RC1 (Version 1.0 Build 15497) discussion

[matt]

While I'm calling it release candidate 1, there are still a few art, animation, and sound polish items we hope to get into the final build. Still, if you've played 0.9, there are quite a few new surprises in this build. A lot of old art assets have been replaced, we have a greater variety of paintings on the wall, and a lot of cool new sounds. We also added quite a few new closer looks and some other cool surprises.

I also removed a baby monster as discussed in a different thread.

I hope you like it! Please let me know if you have any last minute suggestions. We can't change a ton over the next week, but we do hope to fix any bugs or low hanging fruit.

[JPrice]

Well I played through all the levels except two but here are my notes so far:

- Tweaked walk animation for empty handed (I think anyways hahaa). Looks nice! Not much changed as far as I can see except for a slight head bobbing, but nice polish
- More painting variety! Always good to see Speaking of paintings, I saw something that's been bugging me. This painting: http://i.imgur.com/HMSPK0m.jpg I don't want to sound like a narcissistic but can I ask if this painting is based on my picture on here? hahaha. It's just that some of the things on it do kinda match (Like the expression on the face) it's probably just a coincidence and I'm probably coming off as arrogant when I ask but I was curious so
- More ambient voices in the back, like a lady voice saying Thomas, creepy stuff...
- New death scream, I like it Shorter but seems more visceral.
- Having to hit the boards at the end of the hallway 3 times instead of once, small change but I like it
- New interactables! Looking under the dolls face sheets, those creepy faces man. Especially when they blink it's like "Ahhh D:". I especially didn't like the one in Final Descent where it's all destroyed and grinning in that one repeating room :<
- Nice touch was the changing hanging picture after you grab milk, going from standing on a stool to hanging. Nice touch Also there's a bug with the milk not lining up to the table (Image proof: http://i.imgur.com/ohY394B.jpg)
- Interactable dead animals in the forest is grisly stuff man...

Well all in all even though this update is only minor additions, I think that it adds some lovely polish that'll really push the game forward. The extra push as it were haha Look forward to seeing all the reviews and playthroughs that are sure to come though!

[Grabthehoopka]

I'm at work at the moment, but worry you not, I will play the shit out of it when I get home.

[RightClickSaveAs]

I did a full playthrough with one of the endings, with the lights off, headphones on and a fan going (partly because it's hot but also partly because I remember you mentioning it in a dev diary!) and everything is coming together amazingly. Even having gone through some of these levels many times by now, I was still completely drawn in. All the little interactions and changes make a huge difference! The paintings seem to fit better thematically now. I like the added stern little girl (Gabrielle?) looking over you, she seems to be following you and blaming you for something.

Also I swear I saw a doll blink really early on, but I couldn't be sure because it didn't happen again, and then one definitely blinks in one of the closeups and I jumped. Great, subtle stuff. Speaking of which, the added ambient voices are really cool.

I got the Insanity > Childish Things > Destroyed Dreams branch this time, I was playing through trying to pretend I didn't know about the branches. Which is hard to objectively do, but I feel pretty sure now that's the branch I'd get if I were new to the game (I took the opposite path from little Gabby in the forest once and didn't backtrack).

Also, in Destroyed Dreams, I had no idea you could get killed after you start the door open animation, or I'd forgotten it since I played the earlier build of that level. That was quite a surprise!

[matt]

Tweaked walk animation for empty handed (I think anyways hahaa). Looks nice! Not much changed as far as I can see except for a slight head bobbing, but nice polish

We were planning on changing it for the axe and the candle, but we just didn't get the time. I'm glad you noticed.

- More painting variety! Always good to see Speaking of paintings, I saw something that's been bugging me. This painting: http://i.imgur.com/HMSPK0m.jpg I don't want to sound like a narcissistic but can I ask if this painting is based on my picture on here? hahaha. It's just that some of the things on it do kinda match (Like the expression on the face) it's probably just a coincidence and I'm probably coming off as arrogant when I ask but I was curious so

That is a good question, but that's actually another backer. He gave a picture with a tennis racket, and I thought it'd be cool to make a creepy painting out of it, so we replaced it with a hatchet. We didn't do a closer look because I liked the subtlety of a crazy axe man painting in the darkness.

- More ambient voices in the back, like a lady voice saying Thomas, creepy stuff...

Those were a replacement for the monster snorting and a few other random noises we have. I feel like this fits better with the theme, and everyone kept asking when that snorting monster would show up. haha

- Having to hit the boards at the end of the hallway 3 times instead of once, small change but I like it

A friend suggested it, and I ignored her because it was going to be a pain in the ass, but Thomas Grip suggested it and Joe really liked the idea, so I bit the bullet and implemented it, and I do agree it was an improvement. Why didn't I think of that? Probably because I'm too lazy. hahah

- New interactables! Looking under the dolls face sheets, those creepy faces man. Especially when they blink it's like "Ahhh D:". I especially didn't like the one in Final Descent where it's all destroyed and grinning in that one repeating room :<

Awesome! I'm glad to hear you liked them. I still think we could use MORE interactables, but we probably won't have time. Oh well. I think this is at least an improvement. There is a really subtle hard to find interaction at the end of Final Descent that we put in. I'm not sure how to make it less subtle but I guess it's a bit of a "Easter egg" or something interesting only a few people will find.

- Nice touch was the changing hanging picture after you grab milk, going from standing on a stool to hanging. Nice touch Also there's a bug with the milk not lining up to the table (Image proof: http://i.imgur.com/ohY394B.jpg)

Good catch. I noticed it as well and fixed it for the next build.

Well all in all even though this update is only minor additions, I think that it adds some lovely polish that'll really push the game forward. The extra push as it were haha Look forward to seeing all the reviews and playthroughs that are sure to come though!

Me too. I'm a bit scared. What would you guess our metacritic to be? I suspect it'll be around 80% with pros: atmosphere and audio and cons: length and limited interactivity. Maybe we should start a pool.

Also I swear I saw a doll blink really early on, but I couldn't be sure because it didn't happen again, and then one definitely blinks in one of the closeups and I jumped. Great, subtle stuff. Speaking of which, the added ambient voices are really cool.

Yeah, a few of the regular dolls blink here and there. It's sometimes hard to notice, but I think that can be the best type of scare.

Also, in Destroyed Dreams, I had no idea you could get killed after you start the door open animation, or I'd forgotten it since I played the earlier build of that level. That was quite a surprise!

That's been in there. A lot of people really liked it because they feel opening the door should be save. The main reason I implemented it was actually so that the clone's animation wouldn't look dumb. If he's sprinting and you are walking through the door, what is he supposed to do? I did a few things where if you open the door and you are a certain distance away from him, he slows down, but it would have looked ridiculous to only do that, so then I added it so he can get you when the door opens, and that was an improvement. He was still slowing down too much, so I added something where you actually open the door faster if he's too close to you when you open the door. All in all, I'm really happy with how it turned out because it's not too hard, but it is definitely tense.

Thanks for playing the build guys!

[JPrice]

That is a good question, but that's actually another backer. He gave a picture with a tennis racket, and I thought it'd be cool to make a creepy painting out of it, so we replaced it with a hatchet. We didn't do a closer look because I liked the subtlety of a crazy axe man painting in the darkness.

Ahhh figures hahaa. I imagined that it was just a coincidence but I felt like asking anyways just in case!

There is a really subtle hard to find interaction at the end of Final Descent that we put in. I'm not sure how to make it less subtle but I guess it's a bit of a "Easter egg" or something interesting only a few people will find.

Awwww man now I wanna try and find it! Any hints per chance on what it is or are your lips sealed haha

[matt]

Well, I'm not sure how to drop a hint without telling what exactly it is. It's mostly white with just a small amount of color (besides blood, but that's everywhere) and towards the end of the level. Is that a good clue? It's not the greatest closer look or anything, so don't get your hopes up that much. I can just tell you what it is if you'd like.

[JPrice]

Well, I'm not sure how to drop a hint without telling what exactly it is. It's mostly white with just a small amount of color (besides blood, but that's everywhere) and towards the end of the level. Is that a good clue? It's not the greatest closer look or anything, so don't get your hopes up that much. I can just tell you what it is if you'd like.

No need! I managed to find it in the end
I will admit that it is rather sneakily hidden in the scenery but it's a nice little image that emphasises where the ending of this pathway is going. I like that it's hidden and you should keep it as a little easter egg I think, adds some nice detail but not important enough that it needs to be shown at the forefront like the other interactables

[RightClickSaveAs]

Well all in all even though this update is only minor additions, I think that it adds some lovely polish that'll really push the game forward. The extra push as it were haha Look forward to seeing all the reviews and playthroughs that are sure to come though!

Me too. I'm a bit scared. What would you guess our metacritic to be? I suspect it'll be around 80% with pros: atmosphere and audio and cons: length and limited interactivity. Maybe we should start a pool.

I'll get in on that pool. I say it will be 83, most critics will love it because of the fantastic unique style and immersiveness, but like you said it will get some dings because of the length and less traditional gameplay, and there will always be at least one review from someone who it just didn't resonate with.

All the response I've seen so far has been on the positive side so I'm really excited to see how it will be received. When do the review and streamer keys go out?

[matt]

83 sounds about right. Obviously I'd like more, but I don't think it quite has that general appeal to get that much higher. I'd love to get an 86%, which would be the best game ratings that I've worked on ever. (Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters sits at 85%) I'm not sure THIS will be the game that beats Ratchet & Clank though.

As long as it's in the 80s, I will be happy. No, scratch that. As long as it sells well, I'll be happy. Retro/Grade was about 80%, and it was financially ruinous, so I guess good reviews aren't everything. :-/