Media
aBOUT THE PROJECT
Penance is a first-person survival horror game which finds players thrown into an eerie desolate mall in the middle of rural England as a subject of a frightening experiment.
A mall infested with paranormal entities torturing the player along with a horrific late-night shopper, an entity longing to feast on flesh.
With no means to take the entity down the player must search the mall to discover a possible means of escape, using their wits and guile to evade the monster hunting them, running, hiding and luring it away with distractions to avoid getting killed.
Combining permadeath, a randomised player character, a variety of unlockable shortcuts and a procedurally generated mall that changes its layout every time, Penance is a challenging and punishing game that aims to be a truly replayable horror experience.
Alarming Ladder Studios aims for this project to launch on the PC and Console markets with a highly replayable and streamable game.
About the Studio
Alarming Ladder Studios
Alarming Ladder Studios is a small indie studio based in Ipswich, Suffolk. Made from four University of Suffolk graduates, Alarming Ladder Studios focuses on making replayable experiences for all types of players. With our first title, Kingdom Run VR in the verification and release stage, Alarming Ladder Studios is excited to create a new IP within a new genre.
With a versatile team with skills in 3D modelling, level design, coding and the Unity engine. Alarming Ladder Studios is overjoyed with plans to expand and practice these skills within a working environment.
DunDev is a great opportunity for our team as being remote we haven’t had the time we would like to team build and synergise as a team. DunDev gives us an opportunity to work together in a comfortable space and be able to support each other on our next step as a studio along with the support which will only improve the individuals at Alarming Ladder Studios.
About the Team
Daniel Wiltshire
Studio Lead
My drive and passion for the industry started at a young age. With a goal of making it into the industry in sight, I attended the University of Suffolk to tackle a Game Design degree. Within the final year of my study, I spent the better part of the year working as a QA tester and game designer within the industry at AAA and indie levels.
Embarking on an even tougher adventure, I became a co-founder of Alarming Ladder Studios with Hannah Bull, with us working previously together in game jams we decided to focus on completing a game to put out into the industry. After being accepted into the Tranzfuser programme I led the charge for the growth and sustaining of Alarming Ladder Studios. Now with two new team members on board, I am now focused on creating a healthy and fun work environment for the team while they work on our next projects.
Hannah Bull
Artist
After several years of working in graphic design and marketing, I decided it wasn’t quite right for me, and I desired a more hands-on, creative role. I’ve always loved video games, but never felt like it was an option for me until I applied for a game design degree at the University of Suffolk. Although it was a difficult three years, this year I graduated with a first-class grade, co-founded our own indie game studio, won a gameplay award, and showcased at EGX London. Safe to say joining the games industry was the best decision I could have made, I feel like I’m constantly learning and growing, which I love.
Being part of an indie company is ideal for me, as I’ve found myself enjoying multiple disciplines within the industry, mainly art, level design, game design and narrative. Seeing everything come together into an actual game, and then watching people play and enjoy something you have made really is the best feeling, and still amazes me every time.
Danny Parker
Unity Developer
I have a military background, joining the British Army at 16, where I had to mature quickly. I learnt many key skills and principles that still stay with me today and help to inform my decisions and actions. I enjoy learning new skills which add to my ability to work effectively and increase my worth to others within a working environment. After a successful 4 year period in the military, I decided to refocus my career goals and through time found a passion for game design. I discovered this interest whilst working as a QA tester at Sony Interactive Entertainment.
This drove me to apply for a place on the game design course at the University of Suffolk. Throughout my time at university, I have gained many soft skills which have become essential to my success as a game designer such as communication within a team and taking an adaptive leadership role aimed to cater to unique dynamics within a team. These new skills, combined with my pre-existing skillset have helped develop me into a useful asset, ready to step into a variety of roles if required of me.