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[oldblood]

Thanks for all the encouraging feedback guys. Was feeling pretty burned out before the alpha demo and was really questioning if I should stick with this project, so it's always great to hear you're on the right track. Still surprised a YouTuber picked it up on their own. I generally assumed this game wouldn't work well with the YouTube audiences, but maybe I was wrong?

@Osteel: Haha, that would be fun. I debated for awhile trying to figure out a way to make them variable and use the computers name (in hopes it was named after the user) so that the letters would begin with "Hello Jon" etc. But I figured it would have the opposite effect when "Dear Living Room Computer" letters came through so just decided to keep all the letters static and all in one easy to find location. The desktop.

@Prinsessa: You should feel that way. You've been super encouraging throughout the devlog, even when I'm getting depressive or incoherent. Interesting you didn't get a letter. You have to hit the demo "end" screen for it to fire. Alternately, you can hit F8 (devkey) to automate a letter populating to the desktop. You could try that and see if it works? Curious if its a Mac issue.

@EddCoast: Thanks. That would be nice if you were right but I'm keeping my expectations in check. We haven't really gotten to the dark stuff in the game and that's where I'm more worried about people getting turned off...

@Miziziziz & Seaport: Thanks guys!

@Zizka: Haha thanks man. I'm sure its just a matter of time till videos of your game are surfacing...

@zilluss: Thanks for the detailed feedback on that, I think you may have more than a hunch there. It's on my list of things to check and fix now. Appreciate the detailed feedback you've been providing on that issue.

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 37.

Alpha is done. Hard to get back on track after taking almost a week off from regular development.

The alcohol is always helps...

Some basic statistics on the alpha:
● About 300 page views on the download page
● 127 game downloads (115 PC, 12 Mac)
● 45% of those who downloaded have played it so far
● 50% of those who played the demo, finished it
● Of the 50% who quit, the majority (either deliberately quit) or got confused and quit post "Father scene"

Mostly, I don't know if these statistics are "good" or "bad". I have no real social presence or public history in the indie scene and I didn't do any press releases for the demo so its all organic views and downloads. So I'm not disappointed with these numbers.

The last bullet point is interesting to me. Because it prompts the question: What made them quit? Is that point in the demo confusing? Or did they find it uncomfortable and quit? I find it interesting that the largest drop-off in the demo comes directly after Father abuses you. It may be a coincidence? It could be the demo needs to be re-worked here. But I do feel like from an analytical stand-point, that the game will have 4-5 key points in the game where it will get very dark and I think at those points, I'm going to lose players who wont continue.

And I don't think thats a bad thing... Frankly, if the game makes you quit (not out of frustration, but because you don't feel comfortable continuing) would indicate to me that the game is doing EXACTLY what I set out to do with it. It will be interesting to see if in the future, that I do discover this trend at the key points in the game.

***

Spent the day yesterday revisiting all the project management side of the game. Re-evaluating my milestones, due dates and trying to determine what is realistic given the current state of the game. As I've said since the beginning, my goal is for the game to have a 6 month development cycle from January - June. That's not seeming overtly realistic at this stage. So I need to figure out what is...

Negatives:
● Took longer than I wanted to hit the public alpha
● Environment art is a bottleneck
● Some features took longer to get in than expected
● I'm almost a full month behind schedule
● Not a clear idea if this was a "game" or a "narrative"

Positives:
● Better reception to alpha than expected
● Got a lot of the core features done in alpha, future acts should move faster
● Most of the characters needed are done
● Better idea that this game is a "narrative"
● I know that the environment art will take longer than initially expected

At a very high-level, my goals are to do an Alpha II by the end of April (basically a patched and updated version of the public alpha) but this will be the last public alpha I do and will be available for anyone to download during the course of the development. I will do a closed Beta I (via TIG & personal contacts) to around 50 recipients that will ideally test multiple acts and hit around the end of May. This will mostly be to insure I'm on the right path and catch issues that may be creeping into production. There will be a 2nd closed Beta II (likely increased to around 100 recipients) that will test as much (or all of) the game that I'm slating to hit in the end of July. This will be to test as much of the game as possible and give us a list of things to optimize, polish, correct or remove. Getting through that Beta II should push us to a "Gold" status and if things run on schedule and we don't hit too many game-breaking issues along the way, my target release date would be some-time in August, 2015.

To me, that seems like a long ways off but August will be here sooner than I realize. It's just 4 months out. I do feel like I have a realistic shot of hitting that date. I like to publicly commit to my dates to force me try and keep them. Of course, if I hit August and the game isn't ready- then it's not ready. I won't force it out the door to meet an arbitrary deadline, but it gives me something to aim for...

[oahda]

Nice to see the stats. I'd intuitively say that's not too bad, but I'm not really versed in that sort of statistics either.

I think the alpha has had a pretty steady and solid development cycle and speed. It may have been longer than you planned, but it wasn't all that long. Setting the system up always takes a lot of extra time. Things will probably go faster from here on, but I guess you're already aware of that, seeing your monthly goals that have been set up for the next milestones.

You're doing a great job!

[oldblood]

...I met someone last night. I don't remember when, but I believe it was late. The fireworks had stopped long before I met him. I found him under an overpass near my home, his name is Michael. He told me he is an Angel. I don't see a reason why he would lie about this, so I believed him. I find it odd that I would meet an Angel on the very first day of a new year, but I suppose this means that the odds have finally shifted in my favor?

Michael told me that he could see the future. That he would show me mine if I proved myself worthy-- he has not elaborated yet on what this means, but I'm confident he will...I think I will put Michael in my game...

...Last night I returned to the overpass where I found the homeless Angel a month ago, although, I don't know why I went back. I assume I was looking for affirmation of some sort? The weather has been warmer for this time of year so I was surprised to find a larger number of homeless there than I found on New Years. Unfortunately, none of them were Michael and none seemed to know who he was. I find it aggravating that he seems to have disappeared. Maybe I wont put him in the game now--

...I had about given up. I never expected to see Michael again. But there he was. At the crosswalk, staring at me from across the way. But, he was different now. His face seemed changed and there was a cross carved into his forehead... two horns had pierced from his skull. What sort of angel could look like this?

I crossed the street and he remembered me. I asked if he was indeed the Michael I met on new years day. He told me he was. I don't understand though, why does he now look the way he does? I asked him why he had horns... angels don't have horns...

And then he asked me: "How would you know? How many other angels have you met?"

I didn't know how to respond to that.

And then, with a smile- he said:

49 74 27 73 20 6a 75 73 74 20 61 20 66 75 63 6b 69 6e 67 20 67 61 6d 65 2e

...And that was when I realized that Michael would be in the game. And I immediately set to work...

[blekdar]

I did manage some time to play through a good portion (at least I think I did). I get the feeling this game will make sleep seem overrated.

The camera was a little jarring at first, but you get used to it. Camera wasn't very smooth though, not sure if this was just my computer or that was how the camera was supposed to be.

Only real issue I ran into was the text prompt explaining controls was really small.

_{Like insanely small}

I was playing it at 1366x768 if that helps.

Game is definitely unnerving, so I'm looking forward to see where you take this. I'll finish playing the build tonight hopefully. Keep at it!

Works well for the most part, didn't find it confusing. I'll finish it up

[karlozalb]

Hey, I've test it

Some feedback
Good:
- The game's vibe and mood are very good, everything is disturbing (specially the pictures, the painter really has a problem xD).
- The sound is really good and it fits perfectly with the atmosphere.
- The conversations are very good, and that sensation of constant fear when you choose an option thinking about if it's the correct one...superb!

Bad:
- Same problem that blekdar, controls font is extremely small. Same resolution, 1366x768.
- The character/camera movement is slow in my opinion. I know that if you increase its speed, the stress sensation will be less than if you keep the current speed, but it's a little frustrating.
- The background/landscape need improvements in my opinion (especially the trees). The characters and background don't seem to belong to the same world.

And that's all, the overall sensation is good, keep up the good and disturbing work!

[oldblood]

Thanks for the feedback karlozalb & blekdar. Your feedback is pretty much in-line with other feedback I've had. I've been able to put together a pretty decent size list of tweaks and fixes that I'm currently working through. Plan is to do an Alpha II (really just updating, fixing/tweaking the alpha) and leave that up as a public demo and any other future demos I do will be "closed" and limited to devs here on Tig or that I know elsewhere...

The background/landscape need improvements in my opinion (especially the trees). The characters and background don't seem to belong to the same world.

Hmmm. Did the art for the trees VERY early into the devlog, had a lot of different designs and kinda followed "popular opinion". I do agree that I think the style of the characters and the environments (especially "outdoor" ones) are a bit different. They're both "geometrically inspired" but the environments are more "Textured" and flat, and the characters are more "detailed". I dont think the contrast feels as sharp with indoor rooms because I ended up going into a lot more detail on the interiors than I originally planned. To me, it was working because I needed the characters to be more detailed and stand out against the background and then tie them together with camera filters (vignette, film grain etc). But you may be right, something to think about...

***

DEVLOG 38.

"And I wept bitterly before the stones when before me stood one robed in light and shadow..."

Michael. The Angel.

I asked him why he had horns... angels don't have horns...

And then he asked me: "How would you know? How many other angels have you met?"

Detail.

[oahda]

You're doing well on adding these uncanny features to your various characters (no iris or pupils on the boy and no nose on the angel).

Looking forward to the brushed up alpha!

[Seyfia]

Hey, I know you've been told this before, but I'm very interested in what you're doing with this game idea. I played it and I'm quite looking forward to play it again.  (no pressure !)
No doubt I'm gonna speak about it around me.
Yes, there are some improvements that have to be done, but I already know I'm gonna buy it
Keep on doing that disturbing thing you do.

[Miziziziz]

oh man love that devil angel guy's character

[marcgfx]

just gave it a short go (mac). really like the atmosphere you create. the scrolling is a little slow and I found it quite hard to know where i was and where i can go. I was a little disappointed I did not have blood on my face after getting a beating from dad, what seems rather twisted
saving/resuming would be awesome, I had to cancel and now I think I need to start from the beginning.
oh and I could not get into the woods (maybe not implemented)

[ｂ∀ ｋｋｕｓａ]

I love the painting n`13 . Is it possible to explain us how you got the inspiration for this one?
It's like this one can get a whole chapter and story. (or maybe to be a character?)

[oldblood]

@Prinsessa & Miziziziz: Glad to hear he is working. As you "progress" through the game, Michael will... evolve... as you embrace your darker side. This is actually the "tame" first version of the angel.

@Seyfia: Welcome to TIG! Thanks for playing the demo and stopping by here to post. Both mean a lot. And don't worry, we haven't even gotten to the disturbing parts yet...

@marcgfx: Thanks for playing and sending in the feedback. A lot of the items you mention I've heard from others and am working on (or already fixed). Yeah you can't access the woods in the Alpha as I haven't made it that far into the game yet. Heading off into the woods is part of "Act 2". I'm working on a basic save system that will basically automatically save wherever your last progress point was (there are a lot of them) and a "Continue" option will appear when you return to the game later. Could you not talk to the boy in the backyard after the beating from dad? He was told to meet a boy there with blood on his face, so until you meet with Father- he wont talk to you. So if he doesnt talk to you after, sounds like there may have been an issue...

@bakkusa: Do you mean painting #13? It's better that you don't know her story. The short version is that she never really knew who she was... But I did. I knew she was bird. A bird of prey. But that's a really long story to tell. I'd love to put more characters in the game, but every character that will be in the game is relevant to the actual story behind this game...

***

DEVLOG 39.

Working on the Alpha II still. Torn on how much I revise and polish Act 1 vs progressing forward on the next acts.

I've hit a snag though. The FSM "Progression System" I'm using works beautifully BUT-- it assumes that I won't move backwards to add events into the system. If I decide I need to add a new event (new discussion option, item etc) between Progress #20 & #21... Now I have to rewire and reassign all of the nodes in the FSM to accommodate because my new state is going to be event #21. But #21 already exists. So you fix that to being #22, but that exists etc. So basically adding a new event after-the-fact forces you to adjust every other event that occurs after the new event. Which leaves a lot of room for human error to occur.

In short, the system (as is) assumes I'm a perfect designer who will never have to go back to add in events I didnt realize I needed. Obviously, I'm not perfect. The system needs to be able to handle additions easier. So I'm having to dedicate some time to figure out how it needs to work. Expect a post on this once I figure out how the new system works...

Here is what I've been working on in the Alpha II:
● New Progression system back-end
● More "voice in your head" conversations and "ending conversations" with Walter & Mother
● Faster outdoor environment movement speed
● Reducing some of the SFX by about 30%
● New system to make it easier to see where each exit leads
● Dialogue update (additions, subtractions, changes, grammatical corrections etc)
● Optimization. Figuring out ways to make the game run better, particularly on smaller machines
● Inventory changes. No more 'I' prompt. Moving your cursor to the top of the screen will reveal the inventory
● Music. Working with the composer on getting music into the game.
● Item art updates. There will be actual pill bottle icons, better "medication" art etc.
● Other bug fixes and looking into bugs in the menu and with multi-monitor setups etc

Hopefully all that will make it in. Some of these things dont need to be in a demo but if I'm going to polish Act 1, might as well make it a note-worthy update...

[karlozalb]

Some of these things dont need to be in a demo but if I'm going to polish Act 1, might as well make it a note-worthy update

It's a good idea in my opinion. Sometimes leaving that improvements for another time is worse than spending some time now adding them because, who knows, maybe an improvement adds a new idea to the stack, and adding a new feature if you are in an advanced stage of development... it's a huge pain xD

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 40.

40. The number of trials. The number of testing.

I am currently testing the new backend system. The first part of Act 1 is rebuilt and working. But the 2nd half of it still needs to be fixed. It physically pains me to take a step backwards but sometimes it's necessary. Better to tackle this issue in Act 1 than Act 5...

In the interim, here are some new items...

"Medication" for Father.

"Medication" for me.

"Medication" for you.

Grace.

[karlozalb]

my medication seems to be healthy

[oldblood]

my medication seems to be healthy

Yes. When applied properly, it should really hit the spot.

[oahda]

Wow. That resolution. Looking good.

[oldblood]

Wow. That resolution. Looking good.

Thanks. Yeah generally, the resolution in the game is pretty high which is leading to some mildly fat file sizes but the art is a big part of the game so I'm willing to push up the file sizes a bit to get the best looking results. For items, I need them high enough res that when you pick up a new item, the item prompt will show the item in better detail. The images above are essentially what would be used in the item prompts with the item names and descriptions.

You may recall in the alpha demo, when you get the booze from Mom- its just a low res glass of whiskey. It didn't look that great and thats sort of what reiterated the necessity of higher res items.

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 41.

Not much of a devlog today. The backend has been completed and Act 1 has been fully rebuilt and tested.

...Nothing quite excites like a refactor...

If you just play the demo, it wouldn't feel like anything has changed between the demo I did earlier this month and today. Other than replacing a few sprites and adding in/modifying some dialogue. But the new progression system is far easier to modify. It took on and off work for about a week, but in the long run it will be a wise-move as it will make it much easier for me to modify the events and progression of the game.

I was going to go into details about the specifics about how it works, but unless someone is terribly interested-- I feel a bit out of it at the moment to get too verbose... If you happen to be in the market for a FSM based progression system, let me know and I can talk about it...

***

I'd like to get the updated version of the Alpha out next week. But since it will be the last public alpha I do (future beta demos will be closed groups), if I need some extra time to add in a feature, will wait.

More new items are being completed. I'm diving into dialogue for the next act. Working on a new system to show when the player is taking pills or using their magic needles from Grace. Animating Michael for Act 2. Basically there are a lot of parts moving at this moment to try and get the story progressing past this first part.

With this many things being juggled, in my experience one of two things will happen soon: 1. Huge breakthrough. 2. Huge collapse.

Which will it be?