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[Pixel Noise]

Are the White Trash guys intentionally modeled to resemble KKK hoods? Is this a subtle dig at white supremacy and the current American social climate? Just curious - it's something that struck me as soon as I saw it. I'm not trying to make any political statement or hijack the thread.

[JobLeonard]

“And let’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that anotherDev doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”



I'm pretty, pretty sure it's intentional.

If we are allowed to have a little bit of politicizing here, this might be worth a read for this little paragraph alone:

Many poor whites feel left out precisely because they are left out. We literally refer to poor white people as “trash,” as if the default mode of whiteness is some pure ideal they’ve failed at. The narrative created for disenfranchised whites is often one of laziness, and rarely that class and poverty are institutional traps that are almost impossible to overcome.

What I'm saying is: anotherDev, I don't know how political you want to get in this game, since the theme is seems like it's more like a mix of light-hearted humour that is also about ecological and now a bit of racial justice. But you might want to double check that by calling them "white trash", these villains don't end up accidentally mocking poor white people just for being poor.

Although I suspect that within the context of this game it's pretty obviously not intended to be

[nathy after dark]

^ The South Park Season 21 premiere is super relevant. I watched it today and I thought they did a good job of not mocking white supremacists for being poor, but for ineffectually waving confederate flags everywhere like that would solve their problems. Also it was hilarious.

But yeah my first instinct when I saw the White Trash reveal was that it might not go so well? anotherDev, I don't know your ethnicity but the feedback I keep getting when I try to address race in positive ways in my writing, is that it's better just to let people of color tell their own stories.

</DEFINITELY hijacking the thread with politics>

[anotherDev]

Lol

Way back, about a year ago(before the current climate), I had a character design that I really liked that was basically just a guy in a pointy robe.


As I developed more, I thought it worked well for a "White Trash" member because, yes, I am aware it looks like a member of the KKK.

You'll see perhaps if you play the game eventually, but the game isn't very political. Even the whole "polluted" world thing is as shallow as a save the princess type deal, and is really just a set up for a more character- driven story. The "White Trash" joke doesn't go much beyond the, I guess you can call it play on words. You won't find me making jokes about them living in a trailer park or shopping at walmart, or whatever it is white people do.

That said, it may offend members of the KKK, but, you know, I think I'll take that loss.

For what it's worth I am, in fact, a scrawny, nerdy, pale, frail, average, skinny little white boy

[JobLeonard]

I can see where you're coming from, but you may be setting yourself up for twitter outrage because of misinterpretations.

Even if you know and acknowledge that the game is shallow and not trying to be political, both the pollution theme and this white trash joke will make people try to read between the lines, even if you didn't put anything there consciously.

And mark my words: responding to that with "I didn't mean anything by it! It's just a shallow, simple game with a character-driven story!" will cause people accuse you of being ignorant due to white male privilege.

Don't get me wrong, I like the joke a lot, and the character design is cute so it shouldn't offend anyone (haven't seen the rest of the writing yet so no idea where that will go). And I'm also not saying you should change the game because of a fear of backlash. But sticking your head in the sand won't work either, you have to anticipate for this kind of response.

[Pixel Noise]

Exactly - I'm not suggesting you change the design, or anything - but it's definitely good to have thought about this stuff, because if it's coming up here in the devlog, it's going to come up again as you start to market the game more. Maybe some of that thought will inform the design/dialogue/whatever slightly - but it doesn't have to. You just need to have your stance and answers ready for when these questions pop-up.

[anotherDev]

Thanks for the advice! Noted.

Weekly update! Comin' in hot! Woah!

Pins are equippable items that players find across the world. Each one offers a different power or bonus. They work much like badges in the Paper Mario games, if you've played those. However, the game's time mechanics and other systems allows for pins with unique and exciting effects. It really adds a lot to the game, figuring out which pins to equip to best suit what you plan on doing with your day.




Here are some examples:




In addition to finding them out in the worlds, you can also purchase many from Homeless Harry's shop with the trash you collect out on your adventures. He gets a new shipment every day!


Hope you look forward to seeing what pin combinations work the best when you play the game! As I said, I am working on getting a playable build ready, but I'm also working on the first trailer, which I hope to have October 1st! (Hopefully!) So look forward to that! Maybe! If you want! I think it'll be cool!

[nathy after dark]

Paper Mario inspiration seems very appropriate for this and now I might start playing Thousand Year Door again.

[JobLeonard]

^

[Alce]

Love the pins you've shared so far, the names and effects look really fun and would actually motivate me to try and collect them all. Excited for the trailer!

[anotherDev]

Hey! Great news! I've spent the last week working on the game's first reveal trailer and I think I finally finished!





Would love some feedback on what you think of it. My first real attempt at making one, I hope it entertains yoooooouuuuu!!!!

I'll be back with more updates soon!

[JobLeonard]

Very cute! It certainly entertained me and I'm oddly proud to have given it its first 

[Pixel Noise]

LOVE the trailer! Great pacing, explanation of the game, and great sound too

[nathy after dark]

Just had a chance to watch the trailer. I'm in agreement, it was an amazing trailer. I'm getting vibes that the game is something like Pikmin meets Paper Mario meets The Missing Scarf.





The few things in the trailer that are minor, but would decrease my enjoyment in the final game, are the pixel artifacts on some of the animation frames, chunks of black background sticking to the sprites, etc. and in one shot, the mouse cursor visible.

And I might have to be that girl and point out it would be better to write "humankind" instead of "mankind" and it'd be nice to have a choice to be a garbagewoman instead of a garbageman.  

[anotherDev]

Hey! Weekly update!

I've been working on the final world of the game, and isn't totally ready to show yet, plus I don't wanna spoil too much, so I was thinking I'll show off some friends that you'll meet during your adventures.

Friends are the heart of This Game is Trash, they provide most of the content in the open worlds and they provide the structure for planning out each of your days.

For example:



Chip is a dropped Ice cream scoop that is going to melt and die in 3 days. He is struggling with coping with his inevitable death, and asks if you'd be able to just talk to him as much as you can for his remaining 3 days. You have conversations ranging from whether or not Bruce Lee would win in a fight against Godzilla to what you think happens when we die. Will you give him your undivided attention for those 3 days? Even if it means canceling plans with some of your other friends?



Iggy is a spider who runs a failing tv game show. It plays like a trivia jeopardy game, asking questions relating to the things you've encountered in the game thus far. He asks you to schedule when you can do new episodes of the show. But without the trash to pay them, the studio crew of the show start to reveal their OWN plans, which you may choose to help them out with.


There's plenty of other characters scattered around the world, they're probably my favorite part of making the game and the people who have tested it said it's probably their favorite part too. I'm excited to have players discover them all, and my goal is to make them unlike any characters you've seen in video games before, and find them oddly relateable in their fears and goals.

Thank you for your trailer feedback, and thank you @nathy grrl for telling me about 'The Missing Scarf', it's my new favorite thing haha.

By the way, any advice, based on your experiences so far, on where might be a good place to show off this game to more people? I have a marketing plan, but I'm just curious.

Till then, as always, thanks for the interest, it keeps me going.

- Conor

 

[quantumpotato]

screw twitter outrage
tigsource.com says "make the games you want to play"
stopmotion looks cool, keep it going

[anotherDev]

Thanks!

Just a quick update today, I've been finishing up the final world of the game, I've added in a murder mystery sequence where every 3 days a character you've previously met is murdered and you must figure out who the killer is.



You look around for clue like: "The killer doesn't have any arms" to narrow down who it could be.



The investigation is headed by famed South Korean detective Kang-ho Song





The killer is different every time. I don't wanna give too much away, but its shaping up to be one of my favorite parts of the game! I love games that have murder mystery stuff, but I always felt a lot of them played it safe, so I hope to make this a little different.

Thanks!

[anotherDev]

OH MY GOD IT'S ANOTHER UPDATE!

It's been a little bit, I've been working mostly on polishing the game mechanically so it doesn't feel as janky, which doesn't really come across in GIFS and such, but I've also been finishing up the last of the art for the Large Trash you collect through the game, which as I've said, functions similar to stars in Mario games.



I've also been working on a new boss for my Ghetto Beach world, The Original Squiddy Squiddy.



I have really exciting stuff coming up to show. The game is almost done, which is super cool. I hope to have the game's finale done by the end of the month. After that, it's a lot of debugging and polishing.

Thanks, as always, for all the support. It keeps me going.

[Nana]

THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER, OMG, OMG OMG

[Beirud]

Wow, I'm new arond here and I'm looking what the other members are doing.
This is definitely a piece of art and the gameplay looks amazing. Looking forward to any updates from this game!

A little feedback: try to tell a story in the trailer maybe you could make a little claynimation short with an inspiring/fun/any other story related to the game and then add the gameplay and game features. And you could use some pay ads to get to more people because this is beautiful.

Greetings.