What is Lone Sol?

Lone Sol is an upcoming narrative-driven exploration game created by [NAME_HERE].games, a team of final-year students from Falmouth University. Set in the Renaissance-inspired solar punk city of La Nouvelle, players control the protagonist Sol and her robot companion as they navigate the city and solve puzzles to uncover the truth about her missing father and the city's fate. Players will use platforming mechanics to explore the rooftops, searching for scattered "data terminals" and ultimately make their way to the central Tower where all the answers lie.

Who is Sol?

Finalised concept art of the main character, Sol Barbeau - Anna Forsyth

Sol 3d model - Sophie James

The protagonist of Lone Sol is Sol Barbeau, an 11-year-old girl known for
her intelligence and courage. Sol lost her mother at a young age and was
raised solely by her father, Dr. Barbeau, with whom she has a strong bond.
Though she is deeply saddened by the disaster in her city and the
disappearance of her father, she is determined to find him at any cost.

Who is the companion character?

Silhouette concepts for RoBo - Anna Forsyth

Sol's companion in the game is Prototype 013, also known as "RoBo," from the
Shooting Star project. RoBo is a drone designed to resemble a stingray, and
assists Sol in navigating the city. RoBo's unique shape allows for smooth
gliding, but players must be cautious as it has a limited weight capacity
and its propellers may not be able to lift it if it exceeds this limit.

What is La Nouvelle?

City concept render - Oliver Gisborne

La Nouvelle early blockout in engine - Harry Crowe

In Lone Sol, the game is set in the city of La Nouvelle. The city combines
elements of Renaissance-era architecture with a futuristic solar punk theme,
featuring skyscrapers with lush vegetation on their exteriors. A key aspect
of the city's technology is the use of clean and renewable energy sources
meaning the city can still generate power despite falling into dismay.
Following unexpected weather, water flooded the city of La Nouvelle leaving
the city to ruin.

Game Mechanics

In Lone Sol, the gameplay centers on exploring the city and solving puzzles. The initial release version (v1.0.0) of the game will allow players to navigate the city by gliding with the assistance of RoBo, Sol's robot companion, but will not include puzzles. In future updates, we plan plan to add climbing mechanics to the game. The glide mechanic in the game allows Sol to glide by holding down the spacebar. However, players should be cautious as RoBo, has limited energy while gliding and may drop Sol if it runs out.

Gliding mechanic in engine

RoBo and Sol placeholders in engine

La Nouvelle blockout in engine

Audio

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Lone Sol currently hosts two tracks, "Bedroom 2" and "Drowned City", composed by Sam Parkyn, a final-year Music student at Falmouth University. "Bedroom 2" is played primarily at the beginning of the game, when Sol is searching for her father in her own home. "Drowned City" is played during the exploration of the game's city. Currently, these tracks will play on a loop while the we work on completing the rest of the game. Additional tracks will be added to the queue system as they are completed.

Dialogue

The game includes temporary dialogue, which was recorded by the game's producer and her flatmate as a test for the subtitle system within Unreal Engine, as the team had not used it before. This dialogue is subject to change and is included as a demonstration of the game's story progression. When players enter certain areas, the current dialogue will stop and new dialogue will begin. To fully experience the dialogue, players should wait until all dialogue has finished playing before moving to the next room.