Black Skies - Devlog - Intention is King

In Black Skies, the world has one job: feel real.

Not in a cinematic way, but in a mechanical way.
A world is convincing only when it honors the contracts it presents to you.

A door is a contract.
A crate is a contract.
A stump is a contract.
A tool is a contract.
If something looks like it should work, it should work.

These rules define the interaction philosophy of the game.

1. Intention is the action

Pressing E is not a challenge or a mini-game. It is a statement of intent.

If you walk up to a stump and press E, your intention is clear. You want to chop it.

If you have an axe in your inventory, the game equips it, performs the action, and then unequips it when the job is done. You never asked to walk around with an axe forever. You asked to chop the stump. The system follows the intention, not a rigid animation script.

If you do want to walk around with a tool equipped, that is a separate action you can take deliberately. Intention always leads.

No sliders.
No reflex puzzles.
No fake difficulty.
No fourth-wall-breaking busywork.

The player expresses intent.
The character executes the task.
That is the contract.

2. Everything you see should matter

Black Skies avoids the problem that most survival games fall into: a world full of props that look useful but do nothing.

In this world, if you can see an object that has a clear real-world function, it should respond to interaction.

Examples of contracts:

• A door is a thing that opens.

• A cabinet or crate is storage. It should contain something, or be empty for a reason.

• A log or stump is wood. It should be choppable.

• A shovel digs.

• An axe cuts.

• A damaged object can be broken down or salvaged.

• Anything that looks usable is usable.

Only inherently cosmetic items, like curtains or decorative rugs, remain cosmetic. Everything else is part of the simulation.

Why this matters

A world becomes believable when its rules are consistent and its promises are kept. Black Skies is built on that discipline.

The world does not lie.
It does not tease you with fake interactivity.
It does not force puzzles or arbitrary mini-games to pad out your time.

You express intention.
The world responds.
Tools behave like tools.
Objects behave like objects.
The simulation respects the contracts the world makes with you.

Survival is the challenge.
Interacting with the world should feel natural, honest, and intuitive.

That is the design philosophy behind Black Skies.