i planned to write this up on sunday, but it's been a really busy few days! winter break is almost over =A= but it's time to wrap up here! my initial goals at the very beginning of the jam were to:
- actually finish the game!
- create a game where everything matters and there's no egregious fluffing -- [...] if/where there's flavortext, it's all meaningful and should be worth exploring.
- create a decent atmosphere and a final product that's somewhat polished
in terms of finishing the game, i realized near the end that it wasn't really feasible. i was careful about setting my expectations low at first and my original concept for the game was really simple, but i couldn't resist expanding on it. it got progressively more engaging to me and i wanted to do so much more with it, to the point where i had to accept that it became a different game from my initial pitch -- not in terms of premise, but in terms of the scope of the writing, mechanics, gameplay, etc. so it made the most sense at that point to polish up a demo and submit that! i'm really happy with what i've managed overall -- i do feel like i finished something playable that has a decent foundation for what i'm aiming for in the full game.
it isn't perfect by a long shot, though. i spent hours playtesting, tweaking, and correcting dozens of bugs in the last few days, but there are always improvements that can be made. there are still things here and there that i have yet to figure out or correct, but i tried to keep them from being anything outrageous. at this point, i think i have a decent command of the types of events and techniques i'll be working with the most (and i'm eager to keep learning!!), so i can focus on the writing and assets a lot more now that i have something playable to funnel it all into.
as a whole, i'm so glad to hear that people are enjoying the atmosphere of wdytya so far!!! i'm going to keep at it -- i wanted it to be "surreal" at first, but that was difficult to convey as i envisioned with the resources and time that i had (especially because i lost a few days), so it's something i'll continue looking into and working on. i'm also not totally satisfied with some of the flavortext and i know that i can improve it vastly, but i did make everything relevant in some way (even if it's not apparent yet, story-wise), and i'm so happy that others are finding it interesting and mysterious so far!
the feedback i've received throughout this whole process has absolutely made my month. thanks again for all your support, guys! it's been amazing to start off 2016 by finishing something i can be proud of, and i have plenty more games planned for the future! if you're interested in keeping in touch with me or my work, my twitter, tumblr, and other projects are linked in my profile. see you around! c: