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[andhedrew]

Holy shit, you know I wasn't really expecting bunnies with that title "Thistledown: The Tragedy of Blood"

I'm really intrigued

Reminds me heavily of OneShot and this style of RPGmaker games, relying heavily on story, To The Moon, that kind of stuff. Makes me wanna play it!

I'd love to see more!

Awesome! You're exactly right about what style of game it is. I'm focusing very much on story, character, and building an interesting world.

[andhedrew]

Get an update when Thistledown Launches: http://www.andhegames.com/thistledown

A miscellany of animation [GIFS]

I've been animating, animating, animating this week. Great fun!
But, first things first: giant statue.



Then we have one of the dangerous "Fair Folk", the Fovos:





A couple of animations for Oni, our main character:



(including one demonstrating how I feel right now):



And, what's perhaps my favorite animation to date:



Those glasses.

I should have some music to share soon, IT'S SO GOOD. 

[andhedrew]

So, much of the progress this week has been things I can't show you. Boring stuff, like save systems and fixing things that have been randomly breaking.



Anyway, ZOOMING LOGO:


and a sweet burning contract animation in-game:



That's all for now. I've also been working on secret stuff. Secret secret stuff that I shan't spoil yet.

[Ikkir_]

Looks neat, really dig the portraits.

For your building fades, you may want to consider a 'Link to the Past' building enter/exit fade (diminishing / extending ellipses).  Alternatively, of course, find a way to do a no-fade which keeps the main character in view while transitioning, but its a bit harder to design stuff that way.

[andhedrew]

Looks neat, really dig the portraits.

For your building fades, you may want to consider a 'Link to the Past' building enter/exit fade (diminishing / extending ellipses).  Alternatively, of course, find a way to do a no-fade which keeps the main character in view while transitioning, but its a bit harder to design stuff that way.

Thanks for the idea, I'll have to look into that. 

[andhedrew]

Hello, hello!

I've been putting together a demo of Thistledown, which I am going to be making available as soon as i can.

In the mean time, if you're impatient like me, you can watch a whole demo here:

Video of the demo:





 

[andhedrew]

Short update, to let you know: development has paused until November while I finish up development on another game. I'm having the Thistledown script evaluated by some pretty amazing folks, and working to grow the Thistledown team.

We're still here, and Thistledown moving forward.

[smgorden]

Just discovered this thread today. Looks like you've got a solid theme and vision for this game. Will follow!

[andhedrew]

Just discovered this thread today. Looks like you've got a solid theme and vision for this game. Will follow!

Thank you! I've worked hard on the world and characters, really trying to tell a good story. I'm glad that came through!

[smgorden]

I've worked hard on the world and characters

It shows! The bit with the glasses and scroll was great, btw.

And the scale of the larger objects makes for great set-pieces, which seems like it would help with building a mental map of memorable locations in the game.

[andhedrew]

I've worked hard on the world and characters

It shows! The bit with the glasses and scroll was great, btw.

And the scale of the larger objects makes for great set-pieces, which seems like it would help with building a mental map of memorable locations in the game.

Good eye - that's exactly what I was intending. Building a mental map is difficult for me if areas aren't differentiated enough.

[andhedrew]

Quick update:
We've been putting together a Wiki for the world of Thistledown. It's primarily a organizational tool, but it's interesting reading. Don't go there if you want to enter Thistledown blind, do go there if you like backstory and world-building.

Wiki:
https://thistledown.wikia.com/wiki/Thistledown_Wiki

[andhedrew]

New teaser-trailer!

[andhedrew]

Hello!
I've been feverishly at work, converting Thistledown into a side-scrolling platformer. Why? I wasn't getting the kind of depth and visual possibilities that I wanted with top-down.

I'll give you a small example of what it looks like now - we aware, the tiles I put on there look like someone ate a castle and vomited it everywhere. I'm experimenting with layers, parallax, etc. on my way to getting the look I want.





You'll also see a bit of the menu/settings system I've built in that video.

The rest of the game, as I build it and add the storyline, looks something like this:





The script

A handful of months ago, I sent the script out to a group of script advisors. Among them were scriptwriters, directors, and creative writing experts. I had them tear the script apart, sparing not my feelings, because I want it to be as good as it can be. I couldn't be more thrilled with the results - the Thistledown script is tight, emotional, and I'm incredibly proud of it. Through their help, it's become something more than I could produce on my own.

But why go to all of this trouble?
Most video games don't need much of a story – "Plumber on drugs saving a princess from turtles" is all you need for most games. I believe that the history of games as lacking in story has caused game-makers to under-invest in story. Many games are fantastic with little or no story, but the potential for games as story-telling devices is amazing. I Chose to put a whole year+ into this story and my world, because I believe that the effort will being forth a powerful narrative, in a deeply interesting world. I can't wait to share it with you!

[andhedrew]

We're starting to look like this now:

[andhedrew]

I've been drawing portraits over the holidays, here is a fun selection!



Also been building future localization support into the game system, so I can add other languages easily in the future.

I now have a html website up for Thistledown: http://thistledowngame.com/

[andhedrew]

Hello! I've come bearing screenshots! As the first chapter nears completion, and as  more and more systems come into place, I'll be posting new devlogs more often.

[andhedrew]

I've added several new areas since the last update, including 12 (count 'em!) new NPCs. Mostly Kouneli, one cute mole.





Also, brand new website! Shiny!

http://thistledowngame.com

[andhedrew]

New haunting trailer, featuring a lot of new areas and content:





I'll be headed toward Kickstarter in a little over a month! Hooray! 

[andhedrew]

Hey! First I'm working on new illustrations to represent the game, ink and watercolor:



I really wanted to represent the delicate emotions of the game, with a light, delicate illustration.

Kickstarter
I'll be headed to Kickstarter in June, if you like Kickstarter, you can follow here : https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/andhegames
...and Thistledown is on Steam now, available for the wish listing: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1055960/Thistledown_A_Tragedy_of_Blood/

So exciting!!!