Hello. It’s been a while since we last updated you about the state of the 1.4 update. Since then a lot has changed. We added new features to the planned update that will make the update even more worthwhile to wait for. In this post, we would like to tell you more about what we’ve been working on.
More Details in the Environment
One of the new features we’ve been working on is adding much more details to the environment. Before this update, the environment looked empty and lifeless. Because we want to bring you the best gaming experience and because the environment is one of the most important parts of horror games we decided to dedicate even more time to it.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
We added more geometry into the environments to get rid of the emptiness and we added more decals. This will not only make the levels more detailed and realistic but also a lot more damaged and filthy. We also tried to add mini-stories through environmental storytelling. You might already have seen some of the screenshots that we shared on our social media. We are positive that this change will bring you the best possible experience. Especially in the second part of the game which wasn’t up to our standards when it comes to environment art.
New Narrative Focus
One of the new things is the narrative focus of our game and of our story. We decided to focus the game and its story around the topic of mental health. Our belief is that in today’s society, it’s more and more important to tackle this subject and we want our game to have a positive impact in this area. We are still at the beginning when it comes to the entire story of the game and the topics of mental health.
But you will be able to experience the horrors of mental health in the new 1.4 update. One of the new features is the mental health system. While not related to the story of the demo we wanted to showcase this feature in the demo as it will be part of the story in the full game. We have successfully developed a prototype under the watchful eye of our writer and psychiatrist by trait Zane Sexton to get the most accurate representation and as of right now we are implementing this feature into the demo level and optimizing it.
Website Update
Another small change is our website. The update section on our home page is now properly aligned and we added a new page – Roadmap. On the roadmap page, you can take a look at what we are currently working on and the status of that feature. We will be updating the page as the development moves forward. On the bottom, you can also find the R&D section. This is a section of features that we are experimenting with but that are not committed the in an upcoming update. Right now the roadmap page is made only for the demo given our situation but we plan to expand it in the future for the full game so that you can stay updated.
Future of Localization
As stated before we plan to support localization to other languages than English in the upcoming 1.4 update of the demo. The localization system is now finished. However, given our situation as an indie studio with no funding at this moment it’s hard for us to work on localizing the game and work on it at the same time. We don’t want to rule out the possibility of that happening – the system is in place, it’s just a matter of translation – but we don’t want to make promises either. However, if someone from the community speaks a other language than English and would like to help us with translation please get in touch with us on our Discord server!
Help us Make the Game
In order to finish the 1.4 update to the full extent that we planned we need your help. If you worked in the game industry and have expertise with game development please get in touch with us. Note that at this moment these are unpaid positions.
We are looking for:
If you want to learn more you can click on each position or you can visit our studio website where you’ll find a list of all jobs we are currently looking for. If you are interested in working with us you can get in touch with us via email – info[at]pterosoftstudio.com – or via Discord – janbostl.
Thank you for your continued support and for wishliting on Steam. We just wanted to let you know that we haven’t forgotten about you and that we are doing our best to bring you a great horror experience like no other.