2018 was a busy year. WayDown was released and ThreeStep started primary development the next day. I didn't realize till finishing WayDown that I'd not published, or even written, any blog posts since early in WayDown's development. Then, since I had just finished like 4 straight weeks of 50 hr days (on top of 40+hr workweeks at the dayjob) I'd have very little in the way of insight or positivity to say.
Now though, a few months have passed, and I've been neck Deep in ThreeStep for as long, and I still haven't written anything, and now that I've recovered from the totally-healthy-crunch at the end of WayDown's development, I feel I've actually got some things to say of positivity and/or insight.
Now though, a few months have passed, and I've been neck Deep in ThreeStep for as long, and I still haven't written anything, and now that I've recovered from the totally-healthy-crunch at the end of WayDown's development, I feel I've actually got some things to say of positivity and/or insight.
WayDown PostMortem
WayDown was, by far, the biggest game I've ever made (If you're unfamiliar, check the Steam or Itch pages, I'm told it's fun) and thankfully, it's the most successful. While I could go on and on about frustrating development on WayDown was, I feel it's easier to sum it up in a few short lines.
- Roguelites are really frustrating and fiddly to make
- Random assembly =/= Random generation
- While Itch is (imo) the best indie storefront, it's far easier to make sales on Steam.
- Setting a clear theme & aesthetic early in a project will save you a lot of heartache later on.
ThreeStep
ThreeStep is the next game I aim to release(hopefully coming at the end of 2019) and it's set to be a vast departure from my past games. Almost all of my past games have had their sites squarely set on action, aiming to deliver a quick pace and as fast of action as I can manage. ThreeStep, on the other hand, is aimed to be a quieter, more contemplative experience, focused more squarely on delivering an atmosphere and characters paired with slower more deliberate exploratory gameplay.
ThreeStep is also a departure in visuals. Rather than using usual pixel art, I've decided to do 3D Voxel rendings of people, animals, vehicles, and buildings. While the engine can support 3D models, they're very CPU intensive, and would require a smarter programmer than me to make the game run smoothly in large areas. Instead, I've devised a system to split each model into layered PNG's. Once I've loaded the layers, they can be drawn in in sequence and slightly offset to achieve a pseudo-3D look, while also being much lighter on the CPU. While this doesn't achieve incredibly realistic objects, it does hit a sort of visual abstraction that I find is really compelling.
I've attached a GIF that shows some of the moment to moment exploration.
ThreeStep is also a departure in visuals. Rather than using usual pixel art, I've decided to do 3D Voxel rendings of people, animals, vehicles, and buildings. While the engine can support 3D models, they're very CPU intensive, and would require a smarter programmer than me to make the game run smoothly in large areas. Instead, I've devised a system to split each model into layered PNG's. Once I've loaded the layers, they can be drawn in in sequence and slightly offset to achieve a pseudo-3D look, while also being much lighter on the CPU. While this doesn't achieve incredibly realistic objects, it does hit a sort of visual abstraction that I find is really compelling.
I've attached a GIF that shows some of the moment to moment exploration.
Set in Western Alaska (specifically the area around Bethel, where I grew up) ThreeStep follows a journey to Three Step Mountain, to mark the loss of someone close. Unfortunately, you set off poorly prepared, and must lean on the environment and some kindly strangers you meet along the way to survive, all the while deciding how you'll deal with your loss.
Maybe that sounds kinda heavy? In reality, this is a game I've been mulling over in my head, in one form or another, since 2015. It's sort of a crystallization of my experience with change and loss, especially of family.
In any case, I'm working hard, and hoping to be able to tell a story that's interesting and thoughtful along side a game that's engaging and open.
Thanks,
Wyatt White
$18 shy of $17
Maybe that sounds kinda heavy? In reality, this is a game I've been mulling over in my head, in one form or another, since 2015. It's sort of a crystallization of my experience with change and loss, especially of family.
In any case, I'm working hard, and hoping to be able to tell a story that's interesting and thoughtful along side a game that's engaging and open.
Thanks,
Wyatt White
$18 shy of $17