Hello everyone, here are the news from the depths of the dungeon
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1171980/Neverlooted_Dungeon/
Polish of all levels
These last few weeks were spent among other things polishing the final levels, and the bulk of the work on zone 8 and the final zone is finished! I still need to do a pass of small fixes based on playtest feedback. For level 8, I did a lot of work fixing balance, difficulty and frustration, and the changes and additions seem to have been sufficient. Anyway, you will tell me when you play.
Ending and alternate ending
I reworked and finalized the last elements that were missing for the main ending and especially for ... the alternate ending (yes!). There were notably still things I disliked on the critical path, the necessary things, and the narrative elements, and I am very satisfied with the solution I put in place which is really very close to the experience I imagined at the start of the game’s creation. Again, I cannot show much, you will have to wait a little longer to understand what I am talking about.
Final pass dialogues and quests
I am finishing the last pass on all written elements. I finished the books and all the other texts in the game, and I have almost finished the pass on dialogues. I am taking the opportunity to review some dialogues and branches that I was not completely satisfied with, and to make sure of the overall coherence. The goal is to have within a few days the final English version that will serve as the base for localizations.
Languages at launch
I plan to release the game in several languages available at launch. By analyzing language statistics from demo players, wishlists, and also sales stats of similar games, I am trying to set the list of languages available at release, notably by estimating potential sales and whether they at least allow repaying the investments.
Certainly, the game will release in English, Russian, and French. Very likely also in Simplified Chinese and very probably in German. The demo was also available in Japanese thanks to Toyoch’s translation, but the statistics and estimates for the final game are a bit weak. Likewise, Spanish and Portuguese do not seem active enough.
Preparing the localization
I am therefore preparing the localization. I am still in the prospecting phase and looking for professionals.
For localization, there is significant work to do before sending anything. Besides making sure the English version that will serve as the base is of quality, you have to prepare a whole bunch of things. Notably, make sure that the identifiers and comments of each line to be translated are clear enough to understand the context, intentions, references, key elements. For example, for each puzzle explain clearly what the player is supposed to understand and do. Or for a dialogue, clearly explain the context in which it takes place, the character’s psychology, speech tics, etc.
Debug, fixes
In parallel I continue debugging and improving the game, notably what was reported during playtests. There are thousands of things I would like to add, redo, fix, but I try to keep a strict roadmap to have a release soon.
Preparing the release
With this imminent launch goal taking shape, a whole bunch of other things are added, like administrative formalities, and preparing the launch marketing campaign. Notably, I plan to update the Steam page so that its content better reflects the current game and the huge improvements that have been made since. So I must prepare a new trailer, redo screenshots and GIFs, rework the descriptions. And above all, when the localization is ready, I will launch a campaign with streamers to relaunch the anticipation.
Final beta
For information, there will probably be a short final beta once the localizations are finished to make sure everything is OK. So stay tuned on Discord so you do not miss the announcement.
Roadmap
Well, there is still work to do, much of it not really related to the game itself, and not much visual stuff that would allow plenty of nice screenshots to show you. It is not easy to keep the course, there is so much to do, and the fatigue accumulated over so many years does not help. I set a strict roadmap and priority criteria. Come on, we are almost there :)