Hello flatmates,
After 5 months of silence, we are back with good news: GLASSHOUSE pre-production is officially over!
Take a big breath, in the next few lines of this DevBlog we will dwell on the new Demo and what is involved in leaving the pre-production phase for the FLAT28 Collective.
COPS DON'T BARK, THE NEW DEMO.
Over the past year we've been working hard to create the best possible concept of GLASSHOUSE, a virtual gym within which to develop mechanics and systems, the foundation of our video game. If LivingRoom_Build (The demo currently playable on our Discord) represented the more dialogic soul of GLASSHOUSE, Cops Don't Bark introduces the exploratory element, implements high-requested features, and amplifies the depth of quest design.
First of all, Cops Don't Bark will introduce two new settings, Canal 73 and Wealdmaer's Room. The Canal 73 opens the door to the underground network of the Old Canals of Lundonstoch, a dark labyrinth manned by patrols of the Control Damage Brigade.
The Old Canals represent an opportunity for us to create a more complex level design than the canonical geometries of Dormitory 73B, so expect hidden passages, environmental puzzles and a more extensive pacing!
Wealdmaer's room, as mentioned in the previous DevBlog, is part of the natural evolution process of apartment 28, the central HUB of GLASSHOUSE. Within it, the player will be able to craft tools, equipment (did anyone ask for "more Inventory slots"?), deposit resources and thoroughly investigate the past of their avatar. After all, we are intruders in the head of the protagonist, who wants to deny us information vital to our survival. We have opted for a bottom-up characterization approach, Wealdmaer's room in fact is a temple of memories waiting to be discovered on multiple levels. Of all, the idea that each player may have a different degree of knowledge of Wealdmaer is one of the elements that excites us most.
JOURNAL, QUALITY OF LIFE AND CONTROLLER SUPPORT.
By pressing the "J" key, it is now possible to consult Wealdmaer's Personal Journal, within which it will be possible to keep track of progress and get useful advice on carrying out quests. Don't call it a quest-log, because it's so much more!
We are also happy to report the full compatibility of GLASSHOUSE with controllers and WASD support for movement. But it doesn't end here, these days Andrea and Gianmarco are working hard on the implementation of a much requested feature during the previous playtests, the overline of interactive objects! This feature will allow the player to more easily locate interacting objects during mouse exploration.
NEW 3D MODELS.
GLASSHOUSE can now enjoynew 3D models for its characters, who now show up in significantly more detailed guises and with a consistent artstyle vis-à-vis the new portraits. This increase in quality was a not inconsiderable investment of time, but it now allows us to take much closer shots than before, going on to greatly expand the directing possibilities during dialogues!
GLASSHOUSE ENTERS PRODUCTION.
With the introduction of the Political Compass (which we will discuss in detail in the next DevBlog) in Cops Don't Bark, GLASSHOUSE is officially "Feature complete" and we are ready to move out of the pre-production phase. This means that we have all the systems we need to develop GLASSHOUSE, from start to finish.
As anticipated in the July DevBlog, GLASSHOUSE underwent a major redesign over the two years of development: In the absence of publishers or investors, reducing the content scope was a necessary choice to focus the development of a game that was born with too much ambition. We are human beings, and like all developers struggling with their first game, we made miscalculations out of inexperience.
However, as it was born, we still decided to continue the development of GLASSHOUSE in our spare time, without funding. Cops Don't Bark is a concept and as such, it will mark the end of one journey and the beginning of a new one.
Cops Don't Bark will be released by December 2023 on our Discord and on Itch.io, after which, we will continue full steam ahead, treading the path of self-publication. For us, telling the story of the flatmates of Apartment 28 is a necessity, and one way or another, we will succeed.
We close this DevBlog with a letter dedicated to all those fighting their own war: In November, during Milan Games Week, for the first time part of the collective met in person. One cannot describe the joy of putting a face to the people with whom one has been communicating uninterruptedly for about two years, behind a black screen. This DevBlog is for all of us, for the collective, for those who have left and for those who remain.
Thank you all.
Giacomo Montagnoli, Creative Director
Collettivo FLAT28