M.A.R.S. Extraction

M.A.R.S. Extraction puts the player in a resistance group tasked with recovering plans from an enemy base to prevent a war with Earth. Work on the game began in 2015, and its first release followed that same year.

Finding your way in zero gravity

Inspired by six-degrees-of-freedom action games, the player pilots a vehicle that can move in zero gravity. Combat and exploration require an awareness of the full volume of each room, beyond movement along the ground.

The game features three levels, six weapons, three enemy types and a boss. Players begin with a simple weapon, then gain access to other ways of dealing with the base’s defences.

Adapting the game for screens and VR

The project has evolved with Unity, from version 5 to Unity 6.7. The work covers a range of configurations: keyboard and mouse, gamepad, XR controllers and touch controls on Android. A gamepad can also be used on mobile.

Versions have been made for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and browsers, as well as several generations of VR headsets. This variety has allowed me to work on adapting the controls and presentation of the same game to very different devices.

Playable versions and development archives are available on itch.io. The page distinguishes between the different builds, including a pre-beta for Quest.