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[Rob Lach]

I'm going to personally miss the old quarter-pipes.

[Juan Raigada]

I decided to go with the previous system of rotating the player rigidbody object through code, and just improving that.

I am very relieved you did this! I was just catching up with the thread and the quarter pipe solution (relying on Unity's physics for complex movement) seemed really fiddly.

It looks much better (and controllable) now!

Good luck with the refactoring! I can not even imagine what refactoring H&S would look like. You are a brave man...

[Zaphos]

Cool to see the details of the new system!  It does sound like it'll feel better

I do think throwing down quarter pipes could be cool in a totally different game, like maybe something along the lines of

if the player explicitly placed (and could actually see) the quarter pipes?  But yeah, not for this game.

[mokesmoe]

Although it might be difficult to do, the water would look better if when it was redirected the old path disappeared gradually in the same way the new path appears gradually. (but in reverse of course)

Also, what happens when the water falls off the edge of the level?

[William Chyr]

I'm going to personally miss the old quarter-pipes.

Don't worry, Rob, that's going inside the "VERY IMPORTANT" folder on my desktop and will very likely make a comeback one day.

I am very relieved you did this! I was just catching up with the thread and the quarter pipe solution (relying on Unity's physics for complex movement) seemed really fiddly.

Ya, not wanting to rely on Unity's physics was a the deciding factor. Those bugs are always so hard to fix because they're so difficult to replicate. Even all the other systems, such as the boxes, I'm not relying on Unity's physics.

Cool to see the details of the new system!  It does sound like it'll feel better

I do think throwing down quarter pipes could be cool in a totally different game, like maybe something along the lines of

if the player explicitly placed (and could actually see) the quarter pipes?  But yeah, not for this game.

The quarter pipes were definitely a lot of fun to play with. My favorite game growing up was actually Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and I do have ideas for a racing game that involves lots of curved surfaces, so who knows?

Although it might be difficult to do, the water would look better if when it was redirected the old path disappeared gradually in the same way the new path appears gradually. (but in reverse of course)

Also, what happens when the water falls off the edge of the level?

Yes, I have thought of having the water in the old path gradually disappear, and that would indeed be a cool effect. It will probably have to wait for quite a while though, as I still need to get the main logic of the water sorted.

Regarding what happens to water when it falls off the edge, I still haven't fully decided.

The issue is that because the world wraps around on itself, when water falls off the edge, technically the stream stream of water would then fall from above. This means that when the water hits the edge, you'd end up seeing a "wall" of water. I feel like this could be incredibly confusing to players who aren't sure what's going on.

The solution would be to have the water slowly fade away when it falls past a certain distance. The issue here is that for some of the later levels, I'd like each instance of repetition in the world to overlap with one another, so it wouldn't be clear where one instance begins and another ends. Having the water fade out wouldn't work very well here, as it would just feel arbitrary.

Perhaps some kind of limit on all streams of water? For example, having the opacity fade to 0 for all streams, so that there is a maximum length of water? That does seem kind of strange though.

[Juan Raigada]

The issue is that because the world wraps around on itself, when water falls off the edge, technically the stream stream of water would then fall from above. This means that when the water hits the edge, you'd end up seeing a "wall" of water. I feel like this could be incredibly confusing to players who aren't sure what's going on.

The solution would be to have the water slowly fade away when it falls past a certain distance. The issue here is that for some of the later levels, I'd like each instance of repetition in the world to overlap with one another, so it wouldn't be clear where one instance begins and another ends. Having the water fade out wouldn't work very well here, as it would just feel arbitrary.

Perhaps some kind of limit on all streams of water? For example, having the opacity fade to 0 for all streams, so that there is a maximum length of water? That does seem kind of strange though.

Maybe you can approximate something like this? That is, the water dividing into vapor/raindrops. You can fade it to alpha 0 during a certain (fixed) amount of time and use a particle system that overlaps with the fading out...

[William Chyr]

Maybe you can approximate something like this? That is, the water dividing into vapor/raindrops. You can fade it to alpha 0 during a certain (fixed) amount of time and use a particle system that overlaps with the fading out...

That is actually the look I was thinking of. It's really more of a system design issue though, because I want to use the water as a puzzle solving mechanism, so the trajectory of the water needs to be very predictable. I could fade out the waterfall like in the image, but I wonder if players might feel it's "unfair" when they try to use the water to solve a puzzle, and the stream gets cut short?

[The Translocator]

Could you only cut it short when it would wrap back on itself and not when it wraps onto a different surface?

[deab]

The issue is that because the world wraps around on itself, when water falls off the edge, technically the stream stream of water would then fall from above. This means that when the water hits the edge, you'd end up seeing a "wall" of water. I feel like this could be incredibly confusing to players who aren't sure what's going on.

The solution would be to have the water slowly fade away when it falls past a certain distance. The issue here is that for some of the later levels, I'd like each instance of repetition in the world to overlap with one another, so it wouldn't be clear where one instance begins and another ends. Having the water fade out wouldn't work very well here, as it would just feel arbitrary.

Perhaps some kind of limit on all streams of water? For example, having the opacity fade to 0 for all streams, so that there is a maximum length of water? That does seem kind of strange though.

What about a block/wall-type that destroys water? You could place them anywhere, maybe even form part of puzzles. Assuming you aren't giving the player total freedom with water movement? Even if you are, you could surround the level with a ring of water destroying blocks a little below everything else.

[Juan Raigada]

That is actually the look I was thinking of. It's really more of a system design issue though, because I want to use the water as a puzzle solving mechanism, so the trajectory of the water needs to be very predictable. I could fade out the waterfall like in the image, but I wonder if players might feel it's "unfair" when they try to use the water to solve a puzzle, and the stream gets cut short?

If the length of the fall when the water becomes droplets is always the same, then I don´t see any potential perceived "unfairness". It´s just another fixed parameter. but it does need to be consistent )over a certain height waterfalls ALWAYS dissapear).

[William Chyr]

Could you only cut it short when it would wrap back on itself and not when it wraps onto a different surface?

Hmm... I'm not too sure I understand what you mean. You're saying to cut it short only when the waterfall is entering a separate instance of the world, and not when it's simply another surface in the same instance?

That is what I originally thought of, and that works fine in levels where it's very clear the separate instances are separate. However, in some of the later levels, I'd like the world instance to overlap. That way, it won't be very clear when it's wrapping back on itself, and when it's simply wrapping onto another surface.

What about a block/wall-type that destroys water? You could place them anywhere, maybe even form part of puzzles. Assuming you aren't giving the player total freedom with water movement? Even if you are, you could surround the level with a ring of water destroying blocks a little below everything else.

To me, that seems a little forced, like it's very clear I placed them there as a designer because I didn't want the player to do something. It's sort of like in certain games, when it looks like you have multiple paths available, but for some reason, all of them except for one is blocked. It takes away the illusion of the world being what it is.

And also, I do want to give the player total freedom with water movement. That's one of the last mechanics introduced in the game, and I really want to create a powerful feeling for the player.

If the length of the fall when the water becomes droplets is always the same, then I don´t see any potential perceived "unfairness". It´s just another fixed parameter. but it does need to be consistent )over a certain height waterfalls ALWAYS dissapear).

Ya, I think that probably will be the solution I go with. One issue is that length only matters when water is traveling vertically, as in, when it falls off a cliff. But if water is traveling horizontally (across a surface), then it can go on forever. This might just be how the system will be implemented.

[William Chyr]

Devlog Update #125 - 12/03/2014

Northwestern Indie Game Night / Dittmar Gallery Closing Reception

After showing RELATIVITY at the Interplay Reception/Arcade in October, I was invited to show at a similar event by the staff at the Dittmar Gallery at Northwestern University.

Dittmar Gallery is a student-run gallery, and they had just finished an exhibit title "Chicago Games as Art and Culture". As part of the closing of the show, they wanted to host a similar event as the Interplay Reception, and invite a bunch of local indie developers to show their games.

I was expecting the event to be similar to the Interplay Reception, and take place at the gallery itself, but it actually turned out to be very different. It was in the Norris game room, in the basement of the Norris student center, and I was also the only developer that showed up. So it ended up being just me demoing RELATIVITY and a Smash Brothers tournament happening alongside.

It ended up still being pretty cool though, and I got a lot of really great feedback on the game.

This is what the Norris game center looks like:



For the setup, I got to use 2 large-screen TVs in the corner. It was the first time I used a "living-room" like setup with a couch and a TV. I don't own a couch nor a TV so I had never gotten to try this before. It was completely different experience.

Several things I noted:

1) The lines of the edge-detection look much thinner.

2) The colors were all over the place. I'm not sure if there is a solution for this. For one TV, the colors seemed really overblown - the vignette effect was very strong, and everything seemed tinted green. On the other TV, it just appeared quite dark.





Once again, Alienware loaned me two 18" laptops to use for the purpose of this demo event, which worked really well:

[William Chyr]

Devlog Update #126 - 12/03/2014

Updated Screenshots

I just realized that because I've been working on game feel mostly for the past little while, I haven't posted too many new screenshots from the actual game. I have continued to make tweaks to the art style, and it's looking better than ever.

[William Chyr]

Devlog Update #127 - 12/04/2014

Perfect Loop Logos

This set is the best thing I've ever made.

[The Translocator]

Now you just need to set them all to the perfect timescale to have them all sync up the frame when the player is parallel to the ground.

[William Chyr]

Devlog Update #128 - 12/10/2014

PlayStation Experience Post-Mortem - Part 1

Back in October, a few days after Gamercamp, Sony invited me to show RELATIVITY at PlayStation Experience (PSX). Originally, I had intended for Gamercamp to be my last showing of RELATIVITY in 2014, as I had gone to about 14 conventions/festivals/conferences this year, and was feeling pretty exhausted. However, PSX was just too good to turn down.

PlayStation Experience is a convention for PlayStation Exclusive titles. It's the first year that Sony is organizing it, and it took place at The Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.

I arrived in Las Vegas on Friday around noon, along with fellow Chicago game devs Kevin and Phil of the Young Horses, who were there to show Octodad.

At the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas waiting for a cab:


Just outside the convention hall. This is where you signed in and got your exhibitor wristband:


Inside the exhibit hall, the day before PSX started:


Here's the map of the layout at PlayStation Experience. The top part with all the little booths is the Indie Area, which Sony calls "Devotion". I still find it hilarious to see my name alongside a bunch of studio names:




Here's the initial setup of the booth:


Here's the setup I decided to go with, which a lot of other teams adopted as well, as it pretty much makes the most sense if you have two stations:


One screen is in the back of the booth, and the other is on the side, facing towards the main part of the show.

My booth neighbors on one side were the Young Horses with Octodad:


And on the side were White Paper Games with Ether One:


It took me a few hours to get set up. I had forgotten to bring HDMI cables, so had to go find somewhere nearby to buy them. I finally finished around 4:30 PM, and went to check in and get some rest in my hotel room.

After that, I went to the Game Awards. It was at the Axis Theater and Planet Hollywood, about  a 30 minute walk from my hotel. I had gotten a free ticket for it on account of being at PSX. There were a few cool moments, but mostly I thought it was too long (it ran for about 3 hours).



The coolest part of the show was that it opened with Koji Kondo playing the Mario theme:


Anyway, Las Vegas is a very strange place. Here's an area in the hotel/casino/convention center plaza that had a fake sky and a fake canal, complete with gondolas and gondoliers:

[William Chyr]

Devlog Update #129 - 12/10/2014

PlayStation Experience Post-Mortem - Part 2

PSX Day 1

Saturday was the first day of PSX. The show floor hours for the public was 10 AM to 9 PM, so it was quite long.

Before the show started, I stopped by Walgreens to pick up my "booth survival kit": some snacks, throat drops, gum, and of course, a giant jug of water.



The jug of water makes you look pretty ridiculous, but it's important to stay hydrated. In fact, the guys next to me at White Paper Games also brought jugs of water on the following day.

I arrived at my booth at around 8:30 AM to set up. It only took half an hour to get the booth ready, but I wanted to give myself some time to check out other games.

My most anticipated title was The Witness, and I did get to play it for about 20 minutes. It was exceptional. Even with the little amount I played, I can tell this game is going to be really great. I was actually quite skeptical at first, as I couldn't quite tell what the game was about from the early footage that was released. However, after the play session, I was totally convinced, and have not been able to stop thinking about it since.



Here were some of the other booths I checked out:

Night In The Woods


Distance


Pavilion


Anyway, even though the hall opened at 10 AM, it was pretty quiet until 11:30 AM. This was because the PlayStation keynote was happening then, so most people were at that.

Once the day got going, there was a pretty good flow of traffic. It wasn't crazy packed like at PAX, so people actually got to play for pretty long periods. The demo of the game took about 20 to 40 minutes to complete, and several people did finish it, which was a really great sign of me.





By the way, in the second picture, the person playing in back of the booth is Dan Gray, the executive producer on Monument Valley! He had some really positive things to say about the game and gave me his card.

This is what the section I was in looked like:


After the exhibit, there was a concert with the band that's composing music for No Man's Sky:


I was quite tired, so I didn't stay for too long. I went to get dinner with a couple of other developers instead.

[William Chyr]

Devlog Update #130 - 12/10/2014

PlayStation Experience Post-Mortem - Part 3

Day 2

The hours for Sunday was 10 AM to 6 PM. It was nice to have a much shorter day, and as expected, the crowd was smaller than on Saturday.

One of the highlights on Sunday was I got to try Luis Antonio's Twelve Minutes. This is a game I've been excited about for quite a while. I had a similar idea for some time, after watching the film Source Code. During SIGGRAPH in Vancouver, I was telling Brendon Chung of Blendo Games about this idea, and the next day, Rock, Paper, Shotgun published a preview of the game.

The game wasn't officially being shown at PSX. Luis is the artist on The Witness, and showed the game to me during one of his breaks. It's really fascinating, and has a lot of interesting design challenges. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the game develops.

Also, a redditor from /r/PS4 stopped by and we did an awkward high-five, as originally planned:


I am responsible for about 90% of the awkwardness in that picture.

Here is a much better picture of me:


Conclusion and Final Thoughts
All in all, PSX was a lot of fun, and a really great event to show at. It was my first time showing the game in the context of PlayStation, and the crowd seemed to be quite different from those at past events.

A lot of the people who came by hadn't heard of the game before, so it was great to see the game reaching new people. Several people would walk by the booth and check out the game on account of the art style, only to completely finish the demo, which takes around 30 minutes, and walk away really excited. That was an awesome feeling and an indication for me that the tweaks and iterations I've made this past year have worked.

I was a little disappointed with the lack of press I got. I had emailed about 20 journalists from major outlets who were going to be there, but none of them stopped by, and the game didn't get a single mention in the media. This is not the journalists' fault - I think because it's the first PSX, a lot of outlets only sent 1 or 2 people to cover the event, and most of their time was spent on the new reveals and announcements from larger titles.

Still, I was quite disappointed. Going to these events is a ton of work and quite expensive, especially as a one-man team. Sony covered the cost of hotel, but I still had to pay for flight, food, etc, and Las Vegas is not cheap. 

I was flying back to Chicago on Tuesday morning, so had an extra day in town. On Monday night, I was feeling a little depressed about the lack of press I got, and went for a walk around town to try to clear my head and plan out what I'm going to do next in development. I ended up at Denny's, and had just ordered some food, when I got a text from my friend Kevin:

"Check your Twitted feed!!"

I took out my phone, and I couldn't believe my eyes:



Jonathan Blow just tweeted about my game. Holy shit.

I know this may not sound like a big deal. After all, it's just a tweet. But if you've been following this devlog or me on twitter, you'll know that Jon's work has had the most influence on my own work and approach to game development. Braid was a huge inspiration, and RELATIVITY is very much a work along the same lines of philosophy. I see games as a way to uncover truth through exploration of a system, and I want to make deep and profound experiences. I've watched almost all of Jon's talks and interviews, and had studied his work very closely.

For the past two years of development, I had been wanting to get the game to a state that was ready to show him. I met Jon briefly at PRACTICE last month, and sent him a build of the game afterwards. Even though it's still an early build of the game, the fact that he played through it and liked it enough to share about it (and he doesn't share about too many games), was a huge milestone for me and meant a tremendous amount.

It was the best exposure that I could have gotten for the game, and to have it come at a time when I was feeling pretty down about the lack of press attention... I almost broke down at Denny's. 

[William Chyr]

Devlog Update #131 - 12/17/2014

It's been a while since I've last posted here. A lot has been going on. PlayStation Experience will be my last showing in quite some time. I'm back to prototyping and working on tech/design problems of the game.

Water



I went back to working and refining the water mechanic. On the surface level, it doesn't look any different from what I had before, but the code is much cleaner. Previously, the code was full of nested if/else statements that made it incredibly difficult to read and debug, especially as there were all these different cases to account for.

I finally sat down and really organized the code, moving a lot of things to separate functions which could then be called and reused regularly.

The water mechanic is now working quite well. It uses an object pool, so each "water block" is recycled (disabled and enabled again), instead of being instantiated during run time.

The boxes are basically the trigger areas. I made them visible for the purpose of debugging. There were a bunch of issues when I was using them at a larger size (1x1x1), so I made them smaller, and that fixed many of the issues.

So now, the water responds dynamically when player places a "redirection cube" in front of the stream (or removes it), and also responds when the ground beneath it moves away, or moves back into place.





Having played around with the mechanic a little more, I think it won't actually be quite what I had originally imagined. I don't think I will give player total freedom to redirect water streams with the "redirection cubes". It's just too unpredictable, causes too many design problems, and I don't think it actually adds that much to the game.

Instead, what I'm going to do is limit the places where water can redirected, such as by having these stations in which player can change the direction of the water.

Game Design

Recently, it has been dawning on me just how massive this project is. This was especially evident as I was writing the code for water, and realizing all the possibility spaces this mechanic brings up, and all the design challenges that come with it.

I have a lot of thoughts about the design of the game's world structure. I will sit down and write about this some more in detail next week when I'm home for the holidays and have some free time.

That being said, I think I've been making design decisions out of fear of negative reviews. I keep trying to make sure that the player is not lost, and can figure things out, and that moments of confusion are to be avoided at all cost. I'm starting to think I should not adhere to that philosophy so closely. Again, more about this in another post.

House of Stairs

Going to start playing with crazy architecture some more.

Here's a space I'm trying to make which is just made of staircases everywhere.

I love the visuals, the it's really pushing the performance of Unity to the limit. I need to figure out a way to optimize both the creation process as well as when it's running in game.









Regarding the last two images, the player isn't actually supposed to see that. There's a bug which causes you to fall out of the game world. I love the look of it though. Might be interesting to see if this can worked into the game somehow.

[William Chyr]

Devlog Update #132 - 12/19/2014

Working on creating new level. Feels great to be back doing content creation and designing puzzles based on new mechanic. More to come soon.