How it Works

A diagram demonstrating how different editors - including PC, Mac, VR and the Hodr Engine can be all be used solo or in collaboration to create a game. The game is made from 2 main parts: login and the data. These are then passed through a system called Infinitaria, which sends the final result to popular game engines like Unity (available now) and Unreal and Godot (coming soon).

Structure

“Infinitaria” games are created by providing the core engine with configuration data that is updated and constructed using an editor. The engine supports multiple editors including visual editors for Mac, PC, VR, or editors for visually impaired developers such as the Hodr Engine.

Game developers can freely switch between editors as required, so may use a non-visual editor whilst travelling and a VR based editor for object positioning.

The game itself is rendered for the player using a 3rd party engine, Unity. We are also planning support for engines such as Unreal Engine or Godot which may be more beneficial from a licensing point of view.

Design

“Infinitaria” uses a hierarchical approach to games development with the “Game” as the top level.

Each game is a series of levels, and each level comprises of a series of maps containing arenas, players, non-player characters and in-game objects for the player to interact with.

The player narrative is controlled through a series of quests that allow the player to progress through the game.

One massively important, but overlooked facility is that the engine provides automatic save / load game features so that the developer does not have to worry about that complexity.

Map visual demonstration alt text. An illustration representing a network of interconnected arenas, demonstrating how players can transition between multiple gameplay zones. Each node labelled “ARENA” connects to adjacent arenas.

Maps

Within the level is a series of maps. These are typically based on different scenery styles, but we support the option to mix and match as required.

Initially the developer will be manually snapping together arenas to build their maps. But we have prototype functionality being tested that utilizes procedural generation to create maps of infinite size and scale.

The engine provides automatic optimization for object budgets so the developer will not need to undertake complex occlusion optimization (i.e. the engine automatically handles turning off objects players cannot see).

Arenas

The core of an “Infinitaria” game is the arena. This is a specific game play area that contains a series of exits, in-game objects, NPCs and navigable areas.

Template arenas are provided from our content library, and the developer can then customize and adjust them as required.

All objects available to be used are designed as “Infinitaria” compatible. We provide a 100% “guaranteed to work” promise to developers to avoid the issues that often occur when using bought-in 3rd party assets.

Accessible

Navigating complex game environments for visually impaired players can prove extremely challenging.

In this case, a knight character is in a cave environment with stone staircases, rivers and multiple mysterious in-game objects.

For a visually aware player, this is easy to navigate, but visually impaired players will struggle to get around.

The “Infinitaria” is designed from the ground up to provide navigation tools so that any player can move around regardless of their playing requirements.

Navigation

Navigation for visually impaired players is baked into “Infinitaria”. Generally, exits from any arena will be limited to north, south, east or west. The player can then select the direction they wish to exit, and the game will calculate a “safe route”.

The power of using “Infinitaria” is that in-arena navigation is always available using our built-in route-finding technology that allows all game objects to navigate between two points, no matter how far apart they are.

The player can use the same concept to navigate towards any object in the game.

Description visual demonstration alt text. A fantasy arena illustrating a Text-Based Description system that activates within the player's visual field. This offers spoken information about the environment and objects in view. This helps players, including those who are blind or visually impaired, to hear descriptions of items in front of them that may not produce sound, and provides an alternative description of the surrounding environment to relying completely on spatial audio cues.

Describe

Being able to “see” what is ahead of the player is a vital part of being able to play a game.

By default, all objects will have description text, an importance rating and an optional spatial audio source attached.

At any point, the player can press their “view” button, and the system will utilize AI to provide a narrative description of what is in front of them such as “You can see a golden orb in front of you, behind is a stone fountain and slightly to the right is a mysterious artifact”.

The player can then request a more detailed description of any of those objects to learn more or even navigate towards them.

Audio

The “Infinitaria” support for accessibility does not stop just with visually impaired players. Our spatial audio function also includes support for “visual audio” for deaf players.

This allows us to visualize audio on important in-game objects such as NPCs, so deaf players can “see” them creeping up behind them.

These settings are configurable for the player and may also lead to some interesting gameplay concepts where fully sighted or hearing players are forced to play levels using their non-primary senses.