Hello gardeners,
Happy late Halloween and Bonfire Night everyone! October was an interesting month for The Garden Path, with a great deal of work going on behind the scenes (some of which is very exciting and you’ll be finding out about very soon).
#TGPtober was a Cozy Hit
Our take on the Autumn Inktober Tradition was a lovely constant throughout October. I had a great time coming up with ideas and illustrations for each new prompt, and it was even better seeing your own designs inspired by the challenge.
I’ve been so impressed by the creativity and love that people have put into this project - from creating charming original characters to trying out new styles and techniques.
While we can’t show off every piece that was created as a part of #TGPtober, we did want to highlight a few of our favourites. Thank you again for taking part in this challenge with me, I hope we’ll have the opportunity for similar events in the future.
1. Piña’s Original Vegetable-Headed Character - @piniaart, on Twitter and Instagram
2. Pixie’s Eleanora and Chester gone Fishing
3. Cat Lind’s Original Vegetable-Headed Character: Luca - @realkenma, on Instagram
4. Evan McIntyre’s Original Vegetable-Headed Character: Cocohead - @ebrownm, on Instagram
5. Sophie C’s Original Animal Traveller: Lillian - @marethyu42, on Twitter
6. Harriet’s Flowers - @DaggerMcTimbers, on Twitter
7. Lily of the Valley by @maps_by_nim, on Instagram
8. Priscilla’s Original Vegetable-Headed Character: Laurel - @crystalunvrs, on Twitter
9. Blind Luck’s Egret Orchid - @blinded_luck, on Instagram
Some bits and bobs
Don’t forget, we have an exclusive Kickstarter category on our official Discord Community server, which you can join here. This is a dedicated space where you can ask us questions about the Kickstarter, chat with fellow backers, and help me in shaping The Garden Path with your feedback and ideas.
If you backed The Garden Path and want to gain access to the Kickstarter space, be sure to join our server and make sure you’ve sent your Discord ID in with your backer survey. Your backer role will be added then!
Work on the physical and digital rewards continues to take place behind the scenes, but we wanted to give you a sneak peek of the special reward for The Collectors - the handcrafted ceramic figurines of some of the garden’s residents. I think they’re looking rather charming...
In last month’s update I spoke a little about how The Garden Path team is expanding, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. I’m pleased to say that not only did we recently bring on Megan as our new Environment Designer, but also that we recently closed applications for a Contract Developer, who will be coming on board to help develop the local multiplayer systems unlocked in our Kickstarter stretch goals.
I feel very fortunate to be in the position to recruit new collaborators to work within bringing The Garden Path to life. I hope this will allow us to create the best version of the game, while making sure that everyone can maintain a good work/life balance.
Some Game Updates
With all the great feedback from the demos, there's been lots more work than anticipated on my plate to update fundamentals on how the game works, plays and feels.
Menus have been simplified and consolidated, and a new contextual control system streamlines how you interact with the Garden, no longer requiring you to equip each tool you wish to use. A new, optional tutorial helps show you the ropes before you start playing so that newer players don't feel overwhelmed.
There have also been updates to the physics of how the player moves to hopefully be more brisk and responsive, as well as improvements to the camera. I've also completely rebuilt how the game delivers ambient noises, like wind and birdsong, so it feels as though it's moving around you as you travel the Garden. Night-time audio has received attention too, for those who found the crickets to be irritating at best.
The new-game menu has been rewritten too, with some more options, and now more than 20 skin tones to choose from (up from the previous three).
I hope it will be worth the extra wait, I'm really happy with the way it's shaping up.
And that’s all folks. Stick around for more updates on The Garden Path soon!
Until next time…
~Louis
*
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/nWTg5WvZbU
Follow us on Twitter: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on TikTok: @fromcarrot cake
Follow us on Twitch: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on Instagram: @fromcarrotcake
And if you haven’t yet, please consider giving The Garden Path a wishlist and a follow!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638500/The_Garden_Path