Subnautica NPC Design (2019)

During 2nd Year we were tasked with choosing a game and creating two types of NPC characters: a One-Off character that would be attached to the player for a long term duration during the game, and a Grunt-type character that is just another addition to the roster yet serves an interesting function.

I thought having a monster in Subnautica that puts the player in danger regardless of what biome they are would be a mechanic that suits well for the kind of game Subnautica is, so that's exactly what the FangEel is. It'd be introduced to the player mid-game ideally after they submerge 200m.

This depth is usually a progress bar where the player has gotten the hang of the basic mechanics but hasn't unlocked their first vehicle.

Ghost Stingers were designed because I thought vehicles at late-game provide too much safeness, specially the Cyclops which can turn into a mobile mini-base essentially.

While any aggressive creature can represent certain danger to your vehicles, I thought a creature that disabled vehicles before destroying them would be the better incentive to get out of them.