itch.io

Hey, I remember you! Thank you very much! Can't wait to watch your playthrough! 

Thanks a lot for playing! I'm planning to make a remake of this remake in the future( as weird as it sounds) so when the time arrives I will hire a voice actor. As for the problems you've had with the platforming component of the game, those are recurrent problems and I'm definitely fixing them in the future.

I'm glad you liked the game, thank you yet again :)

Thank you very much for playing! Enjoyed your playthrough!

I will address some of the issues you mentioned in the next update.

Also, putting the blue book aside, you were so close to one of the endings, did you forget about what you saw in the labyrinth at 6:17?

Thank you very much! I'm grateful for your willingness to help but in the near future I  have no interest in localizing it.

Hahaha, thank you very much for playing!

And you did well by dropping the coins in the water, that well exists to turn some objects into golden ones, you could have turned the green book into a golden one. Also, there were quite a few places you've missed in the game, namely in the labyrinth, in the hall and in the library.

Thank you very much for playing!

Thank you very much! Your feedback throughout development definitely helped guide the game in the right direction, thank you for that as well!

I actually tried adding a crosshair but I don't know why it just kept flustering me so I removed it. In Recesses of Dilemma, however, I plan to keep it.

Recesses of Dilemma will be very different in a way yet very similar in concept, it will definitely take more time to make as I want to explore new game mechanics. Thank you.

Thank you for playing again!

Dropping items close to walls or other objects makes them go through them, I'm aware of that but I don't really have a solution in mind yet. As for the the second problem you mentioned, it's not a bug, there are few checkpoints in the game so the game sent you to the last one you activated, but yes, the save and load system is still far from perfect, those numbers appearing above the red book is definitely a bug.

Adding to that, even though you lost the green book it still doesn't break the game, you could still reach all of the three endings, let me give you a tip, there were a few things you missed in the game, mainly in the library and in the labyrinth, also, the blue key can be used differently.

Thank you very much for playing! Really cool to see someone find two endings, for the third ending you have to read the letter in the transparent starry room before going through the big door.

Yes, but the room in which that sound is triggered shouldn't be accessible. Will fix that in a future update. 

You really tried your best to break my game haha.

In your video, at 7:31, I can't believe you've been there so many times yet still didn't see that chest, Vermis' words weren't aimless when she advised you to check the office. 

As for the bridge, It doesn't re-spawn endlessly, you should've been more careful the third time, but even with the bridge destroyed there's still another ending, but for that one you needed to open the chest at 7:31. I even added a brighter light behind those stairs to make it stand out, but it seems it's still hard to notice, I may add a Vermis comment there in the next update.

Anyway, thank you very much for playing and sorry for the inconveniences, that loud oscillating sound as well, I will delete it in the next update( but I think you know you weren't supposed to go there, I will block entry to that room completely).

Thank you very much for playing! It really is refreshing to watch someone beat the platformers! 

Of course you can! Go for it!

Thanks a lot! :D

Pulcra Vermis:Re is finally out!

https://paragonearth.itch.io/pulcra-vermisre

Thank you very much! And yeah, it really is a funny coincidence that the game will launch on Independence Day.

Pulcra Vermis:Re is almost finished, now what's left is to polish it, that includes improving the endings which are still lacking, adding textures to objects without them, finishing some 3d models and fixing bugs and level design flaws.

It's funny how this month was the most productive one, realizing the deadline is near really changes you into a hard-working person.

These are some of the current screenshots of the game, if everything goes well they'll still be improved further:

I will publish the game on the 4th of July on both itch.io and gamejolt.com

Thanks for reading and see you in the next update!

Thanks! And that font was just for testing but thank you for the reminder, I'll probably change it to the same font as in the main menu. 

I'd like to postpone the release but I can't because this is my final year of university project, I have a deadline I must comply with and I'm forced to publish it to pass. But hopefully, the game will still be enjoyable, I have a month left and I'll give it my best.

These last few weeks were an attempt at making the game playable from start to finish and even though it wasn't much of a success at least most of the most important programming is done, now I can focus more on improving the art and fixing level design flaws. It's also decided that I will publish the game at the start of July.

That aside, I can't show everything I did or otherwise I will spoil the game.

But here are some of the additions I made:

• Vermis dialogue is completed, she has talking animations in sync with the text and her eyes blink.

• Rigged and animated the monster( won't show more than this to not spoil).

• Programmed the monster AI.
• Created a new puzzle, but you'll have to find how to solve it yourself.

• Fixed some footstep sounds.
• Now it's really obvious which books you need to insert here.

• Added blood puddles to the labyrinth.

• A new zone is in the works.

• Coins thrown into water turn it gold.

• Some objects soaked in golden water turn gold.
• In the previous version of the game the book was inside the character's hand, now it's fixed.

• Modelled some objects important to the story's progression.
• Added some graphics settings and a mouse sensitivity slider.

• Notes you find in the castle now have a fluid camera animation and page flipping.
• Made lots of corrections in the level design.
• Fixed lots of bugs.

I did but I'm still working my way through it, good job!

Thank you, reading your comments each time is very encouraging. I'm a really moody person so choosing what to do next keeps me from losing motivation. I played one of your games recently (Broken Silence) and could see how much effort you and your team had put into it, compared to that I'm still a step behind. It is daunting, more so considering I have a deadline soon but I believe I'll manage, this month my goal is to make the game playable from start to finish so that the next one I can polish the art to the maximum. 

These few weeks were mostly focused on programming and math. As a solo game developer, I've learned how important it is to work smart and not hard so I'm always searching for ways to optimize my workflow.

These are the improvements I made this time:

• Added a better looking chandelier to the hall( still not finished, needs candles and more crystals).

• The new main character is now in the game( but not textured yet).
• Implemented the mechanic to open books( there's still no textures nor character animations).

• Composed the main menu soundtrack for the game.
• Added one item to the game relevant to the story.
• Modelled a sofa bench.

• Improved the corridor leading to the library.
• Painting frames are finished( only need to find some public domain paintings).

• Disabled movement when cutscenes play.
• Worked further on the exit from the labyrinth.
• Improved the labyrinth wall texture( now it looks more like blood flowing down).

• Improved Vermis.
• Improved Vermis' room.
• Added text to the letter lying on the office's desk.
• The new monster is finished and almost ready for animation.

• Corrected some sounds and their volume.
• Programmed a save system through checkpoints( still not complete).
• Improved some "respawn" locations.
• Added coins to chests.

• When picking coins the quantity you have appears as a number above the coin's inventory icon.
• Added god lights to the hall.
• Programmed stairs appearing gradually in the tower, they make it easier to reach the third floor but will only appear if you do as Vermis says.

• Improved the library.
• Added a blue wallpaper to the library ( and it works well).

• Blocked out the last zone.
• There are 4 bookshelves and 4 symbol colors now, making this puzzle have a total of 256 combinations possible.

• Unlike the previous version where you could guess the bookshelves combination easily now you need to wander the castle in search of clues, the gif below is just an example. 

• Besides all these, I made an attempt at the game's logo.

The following weeks I'll be focusing on making the game playable from start to end. 

Yes, it's regretful but I can always release some updates in the future expanding it.

Thank you, that's my goal now, making those rooms as snazzy as possible! As for the colors, the red Vermis' room was intentional( the guest waiting room wasn't, I chose the color randomly but let's pretend it was), and now that you mention it making the library blue is a great idea, will do some tests.

And thank you, I will, at the start I didn't feel enthusiastic at all about writing devblogs but now it kind of become part of the workflow, it helps to organize and sort tasks in a way that doesn't feel as constraining.

This time I focused more on improving the art with an emphasis on making the rooms feel less empty. 

The reason for that is something I've been thinking about for a long time, something which unfortunately won't come to fruition, the whole castle being explorable. As much as I want it I decided against it mainly for two reasons, the first one being that it will take an immeasurable amount of time to complete(there are ten floors after all) and the second and the most important one is that even if I succeed, the castle will feel exceedingly empty and bland, just like in the previous version. So instead, I decided to polish everything that already exists to the maximum, filling those rooms with meaningful objects and then adding some extra places here and there. On top of that, I'm remaking the game's endings and objectives so I believe this decision will contribute for the better as a whole.

These are the improvements I made this time:

• The main character clothes are almost finished.
• The new main character now works with the animations of the old one ( still not in the game, just testing).
• Added a small pause after each jump.
• Sculpted Vermis' teeth.
• Worked on some facial expressions for Vermis.
• Remade the wooden plank puzzle, still work in progress so the gif below is not the final representation.

• Improved Vermis' room further.

• Created an open book animation.
• Added a posed and improved Vermis to the game.

• Added doors to the library and Vermis' room.
• Modeled the balance.
• The monster now wanders the labyrinth in search of the main character when triggered.
• Camera shaking.
• Wrote some dialogue for Vermis.
• Finally added all the new bookshelves to the library.

• Thought of all the endings, there will be still three but they'll be all different.
• Improved the color puzzle.
• Improved the guest waiting room.

• And a lot of other minor fixes.

Thanks! Unfortunately yes, I don't really have much of a choice here, hiring a voice actor is just way out of the question for me right now, also because of the coronavirus it's even hard to ask a friend, and that's putting aside the lack of equipment. Hopefully in the future when I make the remake of the remake of the remake of Pulcra Vermis then there will be an actual voice-over xD. Joking, but yeah, sorry about that. 

This time I learned a lot! But the most exciting part of it was working on Vermis, the female character of the game, even though she's still not finished I never went so far in developing a character as I did with her. These are the improvements I made in the last few weeks:

• Improved Vermis's room.

• Improved the dialogue and added an inspection option when interacting with Vermis.
• Improved Vermis.
• Created clothes for Vermis.

• Created a walking animation for Vermis.
• Tested cloth simulation for Vermis's dress ( utter failure but I'm getting there).
• Blocked further the well area in the labyrinth.
• Created a ripple effect when throwing objects into water.

• Almost finished the new version of the "monster".
• Improved a new area in the 6th floor.
• Almost all bookshelves in the library were replaced by the newest ones ( there's tons of them but they're instances so they shouldn't affect performance).
• Created a low poly version of the chest.
• Chests are textured and can be opened now.

• The new main character mesh is almost ready ( but clothes and shoes still need to be improved).

• Wrote one ending to the game.
• And many other things too trivial to be mentioned.

Everything makes sense. I agree with you, I wonder why I never thought of it though, it's likely I'm so used to that jump that I developed tunnel vision. I'll improve it following your suggestions, rest assured. I just need to switch the main character's mesh with the newer one first, hopefully it won't cause other problems. 

Thank you very much! I will!

It's funny because I unironically named the "Recesses Of Dilemma" project as "MyHouse2" thinking "now it's my trademark" xD

Sure, suggestions are always welcome, I will try writing more devlogs from now on so feel free to leave any.

The dungeon will be relevant to the story, very much so, also I'm adding an exit to it so it will be possible to return back to the surface.

I'm also planning to add a save/load system so hopefully that'll help as well, there won't be the need to restart the game in order to explore different endings.

Could you elaborate on the jump part? Do you mean those times it's supposed to jump but doesn't quite, I know there are some issues but this is one of those things I'm not entirely sure where to start from.

Thank you, it will probably still take a long time until it's  ready for testing but if everything goes well and I finish before the deadline I'll accept your offer, thank you!

Hey everyone! I’m working on “Pulcra Vermis:Re”, a remake of "Pulcra Vermis".

Pulcra Vermis:Re is a first-person puzzle exploration game with elements of psychological horror. In the game, the main character finds himself trapped in a strange dimension with the only thing in sight being a colossal castle. After lifting a mysterious book from the ground, he starts hearing an impassive female voice. 

This will be a long journey but I really hold this game dear to my heart so this time, I want to achieve something I wasn't able to in the previous iteration, I want to tell a story, a story between two souls separated and reunited by death.

This is the progress I've made so far:

• Added volumetric fog.
• Improved the lighting and post-processing settings.

• Expanded the labyrinth and blocked out a new area.
• Reprogrammed the object interaction and pickup systems.
• Enhanced a bit the look of the hall.

• Replaced objects with high vertices counts with lower ones without affecting the overall look.
• Created an improved version of the chest, chests now have a higher purpose than just being decorations.

• Blocked out an exit from the labyrinth back to the castle.
• Fixed a bug in which the female voice would spawn endlessly when repeatedly dropping and picking the book.

• Multiple assets were replaced with improved versions.
• Added some balusters here an there.
• Different footsteps sounds for different surfaces.
• Ambient volume lowers when inside the castle or enclosed spaces.
• Better looking and optimized bookshelves in the library.
• Randomly stacked books (still looks unnatural because of the spacing between each but I will improve it).

• Turning pages ( still need to fix that shadow bias artifact).

• Added doors that open in the direction the character's facing. 
• The library has a starry ceiling now.
• Started working on a new room.

• The second tower is now open.
• Replaced the previous body with an improved one, now it looks more like a statue( this one will have animations so prepare yourself to be spooked).

• Started sculpting an improved main character and monster meshes.
• Added a new character to the game( still in early progress).

• Programmed a dialogue system with multiple choices.
• Started blocking out the upper levels of the castle.
• Officially changed the executable name from "MyHouse" to "Pulcra Vermis" ( I'm really ashamed of myself, really).
• Composed a soundtrack for the game.
• And other minor additions.

Thank you! <3

Wow, thank you lots! At the time I was so unsure on whether to publish the game or not but now I'm so glad I did! Hope you'll play the next iteration of Pulcra Vermis, the project for my last semester of university is to make a game so I'm planning to remake Pulcra Vermis, one of the goals is, hopefully, to make the whole castle open for exploration. Thank you for the support, it really pushed me forward today.

Wah! Thank you very much! It's so fun watching you guys play! You even found the easter egg! xD 

Thank you, I never intended for this game to be focused on horror. So much that the bad ending should have never existed as it is, a cheap jump scare.

Now I'm working on a new game which will be called " Recesses Of Dilemma", but I still plan to launch a third version of Pulcra Vermis in the future.

Thank you yet again for your kind words and well wishes. 

Thank you very much for playing! It seems it really isn't intuitive that the torch can be picked, will change that in a future release.

Hey! The end of the labyrinth is the corridor in which appears the monster. The feminine voice actually belongs to the monster, there's no secret ending (at least for now). There's only a small easter egg in the game.

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much! Indeed, the castle feels quite empty. This was an university project so I had to publish it due to a deadline. Hopefully when I launch version 3 in the future it won't feel as empty.

Thank you very much! Enjoyed it very much! xD If I ever launch a version 3 then it'll have way more content than that which I added in version 2. For now, I'm planning to start another project, one not bound by my university and neither bound by time. All the models in Pulcra Vermis were made by me but I'm still not confident in my skills, so I'm planning to use this next project as an impetus for a "breakthrough".

Thanks a lot and point taken!! Next version will have air control!