Hi everyone!
I launched the demo for Rainswept on 2 January on itch.io, and the response has been much more positive than I could've expected! It's really encouraging that so many people have played and loved the game, and for that, thank you!
It's also been pretty wild (and I must admit, a bit nerve wracking) seeing Youtubers upload let's-play videos of the game. Seeing people play the game and react to its moments has been quite surreal, and encouraging.
An updated demo, based on player feedback, has been released on itch.io and gamejolt, and it now includes a Mac build!
Some of the issues that have been fixed in the updated demo are:
- Speech bubbles - Speech bubbles are now colored! Many people found it confusing to identify the speaker of some dialogues, especially when characters stood close to each other. This is still a temporary solution, just for the demo (as the speech system will be overhauled for the full release) but it should do the job for now.
- Dialogue skipping - You can now skip dialogues by pressing Space/ LB! This is only applicable for those dialogues that the player has already heard at least once before. This will make the market section easier, in case you mistakenly end up asking an NPC the same question you'd already asked before. For the full version, the whole speech bubble will be recreated from scratch, with animations and comic-style arrows pointing to the speaker.
- Fixed some collision bugs - Preventing the player from walking off the scene, and from pushing other NPCs around.
- Made the investigation scene in the kitchen a little less cramped up.
- Fixed the main menu - and gave it some new, fancy effects! The camera now moves down when loading the options, or when starting the game. Cool, huh? ;)
- Loading/ Saving - Added manual saving/loading and save slots.
- Slightly more fleshed out negative dialogue choices when conversing with the local cops.
For the full game, expect improvements on the following:
- Better control schemes - Got a lot of feedback on this! I'll look to change the control scheme to something more comfortable, and allow the player to re-bind keys. If feasible, I shall also consider providing an option between the current "direct" controls and an optional point and click control method.
- Better characters and animations - Another point that received a lot of feedback. Mainly this means more polished character animations, small improvements on art and detail and maybe more detailed eyes and multiple expressions - to replace the current blank stare.
- Overall Improved visuals - Some of the colors don't work perfectly with each other, and this will be improved on. I'm also working on new lighting techniques, to give a better, softer "glow effect". The progress with this shall be shared here!
- Gameplay - I will look to provide more opportunities to engage with the game in a more "traditional" manner. Which means a larger number of, and relatively more complex puzzles than were seen in the demo, and a couple of new mechanics such as a diary/ journal system. I'll also look to integrate the clues picked up during the story into the diary system, which can help the player keep a track of the facts related to the case and help them form their own conclusion before Detective Anderson himself!
- Agency over locations/ movement in the world - In the demo, the player gets carried from one location to the next for each scene in the story. For the full version, I'll look to provide the player with the option to choose from one of the few available scenes/ location for each day's investigation. This will require me to work out the plot to accommodate all choices of the order of locations visited, so the scope of this mechanic is still undecided.
Expect to see more locations, and of course, the full story!
Hope you enjoy the demo! Keep an eye out for weekly updates, and don't forget to wishlist the game on Steam!