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[Alex Strook]

Update November 2022:

Update 3 years after making this devlog. Lots of thing happened in life since then and this project changed completely...but it got released!

It ended up being called "The Spirit and the Mouse" and turned out to be a third perso exploration narrative game staring a mouse with electric powers! Quite different, but hey, the electric theme is still there 

I still want to reuse the idea of filling neons signs in another prototype, but in the mean time here is what the game me and my wife ended up making! We're very proud of it 

You can check out the game here : https://store.steampowered.com/app/1679210/The_Spirit_and_the_Mouse/


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The name is temporary, I didn't think about it yet

Hello !
I started something that I felt had some potential, so why not start a devlog  

Just a quick history on this project :

A while ago I started an art project, playing with a neon/rainy/night visual moood, it was interesting, but I eventually stopped working on it, because even if it was visually cool, gameplay-wise it was going nowhere.
it looked like this :


it was more an art experiment, you can see more of this there if you are interesed

Recently I decided to go back to this project and play more with the idea of controlling a little Electric ball !
Started from scratch and prototyped what moving around conductive elements would look like (think mario Odyssey electric wires, but with way more control)



this is what i had after testing moving and jumping between splines. It was cool but I still feel it will be too much in term of art to produce (because I aim for a pretty high quality art in the end !)





And here is my last iteration where I simplified the concept even more, i and i would like trying to concentrate each "level" on a big neon signs (level design friendly !) Moving around the neons fill them with light, and once you fill everything, you're done. Also previous GIFs were in portrait, because intended to make a phone game, but for the sake of keeping it simple, it will be a short PC game


some research of the last iteration, trying to get a feel for how neon sign could look. You can see some reference below too



The goal would be to make a pretty relaxed experience, where you slowly fill up those neons, with a chill hop/rainy/neon mood that's particularity popular theses day

Hopefully I'll manage to find some time to work on this, and finally finish a project

[szczm_]

Stunning visuals! I really like your idea too.

My first reaction when I saw the first GIF was, it could be like a visual/explorative mobile game, where you are this little ball of light (controlled by your thumb/joystick) discovering the hidden curiosities of the worlds around you — basically like a "hidden object" game.

After I read the rest of your post, I like your idea too, a lot I'm definitely going to keep an eye on this.

[Alex Strook]

Stunning visuals! I really like your idea too.

My first reaction when I saw the first GIF was, it could be like a visual/explorative mobile game, where you are this little ball of light (controlled by your thumb/joystick) discovering the hidden curiosities of the worlds around you — basically like a "hidden object" game.

After I read the rest of your post, I like your idea too, a lot I'm definitely going to keep an eye on this.

Thanks ! I'd love to make an exploration game like you described, but I know myself, and I'll never be able to finish it  



I worked a bit on it today, tweaked the control, The control scheme is one button, to attach/detach from splines, but there are other controls I'm playing with (Speed up, slowmotion, Air control), but I'd like to make the experience playable with one button if possible ! Added some kind of "stickyness" to the end of the neons and its way easier to play like this



I like the effect when you can see the whole thing from far away when it's completed too

I spend a lot of time working on pipeline stuff. I'm creating Line Renderers from the splines, and storing the lit/unlit value on the neon on small texture ( width = num of vertex, height = 1px), it's working better than expected, still a bit glitchy as you can see in the gif/video but still! The goal is to have this working with 3d mesh, that makes it a little bit complex to setup, but It's necessary





speed up video


I'm still wondering if I should keep it simple or introduce one or two mechanic in the level design ( Blockers, moving splines,...)
Next time I'll try putting a build for people to try, and designing an actual level.9

[Alex Strook]

rough mood concept / paintover

I want the player to reactivate neons on a small street, the more you progress, the more people will walk through the alley... Still at the brainstorm stage !

[Alex Strook]

I worked more on the game feel, and started creating what will be the "main hub" of the game. I have a good idea of the how the progression of the game will work, and will share it next time !

Also trying to make the core gameplay as fun as possible before adding anything else, or focusing on the art





I think I'm going toward more figurative neons signs, (Restaurant, café, karaoké, ...) It will be more fun like this

[nova++]

I like the idea of having some sort of score bonuses for doing certain things, like traversing a level with as little revisiting of lit areas as possible. Playing the level can be as relaxed as you want, but you can also try to get it done as fast as possible, with as little revisiting as possible, etc.

[Alex Strook]

I like the idea of having some sort of score bonuses for doing certain things, like traversing a level with as little revisiting of lit areas as possible. Playing the level can be as relaxed as you want, but you can also try to get it done as fast as possible, with as little revisiting as possible, etc.

I’m g’ad you say that because this is exactly the way I want to do it !

[ashtonmorris]

This looks really great! Following

[Alex Strook]

This looks really great! Following

  thanks !!


I managed to work a bit on it this week end, I continuously tweaking the control and feel. Everything plays with one button right now !

Staying away from polishing art, I still don't feel confident enough with the gameplay and control, but it feel it's going in the right direction. Colors, bloom, and all of that is still super placeholder


I created a more refined level to project myself better, here is a little doodle of a neon sign from a Cozy Café   (Name is random, I just like how it sounds)



and what it looks like in game



and as usual, a video of the latest build






I'm still looking for ways to make navigation and traversal more interesting (because the game is only about that), with obstacles, or other things, but I want to keep everything as simple as possible...

[stuffedwombat]

Oh wow this is super cool!

idk with many people walking under the signs would improve the "chill-neon" mood tbh :D
In terms of controls: I like what I see so far, that looks super diverse!

Cant wait to see how this evolves tbh :D
gl!

[ChrisLSound]

Love this idea. It looks fantastic, and the mood sounds like exactly what I enjoy. Great work!

[Alex Strook]

I had a lot going on at work so I couldn't progress a lot. But after coming back to this with a fresh look, I decided to change a bit the direction of this project, I found something I'm very happy with and is confident that could be really fun !

I'm going back to a 3D environment, I won't spoil everything, but basically you will explore a small street, and try to help the people living in the street using your powers ! I've written a bunch of NPC quests, and trying to keep everything as tight as possible. Neons will still play a big part in the experience, they are just no the main way of traversal

You'll travel the city using metallic pipes and wires, you can shoot an electric bolt in a direction, and will be able to upgrade that power !



I created a simple dialog system, that should work for now, my next step is to create a simple "quest" system (but I feel Quest system are NEVER simple to do   )





As always Art is placeholder !

[Alex Strook]

Now that I have a clear vision of the game, I'm more motivated and able to create new mechanics quickly !
Here is a first pass on how to interact with objects in the world

[mystic_swamp]

This looks relaxing and fun. I can't wait. Keep up the good work!

[Alex Strook]

This looks relaxing and fun. I can't wait. Keep up the good work!

Thanks ! Relaxing is definitely what I'm looking for

In the past few day, I managed to get some work done :
-I wrote a first draft of the story/quest/NPC (this is the next big thing to work on, it will define the scope of the game, I need to make it as tight as possible)

-Integrated Dialogue System, I decided to go with this awesome asset



-Continued working on the game mechanics, tweaked navigation, and added a "launcher", that allows to change surface and also will take part in some puzzle ( they are Donkey Kong barrels in a way  )



And as usual small video

[Alex Strook]

Ok, I took the time to do a first proper art style research !




Experimenting with color palette, I already have a good idea of where I want to go in, I need to check how to do that in 3d properly now ! I love working with strong and bold colors, it makes everything pop ! 

better rez still frame :

[Alex Strook]

Last week I work on :

1 - Define all NPCS (Stories, Quests). Since the game is all about solving issues of people living around the street,I needed to define quickly how many NPC i will have, and have a rough idea of their stories. This allowed me to scope the game (a first pass at least), and limit myself
Everything was compiled in a flow chart, with a glance I can see how every quest interact with each other



2- Time to start working on the real layout ! Level design is definitely one of my weak point, so that will be a big challenge...Anyway after placing NPC proxy around a space "big but not too big" for my taste,I'm starting to define path and connections between those. It's almost like a mini-MetroidVania map right now
I think i will stay in the Level design blockout stage for a while since it'S so important for this game




3-Even if the layout is far from finished, I started doing a paintover, to get more idea for the layout (slowly thinking about visual style, but not too much yet)




and of course, more programming/debug than ever

 

[RichSG]

Looks really unique and I'm loving the art style! Have you chosen the music style for this yet? Looking forward to playing a demo for this!

[Alex Strook]

Looks really unique and I'm loving the art style! Have you chosen the music style for this yet? Looking forward to playing a demo for this!

Thank you ! 

The music will go toward Chill-hop /lofi music, I'm still working on how to integrate music as best as I can to be a big part of the experience !

[Alex Strook]

Little update after 100+ days, I edited the first post with more info but this game slowly morphed into something completely different and ended up releasing!

It's now "The Spirit and the Mouse" and lots of ideas carried over: Electricity, Helping people, the silhouette look of the humans, ... Some dialogue and quest also ended up being in the final game


  Cheers