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[Mark Mayers]

Update 125: 10/05/2017

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DESOLUS WORLD DESIGN

Recently I've been creating lots of content for the game, and structuring out how the entire game world is organized.
Here are the three worlds I've been working on over the past month, although all of the art assets are in prototype form.
As loose placeholder names, let's call them Forest, Fire, and Water.

FOREST



FIRE



WATER



Each of these game worlds will emphasize a different take on the mechanics in Desolus.
Additionally, each world is designed to have a different type of architecture and spacial emphasis.

Forest:
Sparse and ruined architecture, emphasizing natural and organic space.

Fire:
Highly dense and interconnected architecture, emphasizing vertical space.

Water:
Sprawling city-like architecture, emphasizing horizontal space.

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WORLD DESIGN AND ZELDA DUNGEONS

You can notice the similarities between Ocarina of Time and those world themes.
Although this is a common trope, this is mainly meant as a starting point. Each Desolus area will have its own unique feel and twists.

Speaking of Zelda, recently, I stumbled on isometric maps of every Ocarina of Time Dungeon.







As I've mentioned in previous DevLogs, I want puzzles in Desolus to be more than individual challenges.
Each puzzle in Desolus is meant to be part of a interconnected world, similar to a Zelda Dungeon.

The introduction of architecture in the game has given me the design freedom to experiment with this idea.
I am now planning out larger puzzles which span entire worlds, which are solved gradually and in multiple parts.

I will talk about this more in a future DevLog.

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[Mark Mayers]

Update 126: 10/07/2017

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PROTOTYPING WORLDS

I've been blocking/gray-boxing a few worlds in Desolus. Here are some pictures to celebrate Blocktober!  













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[Mark Mayers]

Update 127: 10/29/2017

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THE DROWNED CATHEDRAL



I have recently been creating a very detailed cathedral area for Desolus.
This came as an effort to push forward with my artistic and architecture skills.

The cathedral is the most ambitious and detailed structure I've attempted yet.
It's still a work in progress, although I've spent an entire weekend on its design.

Inspiration for the architecture came from M. C. Escher's 'Drowned Cathedral' as well as Gothic cathedral architecture.



The primary difference between this structure, and previous architecture, is the amount of research I've done.

I realized much of my previous architecture didn't make sense from a design standpoint.
Most of the layouts were mathematical and fractal-like, but not true architecture.
To push the boundaries of my attempt at realism and accuracy, I needed detailed real-life reference.

One of the most valuable references I found was this video by the Smithsonian.
This video provides historical and architectural details on the Chartres Cathedral.





The Smithsonian video details this floor plan which reveals the various architectural elements.
Since most Gothic cathedrals share these elements, I decided to use them for the Desolus cathedral.



Although this cathedral is still a work in progress, it will serve as a hub for the beginning levels of Desolus.

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[KeinZantezuken]

As I've mentioned in previous DevLogs, I want puzzles in Desolus to be more than individual challenges.

Depending on the complexity of a puzzle like that it could be very confusing and frustrating for player if he cant at a glance  at least suspect what is the goal and how far he progressed or what his last action affected. How do you plan to tackle this?

[Mark Mayers]

As I've mentioned in previous DevLogs, I want puzzles in Desolus to be more than individual challenges.

Depending on the complexity of a puzzle like that it could be very confusing and frustrating for player if he cant at a glance  at least suspect what is the goal and how far he progressed or what his last action affected. How do you plan to tackle this?

Good question!

One of the possible approaches is dividing up large puzzles into smaller solvable chunks.
The chunks can be solved in any order, but must all be solved to progress.
It's important to convey a constant sense of progress to the player, and avoid ambiguity in this aspect.

A similar approach would be to introduce the large puzzle with a 'prelude' puzzle.
This is a very quick puzzle, which the only goal is to communicate the larger puzzle to the player.
In my recent designs I tend to use this approach often as a form of communication.

Finally, play testing is most critical. It's impossible to guess every action a player will take, or state of mind the player will be in.

[KeinZantezuken]

As I've mentioned in previous DevLogs, I want puzzles in Desolus to be more than individual challenges.

Depending on the complexity of a puzzle like that it could be very confusing and frustrating for player if he cant at a glance  at least suspect what is the goal and how far he progressed or what his last action affected. How do you plan to tackle this?

Good question!

One of the possible approaches is dividing up large puzzles into smaller solvable chunks.
The chunks can be solved in any order, but must all be solved to progress.

That's a puzzle design approach, not a solution though. Constructing one big far-reaching puzzle out of smaller chunk still does not solve the possible issue iof player being confused what exactly did he solve and what for if there is no clear telegraphing of his action and he is having hard time to understand that he is facing one big complex puzzle made out of smaller pieces. Especially if game is not always consistent and may have small puzzles at the begging or as an interlude i.e. if his [players] pats experience differs.

A similar approach would be to introduce the large puzzle with a 'prelude' puzzle.
This is a very quick puzzle, which the only goal is to communicate the larger puzzle to the player.
In my recent designs I tend to use this approach often as a form of communication.

Examples?

[Mark Mayers]

Constructing one big far-reaching puzzle out of smaller chunk still does not solve the possible issue iof player being confused what exactly did he solve and what for if there is no clear telegraphing of his action and he is having hard time to understand that he is facing one big complex puzzle made out of smaller pieces. Especially if game is not always consistent and may have small puzzles at the begging or as an interlude i.e. if his [players] pats experience differs.

Hmmmm. I honestly don't have a 100% solution to this, outside of making intelligent and informed design decisions.
The best method is playtesting, receiving critical feedback, and iterating.

When I can give more concrete examples, I'll likely have a future devlog regarding the questions you mentioned.
Currently crunching out this latest build

[KeinZantezuken]

Currently crunching out this latest build

Any plans for demo?

[Sacha Holsnyder (Appeau Studio)]

Hi! This looks beautiful! Definitely the kind of dream-like landscapes I would love to explore :D
But the music though... Can I ask why you went for the melancolic piano stuff?

[Mark Mayers]

Any plans for demo?

I haven't demoed the game publicly in a while, the last time was GDC.
Most of this was because I've torn the game apart and put it back together in pieces since then.
Next time I'm at a festival or expo, I'll make sure to announce it on here and Twitter!

Hi! This looks beautiful! Definitely the kind of dream-like landscapes I would love to explore :D
But the music though... Can I ask why you went for the melancolic piano stuff?

The music is essential to the narrative of the game, and conveys much of the emotion and atmosphere without any words.
The entire soundtrack is solo piano. I've worked with Kyle Landry in creating the soundtrack since the very beginning of development.

If you're referring to the music of title screen in particular:





Notice how the music transitions away from the initial melancholic feel around here.
The pacing of the title screen music in a sense summarizes the pacing of the game's narrative.
I haven't posted much about narrative, but keep an eye out in the future.

[Sacha Holsnyder (Appeau Studio)]

The music is essential to the narrative of the game, and conveys much of the emotion and atmosphere without any words.

Indeed! And with such surreal and abstract visuals the music gets extremely important. It's just that the choice of a combination of half a bit cheesy, half romantic Rachmaninoff-like piano totally threw me off! Although I love Rachmaninoff, it is in my opinion an overused and abused genre/style. But I see you've given the music some serious thought, so I'm totally rethinking my first impression right now and I'm eager to try the game out and see/hear how the music fits with the narrative :D

[Mark Mayers]

Although I love Rachmaninoff, it is in my opinion an overused and abused genre/style. But I see you've given the music some serious thought, so I'm totally rethinking my first impression right now and I'm eager to try the game out and see/hear how the music fits with the narrative :D

Much of the soundtrack resembles works of the classical/romantic composers but that's intentional.
Most people would think of ambient electronic music for this type of game, but I don't think that fits my vision. 
I guarantee you the music is used tastefully and is hopefully not cheesy! Haha. 

The soundtrack is varied, however there still is an overarching melancholy feel to the game.
You're alone, exploring these massive surreal structures, which are in ruins from fractures of time and space.
There was much thought put into mood/atmosphere and where I use specific pieces I've had Kyle write.

[io3 creations]

Most people would think of ambient electronic music for this type of game

There might be a few reasons for that:
-I don't think I've heard the music before but it doesn't fit for me as I also imagined a more abstract ambient music.  The piano sounds are "too realistic" while the visuals suggest something a very different world. You know what a piano looks like, you've (likely) seen someone playing on a piano and might have even played yourself.  But electronic sounds fit more with abstract themes.  Yeah, there are instruments, but there the correlation isn't one to one.  With a piano, you press a key and hear a corresponding sound.  With a synth, there are more steps, settings, adjustments to the output sound from pressing a key or might even be entering a note in a digital music sheet.
-Unlike in a movie where you are directing the person's focus down to the exact second, in a game that type of direction is more difficult.  Especially, since the game is partially about solving puzzles, then I wonder how well a melancholic feel could work.  Perhaps, similar to action games, when an enemy shows up and the music changes to action music, it would work well in certain "cutscenes" i.e. when the player is moving between regions or is meant to observe certain things (e.g. approaching or entering structures) and expertence the melancholy.  But my feeling is that it could have a "slowing down interfering" effect when I want to focus on solving puzzles and go from place to place.

That's my first impression but will let you know about my experience after playing the game.  Worst case scenario, I do have many ambient electronic tracks that I could use as substitute.

[Mark Mayers]

That's my first impression but will let you know about my experience after playing the game.  Worst case scenario, I do have many ambient electronic tracks that I could use as substitute.

I agree with your reasoning but without playing the game it's hard to contextualize these decisions

Most of the songs are designed to be background music and supplementary to the game.
Right now the music loops (and changes when you travel between dimensions) but that will likely change in the future.
Achieving the balance between when music should be used vs. silence or ambiance, is very important.

When I send out future playtesting builds, I would definitely appreciate your feedback!

[Mark Mayers]

Update 128: 11/08/2017

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June 2017 - November 2017: A Kingdom of Gray Boxes

Over the past several months I've been 'gray boxing' out the entire game, and prototyping the various locations.
Here is progress so far, over roughly four/five months of work. You can find a link to all the images here.

[io3 creations]

That's my first impression but will let you know about my experience after playing the game.  Worst case scenario, I do have many ambient electronic tracks that I could use as substitute.

I agree with your reasoning but without playing the game it's hard to contextualize these decisions

Most of the songs are designed to be background music and supplementary to the game.
Right now the music loops (and changes when you travel between dimensions) but that will likely change in the future.
Achieving the balance between when music should be used vs. silence or ambiance, is very important.

When I send out future playtesting builds, I would definitely appreciate your feedback!

Sure! I'm interested!

I've been watching various fractal videos recently and some parts reminded of the screenshots you posted (recently and in the past)

[Mark Mayers]

I've been watching various fractal videos recently and some parts reminded of the screenshots you posted (recently and in the past)

Those are some really cool videos, thanks for sharing!
I'll keep them around as reference!

[Mark Mayers]

Update 129: 11/14/2017

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WORLD PROGRESS

I've made pretty great progress with the overall design of Desolus, and its various worlds.

I've prototyped four of the five major sections to the game, and also a hub area which connects each of them.
However, as of now all the worlds except for the intro world are mostly empty puzzle wise. This will change in the coming month.
My next goal is to have a series of puzzles for the worlds, each based on a unique mechanical theme.

Here's progress on three of the world designs I've been working on:







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[DireLogomachist]

Dang that second pic is amazing! Love the fractal cut-out! Very striking!

[Mark Mayers]

Dang that second pic is amazing! Love the fractal cut-out! Very striking!

Hey thanks!

That architecture I made most recently, so that's probably why it looks the best.
I'm aiming to have every environment as good or better than the second picture!