Hey guys! My name is Matej Zajacik, co-founder of Fatbot Games, creators of the steampunk dungeon crawler Vaporum. Vaporum is a modern first-person, single-character, grid-based dungeon crawler in an original steampunk setting, releasing April 9 in 11 different languages.
The game revolves around combat, puzzle solving, character development, exploring an environment filled with mysteries and secrets, and uncovering a sinister story. Vaporum uses a unique system where you develop your suit, instead of the human inside, by installing gadgets that grant various skills and bonuses.
Who We Are
We are a small indie company based in Slovakia, Central Europe, founded by Tibor Repta and myself. We worked on the first prototype as roommates in his small flat while burning through our savings.
Vaporum was developed by four industry veterans (former colleagues and long-time friends) with 43 years of combined experience in the game development business and we’ve grown to six members since launch. We believe in polished games with strong storylines and high production value in terms of both visuals and gameplay.
What inspired us
A great inspiration for Vaporum was a game that has basically created its own genre: Dungeon Master (1988). Not only a genre-defining game, it was also one of the best, and was followed by many others like it.
One example of these successors is Eye of the Beholder (1991), which we paid homage to in this video. In 2012, Almost Human revived the genre by releasing Legend of Grimrock. The grid-based movement can work well with modern audio-visuals and brings the gameplay of the old titles back to our screens.
Vaporum in Detail
Combat
Combat takes place in real time. Each enemy type has a distinctive set of strengths and weaknesses, and various kinds of attacks and defense mechanisms, so you must employ different tactics to beat each one.
Weapons differ in terms of damage, but also because each weapon type has a certain unique bonus or behavior other weapons don’t have. This adds more depth and requires some thought when choosing which weapons to equip.
You wear an exoskeleton rig, which you will enhance with many types of gadgets: direct attacks, area attacks, offensive & defensive buffs, and more. While these gadgets are powerful, they also drain your energy, and some enemies are immune to certain types of attacks. So, you will have to figure out the best way to deal with every encounter.
Puzzles
Most mechanics in Vaporum are very simple. However, combining these mechanics creates intriguing puzzles where you must use both your wits and reflexes. While most puzzles and riddles are contained within a single room, progression objectives can span an entire level or even multiple levels.
Character Progression
Instead of increasing the abilities of your character, you will improve the exo-rig itself. You have four types to choose from. The system combines a “you are what you wear” aspect with the long-term development of your exo-rig. The gadget-based system allows you to equip various gadgets to help you define your own playstyle. You can change your gadget loadout at any time, giving you a great deal of flexibility to deal with various situations.
As your exo-rig improves, you get to unlock useful circuits on it, gaining significant permanent attribute bonuses and strong passive skills. These two approaches result in a ton of customization and plenty of viable character builds, all at your will.
Storyline
Uncover the mysterious storyline via written notes and recorded audio-diaries. Find out what happened to the giant structure in the middle of an ocean, its inhabitants, and most importantly, to you.
