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UPDATE: January 25th, 2012
The rest of the iOS versions were approved! Now you can play it on iPhone and iPod Touch (Anything that runs iOS5)

Here is the link: Desi for iPhone / iPod (http://itunes.apple.com/app/desi-leaves-town-pocket-edition/id495532772?mt=8)


UPDATE: December 21st, 2011
The game was just approved by Apple! I actually did not think it would happen this quickly, but we will take it!  ;D

Here is the link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/desi-leaves-town/id490316780?ls=1&mt=8


UPDATE: December 20th, 2011
The mini site for the game has been launched! http://www.desileavestown.com


UPDATE: December 19th, 2011
Uploaded a new video for the trailer just now!  Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNddevK_7hc


UPDATE: December 17th, 2011

We submitted the app yesterday! Now we are working on the website and trailer and other random items for promoting it. After those details are out of the way we will resume work on the iPhone, iPod, Mac and PC versions.


UPDATE: December 14th, 2011

Finished the last of the segments today. All puzzles have been completed. Right now we are doing the last bits of polish before submission.


UPDATE: November 24th, 2011

Finishing up our remaining puzzles and making adjustments to the cartoon segments. We are working overtime to wrap this up in the next few weeks. And soon we will have our official release trailer posted!


UPDATE: September 23rd, 2011

Wrapping up the remaining chapters of animation. The puzzles are being programmed now both for iOS and desktop (Mac and PC). Cornelis' soundtrack is sounding amazing. We have a few more weeks left of major work and then it will be down to the finishing touches and polish!


UPDATE: July 1st, 2011

Work is still underway. We are just putting all the pieces together now. I wanted to post a story excerpt. This clip is from chapter 7 of the game. This is the scene where Desi meets a scamp on the street and the two go to a brothel. The story plays out until the scamp runs off, leading into the chapters puzzle (not shown).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmfX2SH7v6A


------

Hey Everyone.

I am kicking off this devlog for Desi Leaves Town. I am working on this project as a creative / art director.  :eyebrows:

The teaser video was made available today on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qgnKy9cg8g

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/Desi-Carriage.jpg)

Here is the summary:

Desi Leaves Town is Pajamahouse's next game for iPad, iPhone and Mac. It is a unique adaptation of Joris-Karl Huysman's 1884 novel A Rebours.

Desi (voiced by Riley Martin) is a wealthy and opulent frog-about-town in Paris.  Dissatisfied with his perceived vulgarity of life, he retires from the city to a secluded villa free to explore, develop and relish in his eccentric taste for luxury.  However, in this isolated state, he often suffers from endless boredom to the point of debilitating illness which threatens his life.

The game’s player must solve various puzzles of unique designs to take the story to such places as the brothels of Paris, the high seas, London, Desi’s own villa and a dentist’s office from Hell, joining in the quest for ultimate decadence and everlasting comfort.

Development blog: http://pajamahouse.com/category/desi/

Production Stages

• Story Adaptation (Completed)
• Dialogue & Scripting (Completed)
• Rough Storyboarding: Shot Planning & Thumbnails (Completed)
• Storyboards (Completed)
• Background Art (Completed)
• Chapter Title Cards (Completed)

• Character Design (Completed)
• Puzzle Planning (Completed)

• Voice Recording (Completed)
• Sound Effects (Complete)
• Background Music (Completed, working with Cornelis Jordaan)

• Cut Scene Engine (Completed)
• Puzzle Design (Complete)
• Puzzle Coding (Complete)
• Menu System (Complete)

I am intrigued. Especially with the brothel bit...

This looks quite neat. Reminds of Wind in the Willows a bit (one of my favourite movies of all time). Keep us posted!

I guess the aesthetic is a bit misleading. It may appear calm and serene, but this frog is a total Bastard.  ;)

Not sure what kind of game this will be, but I wait for your progress.  :gentleman:

The game will be a mix of story and puzzle solving. Each puzzle is designed to fit and progress the story. I guess it would be in a category similar to Puzzle Agent.

Here are the turnarounds for Desi, the main character:

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/Desi-Turnarounds.jpg)

(http://pajamahouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/DesiLeavesTown_StoryThumbs.jpg)

Just finished planning all the shots this weekend. This binder has the storyboard thumbnails and shot notes.

This looks rather interesting. I like Desi's body language! I see you say that "Background music" is still pending... Do you have someone to do it yet? If not I'd very much like to submit my portfolio to you.

Right now we do not have anyone locked down for the music. I have a few ideas for the direction of the music. The story takes place in the 1890s so we want the music to reflect the era.

The question is wether that is through licensing classic music, or getting modern interpretations of compositions from the era. While the former is the easies most direct solution the latter could prove to be very cool and interesting.

I would definitely be interested in checking out your portfolio. And now you also have an idea of the direction the music would be in.

Sounds great! I'll send you a PM...

Right now I am working on the backgrounds based on the storyboards and thumbnails. Right now we have about 90 backgrounds to account for. I thought I would show  the process for creating a background. Below are the steps used to make the background used in the teaser video. The process is the same for the game backgrounds.

1. The screen and background are planned out in ink on regular drawing paper.

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/images/step1_600.jpg)

2. The inked background is traced onto watercolor paper and then painted

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/images/step2_600.jpg)

3. The watercolor version is inked

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/images/step3_600.jpg)

4. The watercolor version is cleaned up in photoshop, with the colors enhanced

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/images/step4_600.jpg)

5. Additional background elements are created on separate layers

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/images/step5_600.jpg)

6. The final image

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/images/step6_600.jpg)

We spent the day with Riley Martin yesterday and got all of his vocals for the main character, Desi. We still have the narrator to record this week along with 8 other supporting characters. Things are going well though, as the engine development is also moving along and all the detailed storyboards should be complete this week (about a 200 page physical art document)

(http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg615/scaled.php?tn=0&server=615&filename=kwhx.jpg&xsize=640&ysize=640)

Nice, reminds me of Jeremy Fisher :)

// Getting malware alerts from Chrome for this image:

simtalk.com/potter2/JeremyFisher/JeremyFisher02.jpg

he looks... quite comfortable

Any chance this game ever sees a non i-platform?

What platforms do you have in mind?

Here is a new video comparing Riley and Desi side by side. This was put together to help determine some of the nuances for the speaking sprites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N9OBUw59LU

Recording is nearly wrapped up. Finished a session not too long ago today and tomorrow we record our narrator. Out of the 11 parts we have recorded 9 so far.

And here are two new images:

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/Desi-i4_620.jpg)

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/DLT-Gutter-A.png)

Another image from the Prologue:

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/DLT-Cousins.png)

PC, mainly. You'd get a far larger audience this way as well.

True, but I wonder if most of them would be pirates.   :giggle:

But outside of that I am not against doing something for PC, we just do not have anyone on our team to do it. All of us are iOS, OSX centric.

Wow, this is looking absolutely fantastic! The voice acting sounds great, and totally fits the character. I love the watercolor backgrounds and distinct art style.
Best of luck with this wonderful project.  ;D

I'm a PC user and I'd buy a copy. :P:handmoneyR:

Hopefully we can sort out a PC version somehow. Either along with the other versions launcher, or soon after as a port if we generate enough to hire someone to do the port.

Speaking of the PC, where do you guys usually find your games digitally? Through something like Steam? Or direct from the developers?

Sounds like a fantastic project. How far along is the engine? Have you run into any problems finishing the content before the engine?

Usually I either hear from word of mouth or I check out games that pop up on review sites and news sites like rockpapershotgun or tigsource or wherever.

I guess I meant more specifically about the delivery method (after first discovery) - are most of the games you get downloaded direct from the developer? Or are they through a service of some kind?

I am most interested since I do not have a PC and most of the games I get are through some type of service. Either the App Store or Steam or PSN for example. Occasionally I have gotten apps direct from developers, like Machinarium for example I did the pre-order through Amanita's site.

If we are going to plan a PC released, which of course we would like to if we have the resources and people for it, then we will have to decide how to release it. And I want to use the method that is friendly to indie gamers, but also is not left wide open for piracy.

http://www.desura.com/ is a new service I haven't used it yet though.

I buy from developers directly, steam, www.gog.com All downloads, some have key files, some are drm free, some are steam locked.

Thanks!  :beer:

As for the engine we are doing a lot in tandem. We have many aspects to this so it has made it more complicated than probably the average project.

I guess we will have two parts to the engine. The first is the one that will handle all the scenes with animation, spoken dialogue, subtitles and camera work. This one is coming along well. We should have some tests running within the next few days.

The second part is what will handle all the puzzles. The progress on this has not gone too far yet, because I am still finishing up the master design document for all the puzzle segments.

Here is an example of a page from that document:

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/DLT-Puzzle-Arch-Ex.png)

I love the frog's expressions. He is just so great, and the watercolor backgrounds are pretty charming! I could totally play this game without any puzzles and still like it.

not that i dislike puzzles or anything or that im advocating ditching them

Steam would be ideal, but they sort of hand pick what games they carry right?

Just a small update. We finished the voice recording today, with the final session being for a second take on the narration. We are pretty happy with how everyone's recordings came out. The characters are fun and varied.

Perhaps in a few days we can post a new video.

Here is a short animated segment, animated with sprites:

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/DLT-Desi-Smoking.gif)

Last night I finished all the assets for the prologue - all the background art (with foreground elements) and sprites for all scenes.

It was very nice to see a whole bunch of red check marks!  :eyebrows:

(http://pajamahouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Desi-Lists.jpg)

Now I am working my way through the 1st chapter. I am hoping the process becomes a bit faster. While working on the prologue I was also testing a lot of things out. What the art direction and style should be. Use of color. All the supporting character designs and universal themes. What resolutions to account for. The balance for the animations - between completely fluid and choppy but manageable for a small team.

At the end I am pretty happy with the results and look of all the Prologue scenes. Going forward I have a very clear idea of how everything can and should work.

Here is a shot of one of the first puzzles in the game. In this puzzle you swipe around a room (panoramic) and drag the books on the left to their rightful place among different bookshelves.

Each bookshelf is in a specifically designed reading niche within the room. Our eccentric character was not satisfied with one bookcase to hold all his books. So of course they needed to be arranged about the room by mood!

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/DLT-Puzzle-01-iPad_620.jpg)

I really like the art direction, especially in still image.  :-*

Still plugging away!

Some miscellaneous screenshots:

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/DesiLeavesTown-MadameLaure.png)


(http://www.pajamahouse.com/items/DesiLeavesTown-Brothel.png)

Work is still underway. We are just putting all the pieces together now. I wanted to post a story excerpt. This clip is from chapter 7 of the game. This is the scene where Desi meets a scamp on the street and the two go to a brothel. The story plays out until the scamp runs off, leading into the chapters action puzzle (not shown).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmfX2SH7v6A

this is all looking really good!  seems like the perfect type of game for an ipad.

Looks great but Desi's voice is too quiet

Thanks!

We still have to do our mastering session for the vocals.

I have not done an update in a while, but we definitely have been busy. We have a lot of the puzzles finished, and the bulk of the animated story. It seems like we are done to the last few weeks.

The downside though is that its hard to choose what shots of the puzzles to post. I kind of want to hold back on those until people can actually play them.

For now here are some screenshots of the servant and Desi's doctor:

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/work/DLT-Servant.png)

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/work/DLT-Consultation.png)

Magnum MD

moi: totally the vibe I was going for.  :handthumbsupL:

Just wanted everyone to know we got the mastered soundtrack from Cornelis this week and it sounds amazing! His work is brilliant.

Also progress got a tiny bit slow for me in the beginning of November because I was working on a music video. I turned that in last week and got right back to Desi full time. Now things are beginning to wrap up very quickly.

(http://www.pajamahouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Desi-Chair-Puzzle.jpg)

We are hoping to finish up by early December and submit the iPad version to the App Store. After that we will release the additional versions every few weeks as they are completed. We still have the iPhone, Mac and PC desktop versions planned.

Speaking of platforms do any people here develop for Android?

Oh lawdy, I love the guy with the huge noes :D. I also like that he slipped on some hot pink lu lu lemons to go with his blazer. That guy has style.  :-*

The most stylish servant of all time!  :gentleman:

Off topic: Here is the music video that delayed my work on Desi a little bit:
http://pitchfork.com/tv/musicvideos/1641-my-light-my-love/
 (http://pitchfork.com/tv/musicvideos/1641-my-light-my-love/)

On topic: I posted a set to Flickr of the title cards used for the different chapters in the game: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakobhaglof/sets/72157628243014989/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakobhaglof/sets/72157628243014989/)

Its nearly that time!

(http://www.desileavestown.com/files/images/Desi_iPad.jpg)

We finished the iPad version of the game!

Yesterday we submitted it to the App Store. After it is through the review process we will know the release date.

For now we are working on stuff like the trailer and website getting ready for promo.

Do any of you here have iPads and want to try out the game early?

Hello again!

I worked on a trailer over the past day and wanted to post it here before making it completely public.

Here is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNddevK_7hc

I am pretty happy with it and its an amazing feeling to see a whole year of your work come together in something like this.

Holy dang that was amazing. I'd spread it around, though the video is unlisted or something?

I was worried about the gameplay and except for the sliding puzzle it looks very solid.

Great work!

Thanks!

Its only unlisted for the moment. I kept it unlisted in case anyone I sent it to right now thought it was awful. But the feedback has been all been positive so I guess I should make it public.

i'll echo the praise of others: the trailer really sells this for me! congratulations on finishing, i wish there were more ipad games like this.

Thanks! I definitely have more bonkers game ideas planned for 2012, including Desi Leaves Town 2.   :gentleman:

Oh and it was just approved minutes ago by apple!!!!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/desi-leaves-town/id490316780?ls=1&mt=8

Just letting everyone know that I made an official announcement thread: http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=23436.0

So most of the updates will be appearing there from now on.

The iPhone / iPod Touch versions are wrapping up today and should be submitted soon.

Then its on to the desktop versions and a demo to send to Steam!  :eyebrows:

It's about time someone returned the favor. CEDE, you're awesome.

(http://oi39.tinypic.com/33nk9vt.jpg)

It should look like a pixeled version of a post-it drawing really.. ;)

This looks like a lot of fun, it reminds me of The Neverhood a little bit, from the way the puzzles and story seem to interact.

Thanks! This really makes me wish there were some mini game that looked like this. Its so cool.


Working with the Playism guys has been great. They are a very motivated, helpful and genuinely nice group of people. They are working with us on a full translation in Japanese for release on their platform. We are hoping to see it released by March at the latest.

But if you are thinking of working with them, then I would say go for it. And they really do care a lot about the indie scene and are doing their part to grow it and also expose people in Japan to more of these kinds of games.

Also how do I go about making this a sticky? I have seen completed projects stickied at the top but don't know how to go about it.


Thanks! Also the iPhone / Touch version should be releasing this week and the desktop (PC / Mac) version is wrapping up too.

Oh wow. I wish you love and happiness... and a PC release.

+1

PC release will definitely happen. We are close to finishing it actually. But I don't have a publisher for it yet outside of Playism - who is doing the japanese version.

contact steam. have you contacted steam? you should contact steam. I like steam.

Yeah definitely planning too. But from what I read you need to also submit a demo when contacting them about publication. So thats really all Im waiting for - the build for the desktop to be ready.

No clue why this is stickied. Major grats on the release, though!

We're stickying the latest released game.

Although it should only count for threads that have been in DevLogs for awhile and are relatively active. I don't want people putting their 99.9% done game in DevLogs to try and get free publicity.

Ah! Move to announcements after another game is finished, then?

or maybe after 3 days/a week that way multiple finished projects get equal time.

Whatever you guys think is best, I appreciate being stickied.


Also is the frequency of projects completing quick enough to warrant that type of rotation?

If the planets align and multiple projects are finished close to one another, we'll sticky them all.

 :)

That seems reasonable to me  :eyebrows:

I might have to borrow my girlfriend's mom's iPad to give this a whirl, it looks completely awesome!

Game's looking great and will have to download it for my ipad and give it a go  :)

Also like that this is stickied and placed in the announcements after having following it in the devlogs. Nice way for it to end, for a few days at least.

Don't worry! I'm on it :gentleman:
(I'm the desktop version porter)

The rest of the iOS versions were just approved! Now its available for the iPhone and iPod Touch!

Desi Leaves Town Pocket Edition (http://itunes.apple.com/app/desi-leaves-town-pocket-edition/id495532772?mt=8)

Moving to announcements.

Yay. When I figure out how to get room for it on my ipod, it shall be mine. :eyebrows:

Just dump everything else on it.  :biglaff:

Getting some cool press this week.

" A unique visual novel/casual puzzle mashup that benefits from strong writing, standout voice acting, and clever minigame design." - iFanzine.com (http://ifanzine.com/desi-leaves-town-review/)

"A quirky yet enjoyable interactive animated story." - 148apps.com (http://www.148apps.com/reviews/desi-leaves-town-review/)

"There's a lot to experience in Desi Leaves Town, a fascinating title that's more than it seems." - tuaw.com (http://www.tuaw.com/2012/02/24/daily-ipad-app-desi-leaves-town-is-a-surprisingly-elegant-puzzl/)

I imagine a scene in a Wes Anderson film with a character playing this game...

Sorta, but Wes wouldn't put an iPad in any of his films. I think.

I'm not ... This game stands strong on it's own and is totally unique. It just was there in my head and I wanted to tell you.

I will leave now.

This seems like a compliment to me given I really enjoy Anderson's films. Maybe he could have it displayed on an old PC monitor in lieu of the iPad. So thanks Peanutbutter Shoes!

Also I did an interview about this and the studio:

Interview with iFanzine.com (http://ifanzine.com/interview-with-pajamahouse-studios-jakob-haglof/)

Cool interview, dude. :)

Just got posted on Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/19/the-joystiq-indie-pitch-desi-leaves-town/)

congrats :)

Now meme worthy:

http://nycbat.tumblr.com/ (http://nycbat.tumblr.com/)