HOWDY FOLKS!

Welcome to the first Dev Journal for my next project. After brainstorming some ideas, I've decided to pivot to something I think you'll find much more exciting: a round-based survival horror game. 

The working title is "The Rustwood Anomaly."

The idea is to blend the Computer Cowboy aesthetic with tense, atmospheric horror. A posse of players find themselves trapped in a derelict, futuristic ghost town on a remote planet. Each round, you'll have to work together to complete a series of objectives (rebooting generators, finding data keys, etc.) to power up an escape teleporter—all while being hunted by a relentless, glitching AI entity.

This is a huge passion project for me because it's less about repetitive loops and more about crafting an intense, story-driven experience.

So far, I've started blocking out the main street of the 'Rustwood' ghost town in Studio. My focus is on creating a claustrophobic feel with tight alleyways, dark, abandoned saloons, and plenty of places for things to hide. I've also begun scripting the basic framework for the round system and objective handling in Luau.

The biggest challenge right now is nailing the atmosphere. Lighting is everything in a horror game, so I'm diving deep into Roblox's Future lighting technology to get those perfect dark corners, dynamic shadows, and eerie glows without killing performance.

This is a big undertaking, so I'd love your input from the start.

What's the scariest monster or enemy you've ever encountered in a Roblox game?
What made it so effective?

• MrPiglr