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[Christian]

Hey guys, how did the GDC talk go?

[io3 creations]

When the game comes out will you be releasing the unsmudged spoiler papers?

Those are the actual for the inkblots for the Rorschach test that GDC introduced this year for presenters.

[Christian]

The new menu looks great!

Edit: and is that a PS4 controller? 

[jamesprimate]

Hahahah Christian is so quick! Yes, that dual shock 4 definitely has some significance    RW plays really well on it too, I was kind of surprised tbh! Sony asked us to use it for media events and I was kind of annoyed at the timing, but turns out It's just a much nicer controller than the usual clunky xbeast ones we've been using.

Talk went really well I think! It was an interesting vibe since pretty much all the other talks were super slick devs from like blizzard, ea, Ubisoft then.... us?? But we just did our thing and showed a ton of gifs. I mean, it's worked so far right? I'll post pics when I get back to my actual computer 

[oahda]

still super bothered that the primary credit goes to adult swim when they're only the publisher or w/e and not the ones actually making the game :/

i actually don't even know what YOUR studio is called after all this time because of it???

[Christian]

still super bothered that the primary credit goes to adult swim when they're only the publisher or w/e and not the ones actually making the game :/

i actually don't even know what YOUR studio is called after all this time because of it???

That's how it is when a game is published. Same with Devolver, Team17, etc

James and Joar are Videocult. You see their logo at the start here:

[presidenthobbes]

When the game comes out will you be releasing the unsmudged spoiler papers?

Those are the actual for the inkblots for the Rorschach test that GDC introduced this year for presenters.

Oh... Uh... Well then... Can we see them anyway?  

[jamesprimate]

still super bothered that the primary credit goes to adult swim when they're only the publisher or w/e and not the ones actually making the game :/

i actually don't even know what YOUR studio is called after all this time because of it???

That's how it is when a game is published. Same with Devolver, Team17, etc

James and Joar are Videocult. You see their logo at the start here:

Honestly it's mostly because we're kind of embarrassed to have a company and avoid putting "our logo" on anything whenever we can. We're *really* not trying to make some studio brand out of all of this, just Joar and James (and Lydia and Del) makin a game. People know rain world and they know us, and that's how we like it . Thanks for having our back tho!

And yes, due to public interest I hereby pledge to release the smudged Area 51 documents to anyone who completed the game!

[Christian]

And so it begins

Rain World was voted Best Game of the MIX at their 5th Anniversary Showcase!

http://www.mediaindieexchange.com/best-of-the-mix-from-5th-anniversary-showcase/
https://twitter.com/adultswimgames/status/710183369825452032

[Recs]

following, great job and great log.

[jamesprimate]

And so it begins

Rain World was voted Best Game of the MIX at their 5th Anniversary Showcase!

http://www.mediaindieexchange.com/best-of-the-mix-from-5th-anniversary-showcase/
https://twitter.com/adultswimgames/status/710183369825452032

YES! This is super awesome! We had no idea it was even a competition! Personally I was just happy to be hanging at the super cool IGN offices with all the cool indieMIX peeps eating their cake



but thinking back, there might have been some *subtle* hints....




Its really funny though, because right before the event Joar and I were in a mood talking about how the game was fussy to play and how this or that aspect wasnt coming together smoothly as we'd like, and how many more things needed to be tweaked, etc etc. As a dev its so easy to get lost in millions of those details, so this was a very nice slap in the face!

[Juwdah]

Honestly it's mostly because we're kind of embarrassed to have a company and avoid putting "our logo" on anything whenever we can. We're *really* not trying to make some studio brand out of all of this, just Joar and James (and Lydia and Del) makin a game. People know rain world and they know us, and that's how we like it . Thanks for having our back tho!

And yes, due to public interest I hereby pledge to release the smudged Area 51 documents to anyone who completed the game!

Are you going to continue making games with those people after Rain world?
If so, why not make a studio brand out of all this?

[io3 creations]

And so it begins

Rain World was voted Best Game of the MIX at their 5th Anniversary Showcase!

http://www.mediaindieexchange.com/best-of-the-mix-from-5th-anniversary-showcase/
https://twitter.com/adultswimgames/status/710183369825452032

Congrats!

[JLJac]

Puuuuuh so intense! And now I'm finally home, James and Lydia are probably still on the plane. Talk went well (judging by the fact that people went up to us and said "hey, talk was good", I was of course completely zoned out and have no recollection) and Indiemix was an amazingly nice surprise! Really the confidence boost we needed! Also got to talk to many interesting people, got to see some really cool talks about what the big players are up to, and feeling generally inspired  And jetlagged  So, back at it! Thanks GDC!

[JLJac]

As for the "what's going to happen after Rain World" question, that's basically like asking what we plan to do in our next reincarnation haha! Right now we're 110% focused on just getting this thing done, so I really don't know, but I'll take the fact that the subject is even up as a refreshing glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel ~

[jamesprimate]

warning: super boring GDC slideshow ahead! free to skip

heres some bits from the GDC talk. definitely crazy to be sandwiched between slick pro presentations from Blizzard, EA, Ubisoft, etc, and we bring in our funky hacked together lo-fi aesthetic



we actually met up with all those people the night before at the twitch hq in SF, adding to the illuminati vibe of the whole thing. they provided a ridiculous amount of food just by waving their hands. like... a football team could have eaten. some panem level stuff going on



the room for the talk was huge too. this was all i could get in the frame



and Joar admiring his handiwork on the big screen.



some true fans repping old rain world stickers



no pics of us actually doing the presentation though, because they wouldnt let any of our IRL friends in (seriously) :/


then the indieMIX event at the IGN offices, which was super wild





obligatory selfie with my husband mr. dark souls



hello



important meeting with the team about our next project



then getting down to some Real Work with the boss looking on...



but now were back in various basements and properly returning to the grind! i think this trip was really good for us though, gave us some much needed perspective and the path to the end seems clear now for whatever reason.

[chriswearly]

important meeting with the team about our next project

!!!!!!!!!

[gimymblert]

next project: sleep for one years to recover

[jamesprimate]

i feel like im doing that right now to be honest! ive pretty much slept the past two days since getting back 


So as you might expect, quite a few new mechanics have been added recently as we are polishing up the gameplay experience, but Joar just put in something we call the Karma Gate system and its a total revelation imo. Some aspects are still being worked out, and im sure he'll want to talk about it further when hes free, but basically its a system that requires the player to survive a certain amount of cycles in a row in order to progress through region gates.

This was implemented initially to prevent the tendency of players to throw themselves through the terrain as fast as possible trying to find the next region/shelter/etc, or to just quit when a rain cycle comes in. It slows the pace a bit and rewards a more cautious approach, which is cool. But more importantly imo is that it really brings out the "scarcity" aspect built into the bats/food sources. As you devour bat nests and fruit, they deplete, forcing you to search further and further in the region, and with the map tool you now strategize routes that will allow you to find food and also reach the region gate before the rain hits.

Plus it forces you to become really personal with the local creatures as you are stuck with them for a period of time, and that highlights the procedural creature generation so you get to really experience their individual personalities and how their opinion of you develops. From my perspective this Karma Gate mechanic totally tied all the aspects of the game together, so im *super enthused*. 

[Christian]

That sounds pretty smart. I was wondering how you'd keep players from rushing through regions. Playing the alpha, I'd get a bit overconfident when I felt I had a handle on lizards, so knowing I'll be staying in a region for a bit would definitely temper that feeling and require cautious play.

I'm curious, how will this system mesh with the open-world structure you're going for? Would you always have to stay in regions multiple cycles or just new unexplored regions?