Surprise.

I didn't post an update last week, but that doesn't mean I haven't spent any time working on the game. Matter of fact, I spent more time working on the game this week than I have since the very start. Things are progressing pretty well right now.

This update will be small, since a lot of what I'm working on at the moment is in a half finished state. If it don't got textures, it don't get shown.

What's new?

I'm starting to work on populating the town with buildings now. No writing, just set dressing. Eventually I'll add some interactivity to all these places I'm throwing in the game, but for the time being they exist purely as static props. Every time I put a new building into the scene I get like ten new ideas for something I could write about, but I'm forcing myself to hold off on any narrative work until I can get the town layout and locations set in concrete.

This is the main commercial row of the town. As you can see, there isn't much commercial activity going on. It's roughly based on a real place in Texas that I found using Google street view. Matter of fact, everything in this game is based on some place I found on Google street view. I've spent so much time cruising the virtual streets of Texas it isn't even funny.

This is one of the character's houses. The fun thing about creating a town is that every single building needs a reason to exist, and every character you write needs somewhere to live. There's only so many characters I can write who live "just out of town" before it gets a little ridiculous. Therefore, I'm spending a lot of time at the moment modelling and texturing houses. I find it quite enjoyable, and it's getting easier as time passes since I'm accumulating a pretty robust collection of textures and props (RMIT has yet to cut me off from Substance Painter, bless their hearts). This house in particular has a very spooky vibe, especially with the swing set in the backyard. However, spooky isn't my goal. It's a very specific feeling that I struggle to find a word for. Adjacent to sad, melancholy, forlorn, abandoned... 

Story time. There was an advertisement for Angel Flight that played on the TV all the time when I was six, and that ad is the hardest piece of media that has ever graced Australian screens. Okay, slight overreaction. It was kind of cheesy and melodramatic, but the feeling it evoked was beyond description. Six year old me didn't understand what the hell was happening. Was this how adults felt all the time? Overwhelmingly sad for no particular reason? Twenty-one year old me doesn't understand either. This game is my attempt to capture that feeling.

You know what I'm saying?