03 Apr 2025
Indie games often push the boundaries of genre expectations, blending mechanics and atmosphere to create something fresh. Drownlight is a prime example of this innovation, placing players in the role of a leader fighting for survival in a world swallowed by an endless ocean. Developed by Aleksey Aleksandrov, this unique city-builder combines resource management, moral dilemmas, and a chilling sense of mystery.
At the heart of Drownlight is the lighthouse—your city’s lifeline and sole beacon in the darkness. It serves as more than just a symbolic structure; it’s your primary means of expansion and survival. The lighthouse’s beam draws in survivors, ensuring the growth of your floating city. But keeping it lit requires constant energy, making power management a critical challenge. Let the light fail, and people start disappearing. What lurks beyond the illuminated waters remains unknown, but fear spreads like a disease.
Beyond the supernatural dread, players must also contend with the physical dangers of an oceanic world. Harsh storms threaten to dismantle structures, while dead calms cut off resource supply. Even food sources, like fish, may vanish due to ecological shifts, forcing players to adapt to a constantly changing survival landscape.
One of Drownlight’s standout features is its radial city-building system, a design choice that adds both immersion and complexity. Unlike traditional grid-based layouts, the city expands outward in concentric rings around the lighthouse. This design wasn’t easy to implement—developer Aleksey Aleksandrov had to create a custom coordinate system to maintain consistent construction cells as the radius increased.
“I was convinced I’d find an existing solution,” Aleksandrov explains, “but nothing fit my needs. I had to write it from scratch, which meant diving into C++ more than I originally planned.”
Survival games thrive on immersion, and a city isn’t just its buildings—it’s the people living within it. Early in development, unit movement proved to be a major technical hurdle. Even with just 30 characters on screen, performance would drop significantly. Through innovative animation techniques, Aleksandrov optimized the game to handle up to 300 characters with only minimal performance loss. Now, the challenge shifts toward improving AI behavior, ensuring that each survivor feels like a real part of the city rather than just a number in a system.
Aleksandrov’s inspiration for Drownlight stemmed from a deep love for city-builders, particularly Frostpunk. However, when Frostpunk 2 shifted its gameplay focus, he felt the emotional connection to his city had been lost. This realization fueled his own project, aiming to capture the weight of every decision and the responsibility of protecting a desperate population.
Around the same time, his previous game, I.O. Setter, didn’t pan out. Instead of stepping back, he used that moment as an opportunity. From that spark, Drownlight was born.
Developed in Unreal Engine using C++, Drownlight is not a solo endeavor. Aleksandrov collaborates with talented 2D and 3D artists, and a dedicated sound designer is crafting the game’s eerie atmosphere. A 2D story trailer is in the works to shed more light on the game’s backstory, set to release within a month.
As the project grows, so does the need for additional developers - especially programmers excited about bringing this haunting world to life.
With its gripping blend of city-building, survival, and eerie mystery, Drownlight stands as a promising indie title that challenges players not just to manage resources, but to maintain hope in the face of an unforgiving world. Will your city thrive, or will the darkness consume it?
Keep Calm and waka waka...
