Greetings! This past week has been a bit slow in the way of making level design progress. It was going well for a while, but then I realized it really would be good to start addressing some of the other aspects of the game (namely the audio and the game play design).
The bits I'll be working on over the next week or two all have to do with really setting up a tense atmosphere using audio tricks and a multitude of scripted events. I want to make everything feel very organic. It shouldn't be that after walking into a particular room, something is triggered and then upon grabbing the required item the obligatory jump scare occurs. No, I'm more interested in setting up a LOT of different possible events depending on what the player does. Does he turn back to look at something? Does he close the door because he's afraid of what's out there? Depending on how the player behaves, I want to make the game react. There's no secret programming trick to this, it's literally setting up dozens of scripted events that are triggered by various, seemingly innocent things. In this way, I hope to also make the experience different for everyone who plays.
The audio portion of it simply takes a lot of time due to setting up the audio beforehand in my DAW and spending more time than I (probably) should making sure all the cues happen RIGHT when they should. I think it will all really pay off in the end though.
As an aside, I also put together a short teaser as a way to "tide everyone over" because there will be a two week gap following this update before I post another update.
You can watch the video on Youtube: Youtu.be
Or right here:
To repeat myself, there will be a two week gap following this update. The honest reason is simply so I can spend more time on the game and less on updates. It may sound silly, but when you're one guy also working a day job, every hour counts!
Thank you SO MUCH to those of you who have watched, commented, and supported me, it's more helpful than you may know :) I hope you all have a wonderful and gloomy morning/evening (it's raining over here and I love it)!
That's a nice idea, adding many possible scripted events that trigger depending on what the player does. It would vary the gameplay quite a bit from one person to the next, and has much potential, but it also could have many bugs along with it.
You'd have to make sure to add something for every variable. What if the player closed the door, moved a chair in front of it, and then looked back behind them?, What if the player closed the door and turned around, without putting the chair in front of it?
I don't mean to make you feel pressured, I'm only pointing it out. I have faith you'll succeed.