Hi there!
As I've been trudging through content hell (more on that in the next update), I noticed that I never posted my last newsletter here on Steam. So, here's part 1 of what I've been up to in the last couple months before I'll drop more current news in a few weeks.
Having spent most of the time since summer creating 3D models and learning animation, it has felt really good returning to more gameplay-related activities recently. This included mostly busywork like bug fixing, but at least some changes are also nice to look at.
One example is the addition of real classical paintings to the game world. Previously, I'd relied on placeholder art from an asset pack that I've wanted to replace ever since I've been using more detailed character models. It turns out that many museums offer public-domain access to thousands of classical art pieces online. Thus, with a little research, I was able to turn Agatha's home into a bit of an art gallery in its own right.
I'm really happy with how these images help me set the scene and offer a glimpse into Agatha's character. The only downside is that I'll now probably need to add more detailed materials to the image frames as well. 🤷
Besides classical art, there's one very special picture made by my concept artist Hitsugitoshi. This wedding painting hides a secret, but I don't want to reveal too much just yet ...
Alas, if only they could've been this happy forever!
When Players Get Stuck (Like, Literally)
When I alpha tested Dark Lessons in early summer, one common complaint was that players kept getting stuck — not in a puzzle, but in door frames. This was because the character is holding large, five-pronged candelabra in their left hand that would collide with obstacles when players didn't expect it.
After some tinkering, I found a way of dealing with this, and I think it's a great example for how game dev involves a lot of smoke and mirrors:
The player's right hand item now isn't part of the game world at all, but is instead projected into the world via a so-called subviewport. As for the candelabra, there's an invisible instance just to cast the candles' shadow into the room, whereas the candles you actually see on screen are a tiny copy floating right in front of the camera at scale 1:10. If you'd like to learn more about it, I wrote a post about the technical details on Reddit.
Updated Horror Game Awards Show Trailer
Last year's Horror Game Awards Show was 14th December, and I was graciously given the chance to present a new trailer during the event. It doesn't feature as much new content as I had planned, but it does include two new scenes as well as a completely new original score by composer Megollyen. Big thank you to Will, Phil and the Horror Game Awards team for introducing me to such a great audience, and to Megollyen for doing an absolutely amazing job on a very tight schedule!
If you've missed it in the show, you can check out here: