Mike Bithell took to the stage at EGX Rezzed earlier today to demonstrate his new indie game, a stealth-based little number called Volume.

Volume is going to be a simple game. The point of the levels is to sneak around each one, collecting all the gems to make the exit open up without getting spotted and caught by the patrolling guards (as the demo levels let us see that game over doesn’t trigger upon being simply spotted). To do this your character can press themselves against wall to take cover (ala Splinter Cell), disable forcefields that the guard NPCs can pass through but the player cannot, slide under some walls, whistle and use a number of items to aid their passage around without getting caught. Bithell has said that because he wanted it to be a true stealth game, none of the ‘gadgets’ you can find will kill, only distract and in the case of the blackjack render the enemy unconscious for about 5 seconds. This forces players to think of ways to use what they have to continuously avoid the guards who could be static or patrolling. And although the demo levels played during the presentation only showed one enemy type, Bithell confirmed that there will be at least 5 in the game when it’s finished.

Volume is to be a game that will both have an overarching story (although we only got a few hints on it – Volume is a military training tool and you are someone stealing from the rich then broadcasting it to the poor to watch) and thanks to the level editor Bithall hopes that the community will build for the game, manifesting in ‘community challenge’ levels being widely distributed and shared online to keep the game interesting for much longer than a single playthrough could do.

In the Q and A afterwards Bithell said that he felt indie was the better way for stealth games, as stealth he felt was a more ‘niche’ genre that AAA studios might have trouble handling because of their need to appeal to more people to make their money back on a game. Indie games with their smaller budgets could overcome this hurdle and sell it to the smaller number who are really interested in the game and the stealth mechanic of the game.

It’ll be interesting to see how this game develops and what it’ll look like closer to completion with the finished product containing the other enemy types as well as whatever else the game has that wasn’t shown off today.

For all things EGX 2014, stay tuned to Sanitarium.FM!