Hi all, Tom here! I have some fun news to share today! Not only is CRT7 taking part in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, but in honour of being selected I've also taken some time to update basically everything here on Steam! New Demo Released Today The biggest news is that we're rele
Hi all, Tom here!
I have some fun news to share today! Not only is CRT7 taking part in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, but in honour of being selected I've also taken some time to update basically everything here on Steam!
New Demo Released Today
The biggest news is that we're releasing a big update to the demo today, for everyone to try. The previous one was not really representative of where the game was any more, so I'm excited to see people try this new one. All new features such as a hotspot system, and in-game note taking have been added! The graphics have been given a glow up! The puzzles and hints have been tweaked and adjusted to feel fairer!
If you want to try it you can download the demo right now:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2096780/CRT7/
New Trailer Released
Since I've last updated the page I've been working on later parts of the game which are harder to share without spoiling things. Still, I thought it was way past time to update the trailer to again better reflect where the game is right now. Why not take a look for yourself?
Steam Page Refresh
Last but not least, I've redone all the key art and assets on the Steam page to make them free all lovely a new. Improved screenshots, videos rather than GIFs, and new logos! Below is just one example of how dramatically some areas in the later game have changed and improved since the last major update:
Anyway enough waffling from me! I really hope you enjoy the new demo, and know that I'll get back to working on the full game again very soon...
Hi all, Tom here! Just a quick message today to let you know that the CRT7 demo has been temporarily removed from the Steam page... but I promise it's for a good reason! (Spoilers in the event title) Behind the scenes I've been working on later parts CRT7 when I've been able to,
Hi all, Tom here!
Just a quick message today to let you know that the CRT7 demo has been temporarily removed from the Steam page... but I promise it's for a good reason! (Spoilers in the event title)
Behind the scenes I've been working on later parts CRT7 when I've been able to, and this has led to me adding a bunch of cool things. Improved hotspot detection, in-game note taking, tweaked visuals, and improved early game flow to name just a few! To reflect this you might have noticed some updates to the Steam page recently, and there are a few more to come too.
Unfortunately these updates also meant that the Steam demo was quite out of date... but that's something I can fix!
As CRT7 will be in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase (May 28 - June 4) I thought it was about time to update the demo and release a refreshed version, specially for the occasion! Keep an eye out for more news about the improved demo next week!
Hi all, Tom here! Just a small one this week, related to the news about Unity this week. As you might have heard, a vulnerability was discovered in all versions of Unity (back to 2017!!) which has had... quite the impact for anyone using it! So, yeah, please be patient with all t
Hi all, Tom here!
Just a small one this week, related to the news about Unity this week. As you might have heard, a vulnerability was discovered in all versions of Unity (back to 2017!!) which has had... quite the impact for anyone using it! So, yeah, please be patient with all the game developers out there, this is going to be a rough couple of weeks for lots of people.
Anyway, as you might know CRT7 is being developed in Unity, so I wanted to push the fix for this as soon as possible. While it seems quite rare and difficult to use, a vulnerability is a vulnerability and I'd rather patch it out if I can. Thankfully it was quite easy to do with the demo, so I've pushed a new version today which has the patch applied.
Don't get too excited though, that's the only change... and all being well you shouldn't even notice it from your side! CRT7 development is continuing in the background, but quite a few things are broken in the main game right now which means I can't do a significant update to the demo until all of those things are fixed. That's just how development goes sometimes... but I thought this was preferable to pulling the demo!
Hopefully soon we'll get back to your normally scheduled updates. Until then, take care.
Hi all, Tom here! I hope you've all had a good summer, and are looking forward to the upcoming spooky season. I'm always a big fan of Autumn, partly because it always seems the right time of year for escape rooms to me! Anyway, I've been pretty busy working on CRT7 the last coupl
Hi all, Tom here!
I hope you've all had a good summer, and are looking forward to the upcoming spooky season. I'm always a big fan of Autumn, partly because it always seems the right time of year for escape rooms to me! Anyway, I've been pretty busy working on CRT7 the last couple of months, and we have quite a few things to go over today, so let's get started!
Voices From Static
The strange, haunting radio is now complete! All the puzzles are solvable, all the audio is in, and it all has subtitles! As you might know by now, accessibility is being included wherever I can in CRT7 because it is important to allow as many people as possible to play the games we make. The extra benefit of that approach, however, is that it also helps everyone playing. Subtitles can help anyone decypher what is being said, for example, and it links in really well with the next thing I'm going to talk about, too.
Anyway, I'm really happy with how this device has come out, as it looks exactly how I envisioned: something recognisable, but obviously strange to interact with.
What do those buttons do, why is there a calendar present, and what exactly are the voices emerging from the static talking about? Well, I'm keeping some things under wraps so you'll have to play the game to find the answers!
A Helping Hand
For many of us who love puzzle games, we play them with a notebook by our side. We scribble down just about anything that seems strange or important for later. I love playing games like this! But I'm aware that it doesn't work for everyone, so I've been trying to think of a more inclusive and way of taking notes in CRT7 that fits the vibes.
And, well... I've come up with a way I'm really excited about that you can see below (click the image to watch the video):
Now, whenever you want, in CRT7 you can hold down the 'View Hotspots' button (by default Tab, but you can rebind it) to take a photo using your in-game phone! The photos can be accessed from the phone menu and you can then draw on them in a few different colours – circle important parts, cross out failed ideas, or sketch out potential codes – whatever you find helpful, all without leaving the game. These photos and the notes are saved between play sessions, photos can be deleted, and you can always fully erase your notes while leaving the original photo untouched. Cool, right? Plus it works really well with things like the subtitles as you don't need to remember the codes yourself if you don't want to – just take a photo and check your phone later on!
Autumn Roses
The final major thing I've been working on is another subroom in the game... and those of you who've been following along know what that means: another type of puzzle! I'm not going to go into much detail about how this one works, but I think it'll be quite an interesting puzzle for you all to solve. Plus, I also love how it sounds too! It's not complete yet, but I'm probably about 60% of the way through it and hope to finish it soon.
You can take a sneaky look by clicking the image below:
Autumnal Acts
So, what's next? Well in the short term I need to finish off the Rose Room puzzle from above, and ensure that completing it allows you to progress to the next part of the game. I'm hopeful that won't take too long as I have most of the systems working for it. I also need to ensure it saves your progress too, of course.
After that, however, I'm going to be working on the final subroom. What exactly that is will be kept secret from players as a fun surprise. I'm not quite sure how long that will take, but once it is done the game is in a really good position. It will mean I'll have a first draft of everything from first starting the game up until the end game sequence! I'll then need to go back through the entire game and see what I've broken (plenty I'm sure) and update the hint system for all the new puzzles. The aim is to have that completed by the end of the year so I can get it out to an early group of testers to find more bugs and to ensure everything makes at least some sort of sense.
In other words, it's not long until I get to see other people playing the game again for the first time in a good long while. This is exciting, but also nervewracking! Still, I shouldn't get ahead of myself, still plenty to do so I best get to it.
Hi all, Tom here! If you've been following along for a little bit you might know this is the time of year when I get to spend more time digging into game development! Last update I also mentioned what I was going to get working on in June... and I'm happy to say I've made some go
Hi all, Tom here!
If you've been following along for a little bit you might know this is the time of year when I get to spend more time digging into game development! Last update I also mentioned what I was going to get working on in June... and I'm happy to say I've made some good progress! Let's go through it together!
Backwards and Forwards
First off the glowing phosphors paper puzzle sequence is now complete enough to move on. I'm sure I'll come back to it later and tweak some things when everything is in, but its fully solvable and feels good to play.
Also, by popular demand I've reworked how the very first puzzle in the game works as people were finding it more difficult than intended. I've done a bunch of small and subtle updates here from slightly changing the flow of how you activate the mode, to changing when certain buttons appear and are active, but perhaps the most important is the addition of a (limited) undo option, as you can see below:
This should give people more ability to experiment and see how the shapes interact! But I had to be careful here, because another issue I'd noticed from people playing is perfectionism – they would keep restarting if they ever messed up. But the game is about messing up and still progressing, so hopefully this will help people from getting stuck in an unintended loop. I'll keep an eye on it!
Finally, I have started work on updating a later area of the game too, adding more accessibility functionality (such as the in-built subtitles I use elsewhere) and some... mysterious buttons. Huh, I wonder what those new buttons do? The look important...
Summer Heat
What's next? Well next will be finishing up the improvements to what I've started above. I need to hook up all the subtitles and make that all solvable with the new secret features. There are also more books to finish and populate the world with as we move into the next few puzzles! The aim is to get a new playable build sorted in the next few months, to test all this new stuff with a few select people... and perhaps to add in a oft-requested Quality of LIfe (QoL) feature for puzzle games like this one...
So I guess I better get back to it then! Chat soon yous lot!
Hi all, Tom here! I just wanted to let you know two main things today. First is that CRT7 (and SOLAS 128) will be in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase this year, happening from May 29th to June 5th! I'm always delighted and honoured to be invited to these events and for games I've wor
Hi all, Tom here!
I just wanted to let you know two main things today. First is that CRT7 (and SOLAS 128) will be in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase this year, happening from May 29th to June 5th! I'm always delighted and honoured to be invited to these events and for games I've worked on to appear alongside other incredible work going on in the puzzle community.
CRT7 will have a demo live and ready to play in the showcase. If you've played it before don't expect anything new this time around, but if you didn't relaunch the demo after completing it, it might be worth returning as there is some post-demo stuff not very many people discovered!
Perhaps even more excitingly (at least for me) is that after a hiatus forced by real life issues, I'm now back on CRT7 development! You might have seen I released a small game recently (*cough* Upfall *cough*) in order to get back into the routine. That's out, being played by people, and has done it's job. I'm excited to be back!
So, what does this mean for CRT7? Well, it means that I've got a plan and I'm going to be getting back to making real progress!
June Development Goals
There are three major things for CRT7 I want to work on next:
Number 1: I need to finish up the glowing phosphors paper puzzle sequence, a picture of which is below. There is one puzzle I'm wasn't happy with, that I'll update and make hopefully more interesting soon! This should be relatively quick.
Number 2: I've been thinking more about the first major puzzle in the game where you first meet the pentominos. A picture of a later level of this is below. This puzzle can cause people to get stuck, thinking they have to complete it all to progress. I've got a couple of ideas about how to improve the flow of that section that will fit into the story and themes of the game. So, I'll be updating that to get players through it more smoothly. This might be a little more fiddly as I'll have to add some new functions in without breaking everything, but fingers cross it will go smoothly!
Number 3: It's time to look at the next puzzle(s) in the sequence and get them working. I've been wanting to get back to this section for a while as it's perhaps one of the creepier and most unique sections in the game and it really leans into CRT7's themes of time and isolation. It's time to get working on the Radio Desk (shown below) and update that to work with the rest of the game's puzzles. This one is likely going to take the longest, as I'll potentially need to rerecord audio, add new mechanics, include subtitles for the radio, and generally tweak things all over. Still... I'm excited.
Phew, a long post today as it's been a bit since I've written an update! As always, if you're interested in supporting CRT7, please do give us a wishlist to keep up to date with progress and when the game will launch!
Hi all, Tom here! So... You might be wondering what is going on? This doesn't look like an escape room! Yeah, that's fair! Long story short: I was struggling while working on CRT7 and I needed a break. As you might have seen in my posts, last year wasn't great for me and I needed
Hi all, Tom here!
So... You might be wondering what is going on? This doesn't look like an escape room! Yeah, that's fair! Long story short: I was struggling while working on CRT7 and I needed a break. As you might have seen in my posts, last year wasn't great for me and I needed some time to sort myself out. However, after enjoying a local game jam event I decided I wanted to polish up what I'd made and release to maybe help me get my mojo back. Plus, let's be real: the world is pretty awful for a lot of people right now, and I thought it would be nice to give something back for free. No strings attached, no expectation of anything from you if you play it, just something out there for anyone who wants it. Don't worry, CRT7 is still coming, and I'll be back working on it again soon, hopefully with new found vigour!
To that end Upfall will launch on Steam, totally utterly free, in just one week's time. This game has been a bit of a labour of love and an experiment into visuals, sounds and vibes. I worked with my friend eggysworld (who did the awesome sprites) to make something a little different, but distinctly Amicable Animal. Take a look below:
So... what is Upfall? It's a game designed to be played in those small gaps in your day. On your lunch break, when something else is downloading, when you need a quick distraction. Each run takes between 2 and 10 minutes and the aim is simple: SURVIVE. Bounce off of bubbles, avoid anything that looks glowy and mean, and see if you can make it back to the surface. As you play you'll unlock new palettes for the game, new instruments for it to play, new ways for it to sound, and even new modes and characters. You can wishlist it and soon play it here:
Oh, and if you have a PS4/PS5 controller, I strongly recommend you try to play the game with that. And don't forget to look down, as you might see something fun going on with the controller!
That's it really! In one week you'll get a chance to play the game and discover what it is about for yourself. Oh, and of course I've put in some little secrets to unlock too... I really hope you enjoy it!
Hi all, Tom here! This is just a quick one today to say that there is no development update this month as it's time for the Amicable Animal Annual Shutdown! Or perhaps more accurately I should say I'm putting myself into sleep mode to hibernate for the rest of December? Whichever
Hi all, Tom here!
This is just a quick one today to say that there is no development update this month as it's time for the Amicable Animal Annual Shutdown! Or perhaps more accurately I should say I'm putting myself into sleep mode to hibernate for the rest of December?
Whichever it is, the holiday season is upon me here, and after it has been such a long and difficult year, I'm turning off the CRT monitor for a little bit and taking some time away. I'm in a seasonal mood, however, so I wanted to share with you a cute little secret hidden within the mysterious monitor. Developers are human and get bored and distracted too, and so must have the main character of CRT7 when they made this:
I hope you all have a great break if you're having one, and I'll see you again in 2025! (Wild!) Hopefully CRT7 will reboot refreshed and ready to explore more of the dark. Until then, take care of yourselves and have a good one 🧡
Hi all, Tom here! Sorry for being so quiet around here the last few months. As some of you know I (like many solo indie devs) have a day job in order to support making games like CRT7. Unfortunately, said day job has been rather hectic the last few months which has taken most of
Hi all, Tom here!
Sorry for being so quiet around here the last few months. As some of you know I (like many solo indie devs) have a day job in order to support making games like CRT7. Unfortunately, said day job has been rather hectic the last few months which has taken most of my development time. I'm hoping that in the new year I'll have significantly more time to work on pushing forwards into the depths of the dark and these posts will speed up again.
The good news is, however, that it hasn't taken away all the time and there has been some progress!
The Viridian Room
The paper puzzle section I mentioned previously is now (mostly) finished for now! It's even been tested by some lovely paper puzzle experts and it is seemingly fun and interesting. There is just one puzzle left that needs redesigning to finish this stage up. Alongside that, there have been large changes to the visuals and some extra quality of life things added. First off, it is now a fun hybrid of retro phosphors and art deco to match the rest of the game better:
Also, players can now mark spaces where lines can't be, which is a classic thing you might do in a puzzle like Slitherlink, or Picross – two inspirations for this puzzle – so it just feels right for them to be in here. In fact, internally I call this new puzzle design Slithercross!
Other bits of the game have gotten some glow ups too. Slight tweaks to a book here, to some visuals there, with my favourite subtle improvements done to the packing puzzle you might have seen in the trailers:
Wrap Up (Warm)
The next steps are pretty clear: get back to working on the rest of the strange devices in the main room! There are some coding tweaks which need to be done to unlock the next phases, and then I have some plans for changing the radio device puzzle that is in some of the screenshots... but I'm keeping those changes secret for now.
As always, if you want keep up to date with development and help out a (mostly) solo dev, you know what to do:
Hi all, Tom here! As they say: no good deed goes unpunished – and shortly after my previous development update I sadly ended up getting a couple of pretty nasty respiratory infections that knocked me out. Long story short, I was isolating most of July and early August, so work on
Hi all, Tom here!
As they say: no good deed goes unpunished – and shortly after my previous development update I sadly ended up getting a couple of pretty nasty respiratory infections that knocked me out. Long story short, I was isolating most of July and early August, so work on CRT7 had to stop for a little while for me to rest up. The good news is I'm mostly better now, and starting to get my strength back... so you know what that means, I'm back to making puzzles!
The Phosphors Are Still Glowing
One small advantage of the pause was that it gave me a some time to think about puzzle design, in particular the puzzle I had to stop midway through making: the viridian glowing monitor that appears in one of the side rooms. I was struggling a little with the design because, while I loved the paper puzzle style inspiration, I wasn't quite sure how to make it link into the rest of the game in an interesting way. Well, as I always like overcomplicating things, I came up with a linkage I think you'll find pretty fun! I'm not going to reveal exactly what it is – that's for you to discover – but the programming work on making the puzzle is really getting there and with a little more complication to the ruleset and some more puzzles we'll have another interesting sequence to solve!
I've also made interacting with the puzzle and drawing lines way more intuitive and, as you can see below, I've linked them up into something you can navigate around. I should say, the video below is still a work in progress. Expect puzzle and audio design to change, but there still might be minor spoilers!
As the days are growing shorter and we slink back towards Autumn, I have a pretty clear goal for this coming month: get this puzzle sequence done and dusted. As hinted at above, there is a little more to be added to the ruleset and I'd like to give a little more visual and aural interest to it. Plus, once that's done it needs a bunch of puzzles designed for it. The nice thing about it being paper puzzle inspired, however, is that I can design them pretty much where ever I am. After that, it's back into the basement, and unlocking one of my favourite elements from the trailer. Are you ready to search for voices in the static?
As always, if you want keep up to date with development, help out a (mostly) solo dev, or just be told when the game released please add CRT7 to your wishlist. It is a massive help and really keeps makers and creators going through the long dark winter of development!
Hi all, Tom here! So it finally happened - I finally got some actual proper time to work on the next section of CRT7 and I don't mind telling you it was flipping awesome to get back to it! Motivated by the huge increase of wishlists the game received during the Cerebral Puzzle Sh
Hi all, Tom here!
So it finally happened - I finally got some actual proper time to work on the next section of CRT7 and I don't mind telling you it was flipping awesome to get back to it! Motivated by the huge increase of wishlists the game received during the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, I got a lot done! Let's talk about it a little, shall we?
Returning to the Basement
The first important part is that the next Staff Door code sequence has been (mostly) completed! Players can find all the information they need around the room, solve a new type of puzzle, and open the impossible door again. There are two entirely new books (available in both printed and handwritten style) to pour through, and more devices to interact with. Which reminds me:
The design of CRT7 is one where the room you are in slowly unlocks, with more devices, surprises, and interactions between everything becoming apparent as you play. I think that's awesome in puzzle games... but it is also a tricky balancing act. Give people free reign immediately and people get lost (trust me, I tested it!) Leave it too late and people struggle when more freedom eventually arrives. Part of this month's work was figuring out how to introduce these interconnections effectively and I've setting on something I'm quite happy with. This stage I've been working on is more open and interconnected than the demo, but still somewhat fenced in to keep people pointed in broadly the right direction. Still, if you're looking for puzzles that trust you to pay attention, combine, and transform information I think you'll be quite happy.
Plus, a new Staff Door code means another subroom needs to be made. This one is rather green...
Glowing Green Phosphors
The above is obviously a work in progress, but I'm a big fan of the retro green CRT + art deco style that has emerged, particularly on an octagon grid. The lighting is reactive again too, so it really can light up a room! If you've played paper puzzles before you might have an inkling of the direction this is going, but I hope it will have a few interesting twists even for the expert paper puzzler. The basic rules are decided, and puzzles are solvable within its own rule set. Perhaps most importantly, the code is in so the game can tell when the solution is valid as well. There are a few more rules I'd like to add, and this month I'm going to design the specific puzzles to solve, and then move onto the final two Staff Door codes where the gloves definitely come off and some really fun surprises live.
Want to keep up to date with development, help out a (mostly) solo dev, or just be told when the game released? Well, a wishlist is a massive help and as you've seen really motivates me to make more puzzles for you all!
Hi all, Tom here! This has been a bit of an odd month, thanks to being in the Puzzle Showcase, so let's debrief... More Visibility of the Dark First off, a special hello to all the new wishlisters joining us! The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase was excellent for CRT7 this year, and ther
Hi all, Tom here!
This has been a bit of an odd month, thanks to being in the Puzzle Showcase, so let's debrief...
More Visibility of the Dark
First off, a special hello to all the new wishlisters joining us! The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase was excellent for CRT7 this year, and there is over 1,200 new people here to explore the dark. If you didn't know, I'm Tom and I'm the solo (ish) developing the game in my spare time.
You also might have seen that The Escape Roomer gave CRT7 a lovely little preview as well: “I really, really enjoyed playing CRT7 and cannot wait for it’s full release. It’s part escape room, part detective game, part procedural music game and part Y2K retro goodness.”
As you might imagine, preparing for the showcase took up much of the month as I was polishing and fixing up the demo to get it ready! It did, however, act as a really good test of the the new systems, like the rebinding and hotspots - they seemed to work mostly well! Also, seeing a few more people streaming it has highlighted a few areas I would still like to tweak in the early game.
If you've not tried the demo yet, it's not going away in the next month or two, so I hope you get a chance to enjoy it!
June Lighting Up the Basement
So what's next? Well, I want to spend the next couple of months sorting out the next few large puzzle sequences. The demo allows you to find two door codes, but the later ones are going to be more involved to find... and it's time to get them sorted! In the next couple of weeks I'm going to figure out the order the next puzzles are revealed to players. This sounds easy, but with so many moving parts it can often have hidden complexity and needs a bunch of testing. I've already gotten started though tweaking some of the visuals, and working out what to do next.
So! Step one is for me to go and unlock the rest of the room. Step two, well step two is the fun part... it's time to bring more devices back to life...
Hi all, Tom here! It is once again Cerebral Puzzle Showcase time, and the new CRT7 Demo is officially OUT NOW! If you see Demo 0.18c or greater on the entry door or credits menu, you've got the updated version! Be aware it will reset your demo save file, however. This demo update
Hi all, Tom here!
It is once again Cerebral Puzzle Showcase time, and the new CRT7 Demo is officially OUT NOW! If you see Demo 0.18c or greater on the entry door or credits menu, you've got the updated version! Be aware it will reset your demo save file, however.
This demo update comes with a bunch of improvements from the initial launch, some entirely new:
NEW: You can rebind the mouse clicks (and hotspot button)!
NEW: You can show possible in game hotspots/places you can click with TAB
NEW: The text message interface is massively improved
NEW: Change the size of the cursor if you struggle to see it, or it is too big for you
NEW: Extra/improved settings menus in the phone, including the ability to save whenever you want
NEW: Improved intro and outro for the game!
NEW: Improved subtitling system that remains in sync better when the game in out of focus
NEW: Improved intro and outro behaviour that's hopefully a bit more immersive!
A mysterious secret if you complete the demo
Option to change the look of the books from hand-written to printed!
Improved high score menu!
Tweaked and improved hints
General bug fixes all over!
If you've not tried the demo before now is an excellent time to rectify that, as this update has tons of improvements! As always, dropping a wishlish is hugely helpful as well as I'm working on this mostly by myself in my spare time and I'd love to get to the next wishlist milestone 🧡
Oh, and before I go, I should let you know that SOLAS 128 is also having it's deepest ever sale too, at 70% off! So if you're yet to pick that up, now is a great time too:
Hi all, Tom here! A little extra post today to let you know that CRT7 (and SOLAS 128) will be back in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase this year, happening from May 23rd to May 30th! CRT7 needs more development time before I can reveal all its secrets, but I've worked hard to make an
Hi all, Tom here!
A little extra post today to let you know that CRT7 (and SOLAS 128) will be back in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase this year, happening from May 23rd to May 30th!
CRT7 needs more development time before I can reveal all its secrets, but I've worked hard to make an updated demo for the event! It will launch at 9am BST on the 23rd! If you see Demo 0.18 on the entry door or credits menu, you've got the updated version.
This update focuses on improving quality of life issues, accessibility, and the intro and outro of the demo so it's a great time to try if you haven't already. It premieres the all new hotspot highlighting system, improved in game menus and text message interface, input rebinding, cursor resizing and more! Be aware that it will reset your progress if you've played before, however.
I really hope you enjoy it and consider dropping a wishlist so you can be notified about updates and when the full game releases!
Hi all, Tom here! So, I managed to actually take some time off in April to recharge, relax, and play some games. It was very much needed, but that doesn't mean I wasn't able to get some fun things working for CRT7! Colourful Haunted Doors So last dev diary I told you I was workin
Hi all, Tom here!
So, I managed to actually take some time off in April to recharge, relax, and play some games. It was very much needed, but that doesn't mean I wasn't able to get some fun things working for CRT7!
Colourful Haunted Doors
So last dev diary I told you I was working on a new section of the game, involving some very haunted doors. I'm glad to report that section is now playable from start to finish! Of course, because I can't help myself, it's become a little more complicated than I originally planned. It now has a couple of small, satisfying little puzzles to work out which will help tie this section better into the themes of CRT7, so I think it was worth it. Also, it's gotten a little bit more colourful:
(I've also tweaked the round tables you occasionally see as it was upsetting me how pointy they were!) Anyway, once this section is completed you can continue with your journey in the main room, with the computer unlocked. Time to play one of those new modes to turn on some lights? Or maybe to search for more things hidden in the dark. Perhaps you'll even find a use for those pentominoes you've been discovering around the room!
A Brief Interlude
If you're reading these posts, I'm going to assume you're probably at least somewhat into game or puzzle design. If so, you might also be interested in a talk I gave this month at the inaugural ThinkyCon 2024. It was all about how I've transitioned my design thinking from SOLAS 128 to CRT7, with some basics of how our visual system works which you can use to help design your own games. You'll definitely see some of the tricks used in CRT7! If you're interested, you can watch the talk for free on YouTube here:
So, what's next? First off, I need to test this new section a little more and make sure I've not broken anything major. So far it's working well, but save systems are fiddly so I'm suspicious... The next major step, as I've alluded to previously, is to get the next part of the main room unlocked. This is already functional thanks to work the last couple of months, but I need to consider and test the order in which things are unlocked so players aren't overwhelmed too much.
The puzzles in the main room are designed to slowly get more complicated and intertwined, but it's a careful balancing act as the possibility space will keep increasing and that can make things get very difficult, very fast – as you might have experienced in SOLAS 128! Still, I want there to be lots of surprises and secrets, so expect plenty of continued weirdness to come!
As always playing, sharing, and wishlisting is hugely helpful and allows solo developers like me to make weird games for you to enjoy. So, if you haven't already, please do nudge a friend or two to try the demo and wishlist CRT7 as well: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2096780/CRT7/
Keep your eyes peeled and I'll see you again soon for another development update!
Hi all, Tom here! Life is still unfortunately happening me a lot more than I'd like, but I have gotten some time to work more on CRT7 this month. In particular, I'm working on what happens in the game after the segment in the demo! Haunted Doors Most of CRT7 will take place in th
Hi all, Tom here!
Life is still unfortunately happening me a lot more than I'd like, but I have gotten some time to work more on CRT7 this month. In particular, I'm working on what happens in the game after the segment in the demo!
Haunted Doors
Most of CRT7 will take place in the same room, but that doesn't mean things won't change in that dark basement... in fact, things aren't quite right with space and time down there, as you might have already seen in the demo. Rooms seem to come and go, and doors hold strange powers. It's this theme that I was playing with this month, as I got a new fun effect working: layering transparent videos into the scene. That allows me to do things like this...
After all, you've heard that the walls have ears, it's only fair that the doors get in on the party too...
Jokes aside, I've nearly finished mocking up a sequence that will link the end of the demo back into the rest of the game, and I'm really excited to get it finished hopefully later this week. It has taken a little longer to finish that I expected, mostly because I was experimenting with a visual style that would feel more dream-like than the rest of the game, but still fit in its overall aesthetic. A few visual and audio tweaks aside, however, I'm very happy with how it's shaping up!
Springing Forwards
So, what's next? Well, the next big job is linking this area into some of the content waiting back in the main room. First, I'll finish and test this new sequence and make sure it's all working and maybe tweak a few things here and there. After that, I have a couple of new tables just waiting to be lit up near the monitor in the main room. I hope these parts should got a little quicker as I've already got some of that working – but I always say that, so we'll see! Either way, after a little bit away from the code, I'm starting to get back into the swing of things, and I'm excited to continue working on it!
As always playing, sharing, and wishlisting is hugely helpful and allows solo developers like me to make weird games for you to enjoy. So, if you haven't already, please do nudge a friend or two to try the demo and wishlist CRT7 as well:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2096780/CRT7/
Keep your eyes peeled and I'll see you again soon for another development update!
Hi all, Tom here! First off, I'm sorry it's been a little quiet around here. I've mentioned before how real life has been busy and getting in the way. The joys of making a game as a solo part-time developer! I really appreciate you all for sticking around thought, so I've decided
Hi all, Tom here!
First off, I'm sorry it's been a little quiet around here. I've mentioned before how real life has been busy and getting in the way. The joys of making a game as a solo part-time developer!
I really appreciate you all for sticking around thought, so I've decided to be a little more regular with my updates. From today, I'm going to try and post (at least) a monthly development update to keep you all up to date on the progress of CRT7.
So... what about February? Well, I've finally had a little time to get back to working on CRT7, and I've taken aim at a couple of things I've been wanting to work on for a while... Get yourself a cup of tea and settle in, these posts will be a little longer than my previous ones! Obviously beware of at least minor spoilers too...
Reading Your Messages
First, almost all players I've seen have attempted to read more text messages on the phone when first opening the game. It makes sense, right? Almost everyone has used text messaging or something like WhatsApp, and the fact the in-game phone didn't scroll the messages always felt off to me.
So... I fixed it:
This might seem like a simple change, but there was quite a bit of work behind the scenes to get this working. Previously, the screen was static – I manually made the messages and the backgrounds. Now, however, the messages read from a file that stores (most of) the text that appears in the game. Not only that, but it can tell whether it is a received or sent message and create the background automagically. Long story short: it works more like a real messaging app now. I can define as many messages as I like and it will create the backgrounds, set the colours correctly, and allow players to click and drag to scroll through them. I've even put in a little bounce effect if you try to scroll too far! The messages are placeholder for now, but are easy to change and update thanks to this update.
Not only that, but it is set up that later on I can add functionality for players to receive new text messages as they're playing... Mysterious!
Modes and Nodes
The second major thing I've worked on this month is some new game modes for the CRT monitor arcade game you can play. For a while now there have been five mode buttons, but only two of them you could click. I'd planned the other modes, but not had the chance to make them. Well, this month I changed that:
Above you can see the 'Nuclear' mode in action. It is, of course not finished yet (and also it is set to be way harder than in the final game so I can test everything is working) but hopefully you can get the idea of the main twist in this mode. 'Bomb' pieces will regularly appear on the board, and you disarm them by creating a quad that contains them. It's inspired by modes in other big arcade puzzlers you might have played!
The tricky part is the bomb space blocks you putting down your pentomino, and if you aren't quick they can blow holes in your board... holes that don't contribute to your completion percentage and will cause you issues later. On the more complicated board shapes, things can get out of hand very quickly!
The eagle-eyed amongst you might have noticed another mode in the top right is now active. I wonder if you can guess the big twist to that mode? Any guesses?
The March of Time
But what, I imagine you asking, is next? Well, in March I'm going to start working on what happens in the game after the segment in the demo. I already have a bunch of functionality there from early prototypes, and it's now time to start integrating it into the main game flow again. I'm hugely looking forwards to this, as there are some really fun things I can't wait for you to get your hands on.
In particular, there are more lights that need to be turned on in this dark basement, a strange and potentially haunted radio to interact with, and an important use for those strange gold pentominoes you've been finding around the place... And that's just a taster of what's in store.
As always playing, sharing, and wishlisting is hugely helpful and allows solo developers like me to make weird games for you to enjoy. So, if you haven't already, please do nudge a friend or two to try the demo and wishlist CRT7 as well:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2096780/CRT7/
Keep your eyes peeled and I'll see you again soon for another development update!
Hi all, Tom here! As mentioned in my previous news post my life has been pretty hectic over the last few months, so I've not had much time to work on CRT7. The good news is, however, that in the new year I'll actually have some time to get working on it again! I can't wait to sho
Hi all, Tom here!
As mentioned in my previous news post my life has been pretty hectic over the last few months, so I've not had much time to work on CRT7. The good news is, however, that in the new year I'll actually have some time to get working on it again! I can't wait to show you what other puzzles any mysteries I've got up my sleeve to expand on the little world I'm creating here. Seriously, I'm really looking forward to seeing how you react to some of the surprises.
To get me back in the groove, I thought I'd work on something small and festive before the holidays, and well... here it is:
People of a certain age will probably realise this is inspired by old DOS applications which often had festive games or animations in them if you played them at a certain time of year. It felt very much like the sort of thing that would fit into CRT7! This won't be in the demo, but you can expect a bunch of hidden codes in the full game that will unlock different little secrets like this!
Anyway, I hope you have a nice Christmas and New Year if you celebrate it, or at least a few relaxing days off if you don't. As always, thanks again for the wishlists, word of mouth, and demo plays, you're all awesome!
Hi all, Tom here! I just wanted to give you a quick update about what is going on with CRT7 as I've been a little quiet after getting the demo out. Also some quite public stuff has happened with Unity (the engine I use) since then. First off, the TL;DR is that if you tried out th
Hi all, Tom here!
I just wanted to give you a quick update about what is going on with CRT7 as I've been a little quiet after getting the demo out. Also some quite public stuff has happened with Unity (the engine I use) since then.
First off, the TL;DR is that if you tried out the demo: thank you so much! I've loved seeing people playing it. Don't worry – I'm still making CRT7 it is just always bit slower at this time of year. If you want more details, read on...
As some of you might know, CRT7 is being made by a core team of one (hi!), with occasional outsourcing/help from awesomely talented friends. Not only that, but I have a day job which varies in how busy it is across the year.
What that means is twofold: I get to make more interesting/personal/weird games for you lot (which I love), but it means some times I have less time/energy to develop CRT7.
But the important parts are: I'm still working on CRT7, I don't have a launch date, and it will still launch as a Unity game now they've rowed back a little on their utterly bonkers original runtime fee announcement. It will just be a little quiet until next year... But don't worry, it's still coming!
I'm really happy with how the demo turned out and people's response to it. It will stay up for a while too if you haven't gotten around to trying it yet. I've been listening to your feedback and I've already implemented some changes and will be implementing more for the full game. Below, for example, is a new option for typed books based on player feedback:
It was, however, a heck of a lot of work getting the demo out and I needed some time away from making CRT7 - especially as my job is busiest in the Autumn. That, combined with the Unity news meant I wanted to spend some time resting up a little. Don't worry though, it's pretty natural for me to do less development at this time of year and I have way more time at other times of year to create more weird and exciting musical puzzles!
For now, take care of yourselves, keep an eye out here for more news in a couple of months, and keep those wishlists/demo plays coming. They all help massively 🧡
Hi all, Tom here! Just a quick message to say I've pushed a new build of the Demo today - Demo Version 0.17f. You can check the version number in the credits section of your phone. This version contains a few small visual/information tweaks as requested by players. New : There is
Hi all, Tom here!
Just a quick message to say I've pushed a new build of the Demo today - Demo Version 0.17f. You can check the version number in the credits section of your phone. This version contains a few small visual/information tweaks as requested by players.
New: There is now a small, non-tile-based cursor when you are playing Potential and Kinematic mode on the computer. This is to help you know whether your cursor is near the edge of the tile, in case you move the mouse slightly as you click, and miss stamping the pentomino where you want it!
Tweak: Updated how the stats screen shows scores - especially when you get into the millions. Instead of showing '1M' it will now show '1.23M' for example.
Tweak: Updated the stats screen to have hover text for all the row/column titles, to make it a bit clearer what they all mean. Look in the bottom right of the screen to see it!
Tweak: Updated the stats screen to show the full values when you hover over them. So, it can show '123,352,964' for example.
Tweak: Fixed a colour issue with one of the pages in the printed version of the grey book.
Remember, you might have to restart Steam for the update to appear for you.
Enjoy! I'm away for a little now, but when I get back I have some other things on my list to look at.
