Laser imaging, detection, and range
Steelkrill Studios, the makers of lo-fi horror game The Backrooms 1998, have announced that they’ll be releasing The Voidness into the void of Early Access on March 17, 2023.
The Voidness is a unique horror game with an experimental twist. For much of the game, you’re immersed in complete darkness and are only able to perceive your surroundings with a lidar scanner. A lidar, or laser imaging, detection, and ranging scanner, is a device that uses lasers to create a constructive image of the area it’s pointed at. It has many uses, as it can create 3D maps of geographic locations and features.
For The Voidness, however, lidar will be your only means of seeing what’s around you, and that includes anything that might be trying to eat you. The developer also touts that, like in The Backrooms 1998, enemies will listen in on your PC microphone. That sounds more like a feature utilized by streamers, as I don’t make it a habit of talking to my computer monitor. However, I’m always down for an experimental approach to game design.
I haven’t personally played The Backrooms 1998, but I’ve seen it spoken of fondly in the indie horror circles I observe. It has also been picked up by popular streamers and has enjoyed it reasonable amount of success as a result. I might have to give it a good look-over once it leaves early access. The Voidness is another game to add to that list, as the developer states that its Early Access period will last anywhere from “a few months or a couple years.”
The Voidness will launch on PC via Steam Early Access on March 17, 2023.
