Now that our core system is fully designed, the next step in developing Electronic Evolution is to plan and implement how everything will look in the final version of the game. Of course, we still have a long road ahead, but to have a playable prototype that reflects our intentions in every level — gameplay, art, and sound — we first need a HUB. More than a place to adjust variables that’ll change the combat phase of Electronic Evolution, our HUB must be part of the story and become a safe place to introduce new gameplay mechanics organically. In other words, Electronic Evolution’s HUB needs to be meaningful. Here’s how we pursued this goal.

Why Does ‘Electronic Evolution’ Has a HUB?

The core of any roguelite experience is the run, the combat phase in which players face challenges while trying to reach a goal. When a roguelite focuses on randomness, they don’t need a HUB. For example, Binding of Issac is one of the greatest roguelites ever created, and it’s doing just fine without a HUB. Since Binding of Isaac’s only permanent progression is unlockable items added to the random pool for each run, the game doesn’t need a place to show the player everything that changed since they started their first run. Both Dead Cells and Spelunky also keep their HUB to a minimum size, the first to give the player a weapon choice before engaging in combat, the second to offer shortcuts that change how a run develops.

While it is perfectly possible to create successful roguelites without HUBs, a central place players can explore between runs becomes necessary if the game has either a planning phase where players can make choices that will affect the run, a story to tell, or both. Darkest Dungeon, for instance,  push players to carefully plan how they’ll build their team of dungeon crawlers before facing the underground menaces of the old mansion. Also, Children of Morta uses the moments between runs to tell the Bergsons’ story and show how the family keeps living even while the world is filled with danger.

We wanted both Electronic Evolution to give the players new tools they could use for each run and tell a great story. So, we didn’t have to discuss for too long before deciding we wanted a HUB. Implementing a HUB allows us to keep introducing new tools, keeping the core gameplay fresh and progressively increasing the complexity of the player’s choices at the start of each run. The HUB is also where bits and pieces of Electronic Evolution’s story are presented to the player — we don’t ever want to interrupt the flow of combat with dialogue. So, with our minds set on creating a HUB, the question then became how to do it in a meaningful way.

‘Electronic Evolution’s HUB | From Design to Implementation

Electronic Evolution occurs in a virtual world where a corrupt AI called the Alpha-Imitator infiltrated the International League of Superheroes’ (ILS) database while plotting to spread its code worldwide. The Alpha-Imitator was created by accident by the hacker-genius superhero Bastille while she was putting together a Combat Simulation that could help all members of the ILS to train in a safe space. Unfortunately, Bastille did too good of a job, and now the Simulation is trying to take over ILS’ computers. To fight the Alpha-Imitator malware, the player controls a heroic AI called B3X3 (we pronounce it “Bexe”). The Simulation, however, is not the only virtual place B3X3 can explore. While B3X3’s AI is trapped inside the ILS’ computers until the Alpha-Imitator is contained, there’s a safe corner of the virtual world where he can take a binary breath and get ready to fight again: a digital model of ILS’ headquarters’ command center. The command center is a safe space Bastille tries to keep free from malware while analyzing the combat data B3X3 collects and creating new tools her robot companion can use. 

In Electronic Evolution’s HUB, the player will gain access to new Weapons, nem Attachments that grant secondary abilities, and a Research station where they can improve the virtual model of their combat armor. The command center is also where the player can communicate with Bastille to learn more about what’s happening outside the simulation or search through ILS’s Database to learn more about the past and present missions of the superheroes. Since the Alpha-Imitator uses the Database to improve the Combat Simulation, this knowledge might come in handy. Basically, the command center is a safe place where players can dive as deep as they want in Electronic Evolution’s story while choosing new equipment to try out the next time they enter the Combat Simulation.

We wanted the HUB also to reflect the story progression and reward the player for keep facing the Alpha-Imitator until they defeat the supervillain. That’s why we came up with the idea of breaking down our HUB and letting the player put it together as they progress through Electronic Evolution.

When players first start Electronic Evolution, they will see the command center as it’s designed: a virtual model that echoes the real world headquarters of the ILS. However, everything will get corrupted once the Alpha-Imitator gains conscience and attacks ILS’ servers. The virtual command center becomes shattered to reflect this corruption.

It was not enough to shatter the command center, though. We needed to put rebuild it. As B3X3 keeps his incursions in the Simulation, the heroic robot will destroy snippets of the Alpha-Imitator code, freeing more memory on ILS’ servers. With this new memory, Bastille can put the command center back together and give more tools the player can use to take down the Alpha-Imitator, once and for all.

In-game, each fragment of the HUB is connected to a new kind of gameplay or narrative tool the player will get access to as they keep playing Electronic Evolution. That means at the end of a new run, when the player comes back to the HUB, they might discover that a new part of the command center is available.
Piece by piece, players will put the HUB back together, gaining new tools they can experiment with while trying to take down the Alpha-Imitator and clear ILS’ computers from the evil entity.