Posted April 26, 2023 by Spectral Drogo
#Early Build
In this development update, I will discuss In The Night in more detail. You can find In The Night on GameJolt as well.
The first thing I want to talk about is the new thumbnail! The old thumbnail did not provoke the mood or give any hints about the setting or theme of In The Night. A friend and I came up with this new thumbnail and we both agree that it is much better.
In The Night is an interactive story. You’ll be playing as a teenage girl named Emily during her first week working at Peter’s Pizza Place. In The Night is an adventure/horror game that is built upon a larger mystery. In The Night is inspired by FNAF but does not take place in the FNAF universe.
You will be making choices that have the potential to change the ending you achieve. There are currently three different endings planned for the game. You’ll be able to experience Emily’s job behind the prize counter.
Part of the game is interacting with customers! You’ll have the opportunity to hand out prizes and meet your coworkers as well. At its core, In The Night is a mystery that you can attempt to solve as you play through the game.
In The Night was released in an early build because I wanted to test itch.io. There will be three early build releases before the full game comes out.
The early build has also allowed me to gather some feedback. At the moment, this build does not last long and there is a cliffhanger: This will be fixed with the next major update.
I removed the inventory system completely. After deciding I was trying to juggle too much. The inventory system has been replaced by a proper gameplay loop.
After some trial and error, I was able to add a proper gameplay loop of shift simulation. Now, this game does not have jumpscares and it is an interactive story, but I was able to sort out how each shift can play into the different endings.
After I figured out how to make this portion of the game come to life, I had to figure out what was behind the prize counter: This part of the creation process has been extremely fun. Proper shift simulation has made the game longer!