Hello all. Well it's been 3 months since the last time I wrote any news so I should give you an update. To answer the question on the title, "yes and no."
No:
I can't give you any news related to gameplay, images, videos, etc., because I don't have anything yet. That's why I am not including any images here either.
Yes:
I've been working on documents and prototypes, mostly trying to figure out what works and what doesn't, or what would be too difficult to make on my own.
So, what I've been doing now is:
- Working on the entire plot for the game (it will follow a *similar* idea to The Nightmare from Beyond, but without the alien girls, the twin sisters and the confusing language)
- I've also been working on different prototypes: an "Until Dawn" like prototype like the one I mentioned in a previous post, with multiple characters and branching choices. An "Until Dawn" like prototype with just one character. A more adventure-like prototype. An "adventure+platformer" hybrid meaning that it plays as a platformer in some parts, and as an adventure game in others. I scrapped the two Until Dawn like prototypes because they were too complex to make. Platforming works works for chase sequences and stealth sections, but it's too action oriented for sections that should be more slow-paced. I'm still working to figure out the best fix for this issue.
- All while I make a tasks breakdown so I can have a more organized development.
- All while I make money somewhere else because I have zero budget to work on this game since all the money went into paying the team members that simply abandoned the project to work on something else.
- All while I work with Steam to find out the best way to transition everyone who owns this game into the new rebooted game.
It's all about the money:
Well, here's the thing. As I've said before, I need money to pay the bills and to keep myself afloat. This year I released "The Dreamlands: Aisling's Quest," a game I made on my own to start making some more money since Enola is an old game and it doesn't sell that much anymore. TDAQ has helped but it's not like it has solved my money issues.
I can perfectly work full time on this "project Whateley" game right now, and then put the game on hold again in a few months with the same story "I can't work on this anymore, again, because, again, I ran out of money with the difference that now I won't be working on games at all."
I think it's a safer bet to work on this game slowly but steadily. That's why I make all those small tests and all those documents, spreadsheets and schedules. I want to make sure I can finish what I start.
So I need to make smaller projects to make some money:
That music game was another small game I planned to make and sell. However, after the initial prototype and some testing around, I noticed that kind of game was not going to gain enough interest so I decided to cancel it.
After that one didn't work, I decided to go back to my "horror adventure works" and start working on a new short horror adventure game, since those are the kind of games I make best. "Project Whateley" will be something I will work on side by side with this new game.
And when that "horror adventure" game is finished, the cycle will repeat itself until either "Project Whateley" is finished, or I have enough money to work exclusively on "project Whateley"
That's all I can say about this project right now. Thanks for your time.