Hello all.
I admit that it has been the proverbial ‘hot minute’ since I have posted any updates about my software games here, but I’m hoping to change that.
I’ve spent much of the past year working on a number of projects, both improving existing games that I’ve released as well as delving into table top role playing games that I’ve been wanting to create. For some reason, it always felt like I didn’t have anything significant to report, and then all of the sudden I have a game that’s ready for playtesting.
But first, what’s going on with Pirate Island?
Although I attempted to test Pirate Island on a couple of different systems, it became clear that end users were facing was a problem with poor frame rates. This has resulted in a full overhaul of the game code, removal of a number of seagulls, and has, unfortunately, prevented the addition of new features (i.e. the pirates themselves) from being introduced into the game due to how they make the cause everything to run more slowly when on screen.
I do have one singular pirate who is providing an introduction to game play, but that’s on the loading screen. The investigation for adding them to the full island is ongoing. I’m drawing the conclusion that the reflectivity of the water is probably part of the issue with the frame rates, and I’ve started looking into -maybe- switching the project from the default renderer over to the universal render pipeline. I know a lot of my resources will break if I do, so it’s not something I can do lightly.
And the Pesky Humans?
Pesky Humans is doing well. I haven’t had any reported issues with the game and while it’s not selling like hotcakes, people do seem to be enjoying it. Given that this was my very first game that I attempted to create within Unity, I’m actually pretty happy with how things turned out.
And the rest?
The Meditation Space that I was building, didn’t quite pan out as I expected. While I created a couple of really good spaces to relax in, I realized that the entire project was probably going to be way too niche and didn’t think I could justify publishing it on Steam. I still fiddle with it, actively working to create a space where I can relax ‘away from it all’ but I think this might just wind up being a product for a very exclusive client base of one, rather than something for a great many people.
Exit Pass: The Jane Solution is doing better than I expected it to. The Torn Veil trilogy is not quite garnering the interest that I thought it would, but I’m starting to suspect that it might be where I’m trying to advertise.
So what’s coming next?
I have a couple of things that I’m working on.
As I’ve mentioned in my earlier posts, I’ve been working on my fantasy RPG: Tomb of the Purple Man. I decided since my last post to try to put together all the different sections into an actual book and get a prototype printed up. It’s missing a lot, but I enjoy holding a physical copy of the game in my hands. Version 0.3 sure, but it’s a physical copy. There are still a number of missing components (such as a collection of monsters/creatures for the player to encounter or magical item troves) that I have been working on writing up. These sections are fun to write, since I’m actually use my own rule-set to create new monsters and items, and it helps me tweak existing rules to better fall in line with ‘reality’ and balance out power levels.
Then, there’s Savalon. The sci-fi tabletop role playing game also made it to a printed copy. The layout process took the longest, but now that the technology only recently has gotten to the point where I feel the artwork I wanted to include in the book is on par with what I imagined, everything looks amazing.
Since a part of me is always going to be coding, I’m also using Unity to develop a cyberpunk-style farming game where the actual farm exists in a virtual landscape. This project is in the ‘level design’ phase, as I’m working to build the homes, businesses, and locations the player will visit regularly in their day-to-day.
In conclusion….
I’ll try to not skip time quite as bad again.
I hope that all of you are doing well. Let’s make the most of the rest of the year, shall we?