How interesting could a train really be?

For those of you that are unaware, Hyperrail Detective is a roguelite game that takes place on a luxurious train in a dystopian future. Every time you quit, lose, or restart the game, everything about the train changes, from the placement of objects to order of train cars to the teams your enemies will attempt to thwart you with. Today, we'll be discussing some of the elements of the train and how we designed it.

Originally, the idea was for each car to feature a unique element like a shop, a minigame, or an ordeal for the player to overcome. This meant that the cars were pre-built, and the elements (i.e. the shop items) were randomized. However, this also led to a bit of a repetitive environment. Each car was similar, and the progression through cars amounted to "move to the right." This didn't feel very futuristic, or luxurious, and after a few attempts, it started to wear on us.

So, we changed it.

We blew up the train cars to about four times the size and redesigned the environments to feature more diverse and more interesting environments. Rather than focusing on a specific element, we shifted the focus to the environment itself. The environments feature puzzles, interactive elements, hints, decorations, and more that diversify them and give players something to do while making their way through the train.

Unfortunately, most of the environments in the current build will have to be redesigned, so we don't have an update for this round, though we have created a temporary trailer while we work on a more permanent one. 

For more updates, feel free to wishlist on Steam, follow along on Twitter, or join us on Discord!

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