BOO! Halloween happenings and festivities in the ASYLUM!
Author: From Steam
Date:
Fri, 01 Sep 2023
Game: ASYLUM
Genre:
Adventure, Indie
Developer: Senscape
Release Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2023
Developer: Senscape
Release Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2023
Grrrrreetings from a nefarious place where unholy creatures dwell in the shadows! I'll make it short and quick today because I have quite a lot to tell you. Horror month is here and, while Asylum isn't quite ready yet (sorry, sorry, I know), we did prepare a whole lot of fun things for you.
Let's start with a progress report...
You may have seen this already as it went viral a few days ago. It's a feature that's been on our wishlist for years — in fact, one the earliest things we discussed for the game. We knew it could be done in theory, but never thought the resulting effect would be so uncanny. Have a look for yourself:
It looks even better in the game itself! Like a seriously detailed 3D scene with dynamic lighting and all the bells and whistles, except it's just a bunch of flat images. It's the cherry on top of our quest to bring you the most immersive adventure ever made 💪
Even better, this works just the same on older computers. It's hard to believe when you see it in the game itself. Look how the ceiling behaves:
Wooooooooooooooo 🤯
Of course, we won't include exaggerated lighting effects such as this in the game, but imaging malfunctioning lights, a throbbing ambiance, and all kinds of gorgeous moody effects. It will be an atmosphere to die for.
Yes! This one has been a long time coming, but I'm ready to do a big livestream for the game. We did have some short, casual livestreams before, but nothing like playing the actual game and answering your questions live! Take note:
Don't miss it! I'll take the opportunity to discuss the status of the project and potential release date in greater detail 😬
Please give a warm welcome to Tais! She joined the team just recently. A brilliant student of Unreal Engine who's just getting started in the industry, her class project after just a few months of learning the engine blew me away. Far better and more entertaining than many games you see on Steam.
Tais will be mostly focusing on the addition of new hotspots, including videos, interactive items, general polishing, and lighting effects. We're thrilled to have her talent and attention to detail in the project 😄
And here's when I start rambling. Let's see, in addition to implementing the usual stuff in an adventure game (puzzles, hotspots, secret details, etc.), we achieved some important milestones:
In short, it's all looking great! I know I've been saying this afew several gazillion times, but we're thrilled with how things are coming along. Asylum is exactly the kind of game we wanted to make, and we're 100% sure you'll love it. Thank you for hanging on in there as we do our best to wrap it up as soon as humanly possible 🙏
OK, but to wrap up this update, two more news: our Discord community is getting ready to start group playing Scratches tomorrow, Saturday, October 12. Does that ring a bell? It should! It's the day when Michael Arthate arrived at Blackwood Manor and the story began 😄
What is a group play, you ask? Basically, dozens of fans gather to play a game at the same time, but promising they won't use a walkthrough. Each play lasts around one week and they tend to be incredibly active and lively.
In the case of Scratches, we've been preparing loads of fun activities. For example, fans have been writing Michael Arthate's bestseller "Vanishing Town" together, there's been quizzes, and starting tomorrow I'll be around posting rare trivia, insider details, and stuff you've positively never seen or heard before. It's going to be a mandatory event for fans of the game!
And last, but not least...
Tomorrow, Jonathan Boakes of Dark Fall fame (and also Jerry's voice!) and Matt Clark of Barrow Hill fame will be asking me uncomfortable questions live about the game on Discord! Of course, we'll be happy to answer your questions too. Take note of the event if you want to participate:
Sorry about the somewhat haphazard update but it's been an intense week and I'm dying to turn off the computer and watch a horror movie 😅
But really, we have some fun moments ahead of us and we'd be delighted to see you around! Remember, though: Asylum livestream coming soon and loads of more concrete news. We vow to amaze you 🙌
Have a sinister weekend,
—Agustín
Let's start with a progress report...
WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS?!
You may have seen this already as it went viral a few days ago. It's a feature that's been on our wishlist for years — in fact, one the earliest things we discussed for the game. We knew it could be done in theory, but never thought the resulting effect would be so uncanny. Have a look for yourself:
It looks even better in the game itself! Like a seriously detailed 3D scene with dynamic lighting and all the bells and whistles, except it's just a bunch of flat images. It's the cherry on top of our quest to bring you the most immersive adventure ever made 💪
Even better, this works just the same on older computers. It's hard to believe when you see it in the game itself. Look how the ceiling behaves:
Wooooooooooooooo 🤯
Of course, we won't include exaggerated lighting effects such as this in the game, but imaging malfunctioning lights, a throbbing ambiance, and all kinds of gorgeous moody effects. It will be an atmosphere to die for.
AT LAST: LIVESTREAM!
Yes! This one has been a long time coming, but I'm ready to do a big livestream for the game. We did have some short, casual livestreams before, but nothing like playing the actual game and answering your questions live! Take note:
- WHEN: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29 — 6 PM (UTC) / 11 AM (PST) / 2 PM (EST)
- WHERE: http://twitch.tv/senscape
Don't miss it! I'll take the opportunity to discuss the status of the project and potential release date in greater detail 😬
EXPANDING THE FAMILY
Please give a warm welcome to Tais! She joined the team just recently. A brilliant student of Unreal Engine who's just getting started in the industry, her class project after just a few months of learning the engine blew me away. Far better and more entertaining than many games you see on Steam.
Tais will be mostly focusing on the addition of new hotspots, including videos, interactive items, general polishing, and lighting effects. We're thrilled to have her talent and attention to detail in the project 😄
POTPOURRI OF PROGRESS UPDATE
And here's when I start rambling. Let's see, in addition to implementing the usual stuff in an adventure game (puzzles, hotspots, secret details, etc.), we achieved some important milestones:
- macOS & Linux are in the bag! Yeeeeeey. While the game was running on macOS pretty well, we had some lingering bugs that hampered the experience. Luckily, we've been able to squash them all and the game now runs as smoothly and polished as Windows. Linux was another story: technically, the game was running, but none of the videos would load (which in turn crashes the whole game, usually a bad thing). Following an inordinate amount of testing and experimenting, we managed to come up with a usable alternative for the videos. I'm happy to report that now everything is working as expected on Linux as well. We're even supporting Windows 32-bit for those of you who can't upgrade 😊
- We can now save and load! Yeah, so we figured this was an important feature for a 15+ hour long game. You can save in up to 12 slots anytime you want and load anytime you want. Cutting edge technology, just one click away!
- Doors! Thanks to dozens of different sound effects, FMOD, subtle randomization, and a lot of goodwill, we can ensure a different sound effect for every door in the game. This is how much we care.
- Transparencies! Not that transparencies are terribly exciting per se, but they allow us to do nifty things. For example, show you interesting stuff happening outside the asylum as you explore the interior (passing clouds, distant thunderstorms, etc). A GIF doesn't do justice, but this surely sets the immersion factor all the way up to 11! Such is the kind of things we're doing as we go deeply into the polishing phase.
In short, it's all looking great! I know I've been saying this a
SCRATCHES GROUP PLAY AND LIVE INTERVIEW!
OK, but to wrap up this update, two more news: our Discord community is getting ready to start group playing Scratches tomorrow, Saturday, October 12. Does that ring a bell? It should! It's the day when Michael Arthate arrived at Blackwood Manor and the story began 😄
What is a group play, you ask? Basically, dozens of fans gather to play a game at the same time, but promising they won't use a walkthrough. Each play lasts around one week and they tend to be incredibly active and lively.
In the case of Scratches, we've been preparing loads of fun activities. For example, fans have been writing Michael Arthate's bestseller "Vanishing Town" together, there's been quizzes, and starting tomorrow I'll be around posting rare trivia, insider details, and stuff you've positively never seen or heard before. It's going to be a mandatory event for fans of the game!
And last, but not least...
Tomorrow, Jonathan Boakes of Dark Fall fame (and also Jerry's voice!) and Matt Clark of Barrow Hill fame will be asking me uncomfortable questions live about the game on Discord! Of course, we'll be happy to answer your questions too. Take note of the event if you want to participate:
- WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 — 6 PM (UTC) / 11 AM (PST) / 2 PM (EST)
- WHERE: https://discord.gg/senscape
Sorry about the somewhat haphazard update but it's been an intense week and I'm dying to turn off the computer and watch a horror movie 😅
But really, we have some fun moments ahead of us and we'd be delighted to see you around! Remember, though: Asylum livestream coming soon and loads of more concrete news. We vow to amaze you 🙌
Have a sinister weekend,
—Agustín
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