Workbenches

Another mechanic I have planned for the game is the ability to create new tools and weapons using things you find. I first saw this in BioShock, but the mechanic will be rather different in Crystal Crypt. For instance, instead of the U-Invent kiosks of BioShock, which I found to be rather odd in an underwater paradise city, the hero of Crystal Crypt must use the more natural workstations found in offices and labs. The supplies you find will also be more in keeping with the laboratory setting.

How you use these workstations is drastically dfferent from BioShock in that you don't really know how to make an item, apart from a basic guide as to what you need. A grenade, for instance, needs at least a container, an explosive, and a crystal to power it. What type of container and what explosive you use affect how the grenade funtions. You can also add an "accessory" to give it a different effect, such as a vial of Sulfic Acid for chemical burn damage, a strip of magnesium to make a flash grenade, or just some extra explosive for more oomph.

I won't spoil the other possible items you can make, but I'm trying to find some really neat things to build with these workstations.

The workstations also double as a way to spend a different kind of crystal on upgrading your PSIgauntlet. The game will explain this in that these crystals enhance the dfferent types of emitters, at the same time enabling the Gauntlet to interpret new commands from your brain. The interface will be similar to a skill tree.

That about wraps things up for now. Don't expect Crystal Crypt to hit shelves for a couple more years, if I ever get it off the ground at all.