Hello everyone. I just wanted to update you all on Memories' (working title) development during this difficult time. Firstly, myself and my family are doing well: Goro is still getting his daily walks, my husband now works at home (making my daily life a little less lonely) and my routine is pretty much unaffected. Actually, I'm probably doing better with someone else around as it's helping my productivity and I find myself working longer hours than I did before. Of course, some days it's difficult to focus...but we're in a crisis and I'm not going to beat myself up over getting distracted by the news and panicking for a couple of hours a week.
I got married in the beginning of March (yay!) and had my birthday last Sunday (hurray!)...and it's been weird trying to be happy when it feels like everything is up in flames around you, but I believe we can still find happiness in times of darkness and we should try to keep our moods up now more than ever. Also, Animal Crossing helps!
However, I know many people are in much less fortunate positions than I am right now, which is why I'm offering One Night Stand for free on PC, Mac and Linux for those who're experiencing financial difficulties. Just write me an email or contact me on Twitter or Facebook and I'll send you a key. It's not much but it's something. I believe we all have to try and help each other however we can right now, even if that's just by staying home.
Anyway, since returning from my wedding, Memories has come a long way. Christmas, New Year, trips home, bureaucracy and wedding planning slowed me down the first two months of the year, but now I'm plowing through tasks like the Plow King shovels snow. I finally set my Trello board to good use and got it working for myself. I've made lists of jobs for each area of the game: programming, memory artwork, present day artwork, sound effects, editing tasks etc. I was finding myself lost every Monday morning, unsure of what to tackle each week, whilst now I can see everything clearly and bash on with it. I've done so much present day exploration artwork recently so I'd like to share some with you:
I got married in the beginning of March (yay!) and had my birthday last Sunday (hurray!)...and it's been weird trying to be happy when it feels like everything is up in flames around you, but I believe we can still find happiness in times of darkness and we should try to keep our moods up now more than ever. Also, Animal Crossing helps!
However, I know many people are in much less fortunate positions than I am right now, which is why I'm offering One Night Stand for free on PC, Mac and Linux for those who're experiencing financial difficulties. Just write me an email or contact me on Twitter or Facebook and I'll send you a key. It's not much but it's something. I believe we all have to try and help each other however we can right now, even if that's just by staying home.
Anyway, since returning from my wedding, Memories has come a long way. Christmas, New Year, trips home, bureaucracy and wedding planning slowed me down the first two months of the year, but now I'm plowing through tasks like the Plow King shovels snow. I finally set my Trello board to good use and got it working for myself. I've made lists of jobs for each area of the game: programming, memory artwork, present day artwork, sound effects, editing tasks etc. I was finding myself lost every Monday morning, unsure of what to tackle each week, whilst now I can see everything clearly and bash on with it. I've done so much present day exploration artwork recently so I'd like to share some with you:
Gotta have fake game magazines!
  |  Finding old photographs. |
The treehouse filled with memories.
Note: These are in development and subject to edits.
Programming and UI are coming along nicely too: I've recently added some jigsaw puzzle-like games, keypad locks, button hovers and screen pans. Sound and music is a little behind, but I'm slowly adding sound effects on the more-finished scenes. Also, most of the new artwork I've drawn is in and working too.
Next up is finishing the exploration artwork and implementing it all – Seriously, you can search for so much stuff in this game, it's crazy! – followed by more sound effects, ongoing editing and programming. There are a few memories left than need artwork too, so once the next round of edits is done, I'll be starting that, wrapping up almost all of the remaining artwork!
It's still a few months away from being completed, but Memories is coming along nicely. I really hope I can continue this productivity whilst we're in lockdown and get the game out before Autumn hits! That's my goal but this is game development and she tends to have different plans ;-)
Programming and UI are coming along nicely too: I've recently added some jigsaw puzzle-like games, keypad locks, button hovers and screen pans. Sound and music is a little behind, but I'm slowly adding sound effects on the more-finished scenes. Also, most of the new artwork I've drawn is in and working too.
Next up is finishing the exploration artwork and implementing it all – Seriously, you can search for so much stuff in this game, it's crazy! – followed by more sound effects, ongoing editing and programming. There are a few memories left than need artwork too, so once the next round of edits is done, I'll be starting that, wrapping up almost all of the remaining artwork!
It's still a few months away from being completed, but Memories is coming along nicely. I really hope I can continue this productivity whilst we're in lockdown and get the game out before Autumn hits! That's my goal but this is game development and she tends to have different plans ;-)
Everyone, thank you for reading this post! Please take care and check in with loved ones during this difficult time. Remember to stay inside and stay safe! I'll be back with more updates as I get closer to finishing the game soon! Until then!