0.8 Release

0.8 is finally out. It has been a hard slog but its done.

Sadly, I need to put this project on ice for several months as I have new responsibilities at work. Hopefully I can come back to it and take it to Steam. In the meantime, the game is playable all the way through and I would love to have some feedback from you.

Seeing as I wont be thinking about the project for a while, I collected all the feedback and planned changes in one place and came up with this Roadmap of sorts.

What is necessary to take this to Steam?

• TextMesh is super grainy. Fix it.
• Interaction sound effects that don't suck.
• Ambient level sounds.
• Music.
• Final level decoration and design. It is very much placeholder at the moment.
• Ending animations for the two exit strategies.
• Credits scene should show the direct result of your choices.
• The ability for player 1 to select their character model.
• An explosion effect that is mentioned in dialog but never seen.
• A red crystal growth particle effect which is mentioned in the dialog but never seen.
• Steam achievements.
• Steam store page.
• Cloud save.
• Steam banners, marketing images, trailer.
• A logo/Splash image for the game and the studio.

What do I want to have before I take it to Steam?

• Better player character animations for walking, running, pushing and carrying. Idle animations would also be nice. Involve the magic staff more.
• A more dynamic light that follows the player. Like a glowing ball pet. The current solution for dynamic lighting is very basic.
• More interesting and memorable holograms for the 4 main characters, based on Vivi’s designs.
• 2-4 optional but harder puzzles on each level, which are doable after completing the main puzzle. These should reward you with more dialog options for the characters you meet. This might allow me to shorten the default dialog options a bit more.
• After meeting a new character in a level, give the player an interstitial level where they write in their journal about the character they met. These can be sent to the developer upon completing the game.
• Each character has unique UI frames for the dialog box to help differentiate them.
• Each character has unique sim-squeak sounds when they talk.
• Fix the bug issues, there isn't many, but it is still important to me.

What do I want that probably wont get done?

• Rework the UI graphics. I find the current UI acceptable but amateur looking.
• Voice acting
• Player controller option that works just with the mouse, so my dad can play the game.
• Multiple save slots, or at least somewhere showing your previous submitted endings.
• The characters you meet ask your opinion on various topics, and your answers are saved to be sent to the developer after you finish the game. Basically, more player input than just choosing your ending.