On September 28th 2021, we anxiously hit the release button for In Sound Mind.
We had no idea how the game would be received. A lot of the design was a leap of faith. In Sound Mind was also the first game we’ve released as We Create Stuff after many years of hiatus, and our first release on Steam. It ended up hitting Overwhelmingly Positive reviews <3
From the Mashed / jaimer_2d ISM AMV video
At We Create Stuff, we’re a few friends who like fiddling with games. We go back many years: Creating Flash games together in 2007 from our teenage bedrooms, releasing Portal: The Flash Version, then Source games with Nightmare House 2 in 2010... and then a few years later life just happened. We took a break. It wasn’t until 2018-2019 when the stars aligned again and we realized we weren’t done creating stuff. That turned out to be In Sound Mind.
I thought it would be cool to explore some work-in-progress screenshots from early In Sound Mind to celebrate the 3 year anniversary. Also, I can’t skip the incredibly talented artists in our community so check out some featured fan art below.
ːismFlashː The Flash / Elysium Forest
The forest was designed to tell a story of a war, and Lucas's demons from that war. Lucas was lost, so we wanted to replicate that feeling in the forest. And then add the intensity, there’s a giant towering gun chasing you around.
A lot has changed as it developed. As you know, in every tape (chapter) you get a special weapon with its own mechanic reflecting the person’s experiences. Initially, we thought it would be interesting to give the player a rifle, based on Lucas’s story. But we felt like more guns isn’t the right approach (you already have a few at this point) and we explored the radio direction. The gun ended up on the giant tower that’s chasing you.
ːismBullː The Bull / The Quarry
This area is special, because here we finally stepped out of the typical dark environment. This is an entire level in daylight (that still needed to pose some scares). The factory in the middle helped a lot adding to the scare factor, and when you’re outside, being bullied by a giant skull with a motor engine on fire was another. This level is where a lot of the story started coming together, telling Max’s perspective on Mayer and his personal family.
ːismShadeː The Shade / The Lighthouse
Coming from the supermarket level, the experience in the lighthouse is very different. Starting at the beach, to the road leading up to the lighthouse, to the shipwreck and to the wharf, Desmond had a lot to process in this one. The theme was a play between light and darkness, telling Allen’s tale along while a moving, living hole in the ground swallowing entire cars is looking for its next target.
While recording Rainbow’s lines for this chapter, we had a “bon voyage” (goodbye in French) line just before cutting the rope holding your boat in the air. At some point, Mick, after recording multiple takes on this line, went for “bon voyah-gee”. This hilarious delivery actually ended up in the game, and there’s a 50% for Rainbow to say it.
ːismWatcherː The Watcher / Homa-Mart Supermarket
Homa-Mart set the tone for the game as the first level, telling Virginia’s story and exposing Desmond to the oddities surrounding Milton Haven. It was originally designed as an open level, you can see we’ve even experimented with a map! But we later narrowed it down to make more sense and easier to traverse.
When designing the mirror shard weapon, we thought it would just be a tool to combat The Watcher. We then highlighted her presence in the shard. Then decided to highlight other enemy Inkblots too. Then why not collectible pills also? And weak points in enemies. How about some pareidolia in the factory. The mirror shard slowly developed to be the first and most important tool in your arsenal.
ːismDesmondː Milton Haven
OK so here’s the definition of “easier said than done”. ISM’s first design was an open world horror. Below, you can see Milton Haven’s entire design. We even went as far as starting to concept and doing some of the early level design. Soon we realized given our budget, and desire to actually ship the game, we have to cut it down to a more linear experience. Still, ISM ended up being a respectable 10-12 hour game, with the hub building replacing the open area town. You might even recognize some spots below.
ːismDaveː Thank you x3
We are by no means a big studio, but In Sound Mind’s is just successful enough to allow us to continue working on more games like it. And that’s all we wished for. This is thanks to you for playing, and the consistently amazing community around the game. I always find it wholesome to close with fan art (and even a shirt!) so check out this amazing stuff:
fluuutik / Denis Bykov
gopsnippers on tumblr
gopsnippers on tumblr
filee / file_364 on discord
skelevoid on discord
pengv on discord
Next game
Oh also, we’ve just announced our next game- Nightmare House: Reimagined. It’s based on our 2010 Source mod, this time regimagined in UE5. A lot of what we’ve learned from ISM is going to be reflected on NHR and we’re super excited about it. Better yet, we’re also bringing the original mod, not reimagined, just as is, to Steam for free. If you’d like to support and keep track of the next release, wishlist them below. Patience and grace <3
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2744430/Nightmare_House_Reimagined/?curator_clanid=2797
ːismToniaːːismToniaːːismToniaː
Ido
/ We Create Stuff team