Hey everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update here on Steam. I get caught up in updates on twitter, discord, and Twitch as well as being knee deep in development and it's easy to assume I've hit all the update spots so I apologize again.
I'm crazy busy with some awesome things going on so I will try to keep this short for everyone but give some solid info.
Partnership with DreadXP
I was approached by a number of publishers after the demo for Mortuary Assistant was released. I was extremely hesitant to take on a publisher with all the horror stories indie devs have shared over the years. However, I believe DreadXP shares many of my values when it comes to indie game development and the indie horror space.
Part of my goal is for Mortuary Assistant to reach as many people as possible. Obviously, with this being a solo endeavor, I want MA to do well so I can keep making games and maybe even a sequel! I think Dread will do a good job of helping spread awareness of MA in to corners of the horror space I couldn't.
This does not mean I have a team though. It's still just me doing it all. They are sort of the PR back bone when the time is right.
Ok cool but when is launch. It's spring you lazy dev!
I am still on track with development of Mortuary Assistant HOWEVER, being teamed up with DreadXP, they have their own ideas of a good launch window too. It's no longer just me deciding these things, it's a larger discussion now.
They have a better idea of when an impactful time would be to launch considering various places to submit the game for reviews, articles, events, when other games are launching, etc. Currently, the target month is July. So a little bit later, but not by much.
I'm alright with this since it means MA will receive more polish in that time. With Dread being developer focused (meaning I usually have the final say) I still keep to the same plan of "It's finished when it's good" the last thing I want is to put so much of myself into something for so long only to have it not reach its potential just before the finish line. So my target is July, I am confident in it, but as always, I'm alone on this so quality will drive it. A final date will be announced closer to that time. I hope that's a good answer!
PAX
I will be at PAX East! This is one of the neato things with Dread. They will have a booth there with MA and a few other games. I will be there for the entirety of the convention to show the game, talk to you all, and have lots of fun. I hope I can see you there!
What's left for the game
The major bulk of development has been all the systems I've written for events to feel organic, random, and engaging. This has been a bit of an odd development because it has, basically, finished mechanics ready to go but I am generating lots of content to plug into it.
The events in MA are mostly hand crafted with the haunt system facilitating it's style of execution, especially the story events. So I'm spending a lot of time animating, editing sound, building how events unfold. All that good stuff.
After that, I will be making another pass on the embalming system. It has been expanded already but there are a few things I'd like to change so they feel better to interact with. Nothing major though.
Then it's polish and bodies! Lots of polish and lots of bodies! This is another nice point with partnering with Dread. They have a QA team that will be playing the game a ton and making sure it is as bug-free a product as possible.
That's about it! I'm sorry for the wall of text but I hope it is helpful information. I'm burning pretty heavily on some PAX specific stuff for the next few weeks, then it's just sprinting to the finish. Wish me luck and I hope to see you preserving bodies and fighting demons at PAX!
-Brian
Here is my twitter if you would like a more direct feed to updates. I've been bad about them lately since my focus is just 100% work. It can be hard to balance. But it's usually the first place I stop for any info above the discord. Take care everyone!
https://twitter.com/DSDigitalDev