Well, HRAFD was released nearly two months ago now, and it has received some serious attention. More than I had thought it would. This has prompted me to go all-out in the development of the next installment, "Half-Rats: Parasomnia"...Well, I use the term installment loosely...since the Half-Rats stories are procedural, rather than episodic. This next title starts anew, and does not begin where HRAFD left off. This next one is is going to feature a new, original story, custom code, brand new, original sound, 14 brand spankin' new enemies, and 5 custom weapons. All from scratch! We are currently deep in development, and are beginning to test some early builds featuring our new monsters. The mapping is also underway, and I'm over 400 textures into the main .wad! I couldn't ask for a better team! Anyway, you can check all of that out here: Moddb.com
Now, once again, I am going to thank you, and since it's the holidays, I thought you might be privy to certain things...That's right, I come bearing gifts! First of all; despite the great reception that HRAFD had, and all the accolades garnered hence, it was not all sunshine and rainbows. HRAFD had some issues, yes. And I apologize for many of them. Count this apology as my first gift! Some of the puzzles and dialogue I didn't think through as much as I should, it's true. When you're at my vantage point, it's hard to fathom that the puzzles could possibly be obtuse, vague or obscure, since you get to see every facet of development first hand, and know ALL the secrets. That's why we have testers! If it wasn't for Qwertyus doing QA, and my beta testers, HRAFD would have been complete garbage. But sometimes, certain things are missed. That won't happen this next go-round. Passing on...some have said ammunition was scarce. Well, I didn't think that it would be too realistic to have piles of it laying around on the ground, so I stuck it into crates. Now, there are a lot of crates in HRAFD, but only some are breakable. The ones you want to break are those which are by themselves...sitting lonely...with green cloth covering them. For Parasomnia, I have decided to go one step further and label the crates!
You'll know exactly what you're getting! Don't break the red things with a melee weapon, please.
Ahem! So, let me tell you straight, my friends. "Half-Rats: Parasomnia" isn't going to be a game you can speed through. Like HRAFD, it will be slower-paced, and narrative-driven. I WILL be condensing the dialogue, however. You'll also be happy to learn that there won't be any necessary NPC's you must have follow you to Hell and back this time. You're going to be on your own in the big, scary world...ALMOST...there WILL be a certain transient NPC that can get you out of dire situations, but it doesn't speak English, it's not very large, and it has plenty of fur - On the plus, it happens to have some level of combat prowess. Don't worry, it can take care of itself...and WON'T get stuck in any doorways. So there you have it...My second gift to all of you - the promise that Parasomnia will be everything you loved about HRAFD amped up to 11, and none of what you hated!
There's MORE yet! As I appreciated your support, I labored to produce a Bestiary! Some of you may not have seen or downloaded this, so here it is! It makes for great toilet time reading if you print it out. It's also great to read in the middle of class, out loud - AND while you're supposed to be doing your homework! If you work really hard at putting more considerations into video games than school, you could be just like me some day!
Not only that, but here's the original sound track! Turn it up ALL THE WAY while your parents/girlfriend/wife/pets and other loved ones are sleeping! They will appreciate you.
Heath Games resident voice actor Devan Miller did a cover of the Fever Dream Theme, and you can download/listen to that here:
So ho, ho hoooooo! Merry freakin' Christmas, everyone! And a happy new year! I almost forgot - I've been makin' real good on that promise...I couldn't do it all in one day because...death would occur. Even I couldn't drink 1600 gulps in one day, but I'm working at it in incremental installments!
Now go forth and be merry! And look to the future with hope! For HRP is coming!
Merry fever christmas