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[sorensilk]

Thanks, gamerzap.

[sorensilk]

More later. This for now:

[eigenbom]

congrats!

[sorensilk]

Thanks, eigenbom. It definitely happened quicker than I was expecting but I'm really excited.

[sorensilk]

Been a few weeks since I updated. The game is coming along great. The core gameplay is done. I'm going to do a bit more play testing soon but I don't think much will change. After that, these are the only major things I have left:

Menu System (almost done, see pic below)
Steam integration (store setup, achievements, etc.)
Finalize music tracks (should be done next week)
Launch trailer
Demo

I'm definitely in crunch mode but having a blast. Will probably post a release date very soon. As always, follow on Twitter for more updates.

[sorensilk]

Main menu system done.
Save game system done.
Pause menu done.
Music, 90% done.

At this point it's trailer, tweaks and small improvements, demo, and Steam integration.

Main Menu in action:

[sorensilk]

Update on IndieCade and play-testing:

IndieCade
I wanted to share my experience with IndieCade. This was my first time to submit a game so my expectations were very low. In addition, the build that I submitted was barely a demo. It was submitted just a month after I started on the game. I knew what I was submitting was not going to blow anyone away but I did think it captured the overall mood and concept of the game. To me it was worth it to submit for the feedback IndieCade provides and just to get my first big submission done so I didn't have to stress about it.

I received my 3 jury responses last week, 2 positive, 1 negative. I'd share them in full but all 3 contain massive spoilers for the game. Overall, the thoughts of the 3 judges can be summed up as: "It's an interesting setup but doesn't seem to pay off." The one negative review was a bit harsher.

It was hard to read that kind of feedback but I realized I agreed with almost every bit of it. What I decided to submit was not a full game, it was essentially the setup of the game and didn't go anywhere. I knew that because I hadn't created the rest of the game yet. Some of the ideas in it were a bit cliche and have already been changed. But the negative review still stuck with me. I got a bit demotivated.

So I did two things. First, I decided to actually go back and play my submission build and: Wow. 0_o I found that I had completely forgotten what was (and wasn't) included in that build. It was not a great build. It was an OK demo but by no means great. When I compare it to what I have now it's an amazing difference.

Second, I reminded myself why I submitted in the first place: To get feedback on the concept and get my first big submission done. I accomplished both. The feedback lined up perfectly with what I originally expected and my first submission is done. No more jitters about that.

As I'm getting close to wrapping the game up, I know I don't have a perfect game. I could spend years working on it and it still won't be a perfect game, it never would be. But no one else makes perfect games either. And the amount of progress I've made since I started is crazy and I'm glad I was reminded of that.

Play-testing
In addition to my feedback from IndieCade, I've also been doing some more play-testing the past week. Play-testing has become my go to example of a double-edged sword...I get some really great feedback but I also have to decide what feedback I should ignore. I've definitely gotten some really great ideas from people, things that I never would have thought of myself. But I have to remember what type of game I'm trying to make. It's based around exploration, discovery, and mystery. You have to dig for a lot of the content. It's a particular type of game for a specific player. This means that I have to completely ignore some suggestions to "help the player".

One of my play-testers skipped almost half of the game's content because he wasn't forced to look at it. When he finished he was confused about what happened and why. He thought that was a negative but that's exactly what I'm going for. Not only is the narrative of the game meant to be a little confusing, this is also a game where the more you put into it, the more you get out. He wanted actual flashing signs to tell him to look at something. That ruins the mystery that I'm trying to create. If I tell the player "Hey! Look over here!" it has way less impact than if you're digging in "corners" and discover something yourself.

However, his feedback was still beneficial. He made me think about how to give the player a tiny bit more of a nudge in the right direction without ruining the mystery and actually improving the overall experience. I make that sound like it was easy. It was not. It took days of thinking about how he was playing, what type of player he is, and comparing all of that to what kind of a game I really want to make. It's really tough, especially knowing that how much information I give players will directly impact how many people like the game.

However, I've also gotten to the point of accepting that some people aren't going to like my game. Just look at the reviews of any "walking simulator" or narrative driven game that's light on gameplay. Some people just hate these types of games and that's perfectly fine. More and more I'm keeping that in mind. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue to do so when I read my first negative review.

It's definitely a bit of a roller coaster working on this game but it's getting easier. And don't take any of this as a complaint, I wouldn't trade doing this for anything right now.

[DocLogic]

Update on IndieCade and play-testing:

IndieCade
 He made me think about how to give the player a tiny bit more of a nudge in the right direction without ruining the mystery and actually improving the overall experience. I make that sound like it was easy. It was not. It took days of thinking about how he was playing, what type of player he is, and comparing all of that to what kind of a game I really want to make. It's really tough, especially knowing that how much information I give players will directly impact how many people like the game.

However, I've also gotten to the point of accepting that some people aren't going to like my game. Just look at the reviews of any "walking simulator" or narrative driven game that's light on gameplay. Some people just hate these types of games and that's perfectly fine. More and more I'm keeping that in mind. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue to do so when I read my first negative review.

It's definitely a bit of a roller coaster working on this game but it's getting easier. And don't take any of this as a complaint, I wouldn't trade doing this for anything right now.

Hey my friend, I want you to know that I truly appreciate your project, and I just read through this thread. Congrats on the greenlight, and thanks so much for sharing your experience with indiecade, and for being so candid. I can see that ending, or twist, to Verde Station is really the "meat" of the game. I look forward to playing it.

I know how you feel...getting feedback, or watching someone play your game can really make you second-guess yourself, which is always a good thing. Do you dumb it down so it's more accessible , or do you make a game that some people will shy away from?

Ultimately, I think it's best to find a balance. Game design can change so much throughout the course of a game. Some things that are interesting from a design perspective end up simply being not fun. I've been struggling with this myself, and sometime I feel like I'm "getting in the way" of my own game. Like, certain things that were part of the conception of the game, simply do not work, or are not fun.

I think it's really smart you are supporting Oculus, and everything visually and conceptually  about your game is attractive. I hope this is just a stepping stone for you, and hope you continue to make more games after this project.

[DocLogic]

Also, your menus look amazing...man I hate working on GUI.

Did you use any Unity Assets for your save system?

[sorensilk]

Thanks for the kind words, Doc. I definitely agree that it's about balance but some decisions are still very hard. Especially when, as you mentioned, you have a concept that you like that just doesn't play well. Do you stick with it because it's what you want to create and hope people will get it? Or do you change it a little? Or a lot?

You wouldn't believe the amount of features that I originally had in the game that I've cut. Either because they didn't play well or were just too complicated to implement well. It's tough. I wish I had answer for how to approach it but I definitely don't. Just trying to do what I think works.

And thanks about the menus. Like a lot of the game, it came from necessity. I couldn't get the standard GUI to work the way I wanted so I just built it in-engine since I already had computer terminals built out. I did roughly the same thing with the save system. I tried to use Unity Serilaizer but it introduced a bit too many problems. Probably my fault since I waited so long to implement it. I ended up rolling my own solution. That sounds fancy but it's basically just hacked together. It's not a great way to do a save system but it works. Plus it loads really quick. I'm both proud and embarrassed at how I did it. Maybe I'll do a write up at some point. We'll see.

And I definitely hope to continue to make games. I'm sure I will in some fashion. If Verde Station sells even decently I'll do it full time.

[sorensilk]

And out of the blue, Verde Station will be coming to Steam Early Access tomorrow. What? Tomorrow? Yes, tomorrow. The store page is live and the countdown is, well, counting down. At 9am PDT tomorrow, you can start playing.

KEEP IN MIND, this is Early Access so the game isn't quite done. And this is not your typical Early Access game. It's a secret box game. So once you know the mystery you can't unknow it. If you want to experience the final, fully polished game, please wait. But if you want to check it out now, give feedback, and even suggest content that may make it into the game then get involved now.

I went a bit dark since the game was greenlit to keep working on it and figure out how I wanted to launch. From the very beginning I've known exactly what I wanted the game experience to be and how the story would play out. Throughout development I've gotten great suggestions from friends, family, and other play-testers. Often, ideas I may never have thought of myself. I am a one-man studio after all.

So ultimately, I decided that rather than keep working on the game in isolation for the next few months, I'd open it up even further. I want Early Access players to be A LOT more than bug catchers. Let me hear your ideas and suggestions about the game-play interactions and even the story.

Tomorrow you will be able to play the entire game from beginning to end. Most likely, that path will not change, only what happens along it. It doesn't include all the content I plan to make. Many of the items are not interactive yet. The story is there, although it's intentionally deeply hidden. Give me your input on all of it. Suggest ideas, improve the story elements, get involved.

[EdFarage]

Congratz!

But why this name though?
It literally means green.

[Kytin]

This looks really nice. How many people are there working on it? And congratulations on getting onto steam. I think I might avoid playing it before it's done so as to give myself the best experience when I do play it, but I'm definitely looking forward to it.

[rsdworker]

looks nice BUT i noticed the same design of doors that used on centration game