What can we learn from Subnautica? - Video Game Analysis

Subnautica is an indie game classic that is near and dear to many people's hearts. The game initially started development in 2013 as a part of the post-Minecraft indie boom of the early 2010's. Early in development it had quite a few rough edges but a solid core idea: underwater exploration on an alien planet. The team over at Unknown Worlds found their feet with the concept and built one of the best non-procedural open worlds in an indie game in my opinion. In this video I take a look at what ideas we as game devs might be able to learn from that open world, and how the game's mechanical and narrative progression are structured around it.

After the success of the previous game analysis video on Ultrakill, I figured it'd be a good idea to do another video on a different game. Thanks to @somegoofballwhohasinternet7313 for the suggestion to do Subnautica specifically. This video is a little more conceptual on the specific #gamedevelopment lessons we can learn than the Ultrakill video, as there is less to look at mechanically - either way, let me know how I did.

All music is from the #subnautica OST, get it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1619300/Subnautica_Original_Soundtrack/

Watch my previous game analysis video on Ultrakill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNMAvHq_Bsg

Chapters: 00:00 Introduction / Indie Game History Lesson 01:28 What is Subnautica 02:17 An Open, Alien World 03:37 Deadly, But Beautiful 05:16 A Terrifying Story In An Innocent Package (Early-To-Mid Game Spoilers) 08:04 Lessons 09:48 Outro ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwMKlUDqb3o