Perception is a new project being developed by veterans of Irrational Games that puts players in the role of an intrepid heroine named Cassie, as she investigates a sprawling, abandoned estate in her dreams. She also happens to be blind, and so instead of seeing things conventionally, she navigates the game world by way of a form of echolocation.
The trouble with echolocation, as anyone who's played Red Storm Rising can tell you, is that actively "pinging" your environment to see what's going on around you generates noise that can alert enemies to your location. In Perception, that would be the "Presence," a generations-old force of evil that's now hunting Cassie. She doesn't have any weapons with which to fight back; instead, she will rely on "her wit, her cane, and her smart phone" to decipher clues and unravel the mysteries of the mansion, and the Presence.
Perception is being developed by The Deep End Games, an indie studio formed by developers who have previously worked on games including BioShock, BioShock Infinite, The Godfather, Dead Space, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Rock Band. The project has been self-funded so far, but the team is now looking to Kickstarter to finance the completion of the game.
"It’s important to understand that we’re a team of vets with decades of experience creating games. Many of us have worked together and are expert with Unreal. Long story short, this is not our first rodeo," the the studio wrote. "We have carefully budgeted and planned this project and we pride ourselves on being brutally honest with ourselves. We will be working extremely hard to meet your expectations and we will keep you informed along the way."
The Deep End is seeking $150,000 in funding for Perception, with stretch goals for things like Mac and Linux editions, a bonus chapter, and VR support. It's currently aiming for a June 2016 release, although that could obviously change depending on how the Kickstarter works out. So far it looks to be off to a fairly solid start, with close to $12,000 (and counting) raised in its first day. The Perception Kickstarter runs until June 25.
