Hi everyone!
This will be a rather lengthy post to catch you up on what we've been busy with in Dressmaker. There's a lot that's changed in the months since we last updated the prototype!
All bodies are unique, and standardised sizing is a myth! In a game about making bespoke clothing, it was important to us to show that clothes should be made to fit the body, and not the other way around! Each character is measured (in a simplified way, compared to real-life measuring) and the mannequin adjusted to fit their measurements. The pattern pieces are drafted according to the person’s measurements.
We also wrote some new custom shaders to make fabrics look more distinct. Silks and velvets have different kinds of shininess, and there’s the possibility for other niche "fabrics" like sequins.
The prototype had a lot of quick UI: it was functional for a prototype, but we wanted things to have a lot more personality. An example is the fabric and accessories shop, which has undergone a complete overhaul that makes it feel more like a fabric shop and haberdashery, instead of a bunch of buttons in a grid. (This is a work in progress. There’s still some UI here that could use some more iterations.)
We've also been iterating elsewhere in the UI, trying to unify the controls and make things more intuitive. We're still gathering feedback from playtesters and hope to continue improving this over time.
And of course, we've been creating new dress pieces and fabrics too! Our playtesters have been sharing their creations with each other on Discord, including everything from sleek and stylish to elaborate explosions of accessories to dresses inspired by vegetables and birds and even space exploration!
These dresses were made by playtesters in our Discord community: 7nsomniac (two dresses), OuchPotatoes, jupeium, taylor, Irina Elina and RoseNoire.
You're very welcome to join our Discord server, where players have been sharing their dresses (both from the game, and in real life).
Thank you for following along! We're aiming to post progress more regularly on Steam from now on. We can't wait to show you what we have in store!
Until next time,
The Dressmaker Team