for headgear, torso clothing, leg clothing, facial wear, an ID Card and both hands. The other ten slots house any unequipped items.

Items can be equipped by dragging them into an appropriate highlighted slot on the left. The three slots overlay over the figure's body represent the head, torso and legs. The two hand slots represent the left and right hands of that character. Some items can take up multiple slots due to their size: the railgun shells, for example, require both hand slots to carry, and the diving suit takes up the head, torso and leg slots.

Shop

Main article: Shop

One prominent feature in Barotrauma's Mission Mode is the inclusion of an in-game shop. This allows the player to purchase items, ammunition, electrical components, new crew members and certain installations. The supplies are purchased using credits, which are a form of currency that is rewarded to the player after successfully completing a task in quest mode.

Wiring Interface

See also: Wiring