The Grand Entry

WELCOME TO THE SHOW

Consider this the formal announcement of my next project, a not-quite sequel to my previous with a quite-different style of presentation. I have a plan to build off of, and a vision in mind, which makes the rest of the project - actually doing it - the easy part. In The Lost, the player is asked in the style of Gnosis to choose to engage. Their presence within the game is one that is not only voluntary, but volunteered. Participation and engagement may come from exploring even moreso than the predecessor. There is a layered story to uncover and unravel, which not only stands for itself, but helps contextualize the broader Bizarre setting that it, and its predecessor, take place in.

Not every answer can be found here, and perhaps new questions will rise - but, I hope, this development will be more than welcome.

GAMEPLAY

The  planned gameplay for The Lost will consist of a point-and-click adventure experience. Inspired in part by the games I used to play as a kid, and which I have seen making a bit of a resurgence lately, games like Putt-Putt or Pajama Sam. What stood out to me about these, and various others unnamed, is how they naturally encourage exploration and have little bits for so many things you can click. It's not the most detailed or anything, but it's got an undeniable charm and a heart that I really hope to replicate.

The question is  thus: do I make specific prompts to help the user navigate, or should I leave it more 'freeform'. It's easy to put big cartoon arrows or highlight possible paths, but that might discourage people trying to click and find the little things. It might create an unfairly straight-line experience. To help emphasize this further, I'm going to leave what are effectively 'hint coins' around the play area that will help to progress the story and get clearer answers in some areas. These aren't a bypass for anything, but woven into the story itself.  Hopefully, by giving this offering, people are more keen to see what else they can interact with - and hopefully, they'll enjoy the outcomes even when it's just a small animation or a comment of some sort.

I also intend to incorporate some mini-games into the mix to spice things up. I'm not the best coder out there, but Ren.py has more than enough documentation to help see me through the process. These help to provide a more freeform feel to the exploration, that even at the most base level there is still something to do... but exploring and uncovering the story of this place is sitting there, waiting for you. It gives a rock to overturn, or a mini-game sim for people who want to approach it more lightly. Moreover, it provides a degree of context and immersion to the setting.

If any of this sounds up your alley, maybe give me a shot. This would only be my second game ever, but I'm trying to make it worth your while.

ART

I'm trying to not deviate too far from the 'feel' established in Gnosis for this project. There will necessarily be some difference, simply from the fact that Gnosis was a test more than anything, and this will be a proper environment. Certain visual cues will be transferred over, including a generally muted, desaturated, not-quite-grayscale palette, with some grain and grit. Everything will be hand-drawn and animated by yours truly, not least of which since I don't have any budget for these. Expect a bit more color than Gnosis, but not any sort of extravaganza. Too much would, I believe, spoil the atmosphere.

Another thing to look out for is less abstraction. Gnosis had some notions that it hid behind artistically, replicating 'ink blot' and traditional optical illusions with an overt simplicity befitting its stripped-down, clinical presentation. This will be more detailed in accordance with a fuller environment. Don't expect it to look photorealistic, but as the precursor says - abstraction carries an idea, the idea is what holds power and weight.

THE MEANING OF THIS

What is the meaning of this log, for a game so early in development that it doesn't even have cover art yet?

Well...

I have heard that making things like this helps to drive engagement and get the name out there. As a fresh indie dev with a passion for storytelling in various forms, no budget, and minimal coding skills, I realize I am very unlikely to become an overnight sensation. Every person helps, of course - I got over 80 wishlists on steam! Someone made a community post! That all made me real happy, and I'm hoping maybe more people can find and enjoy my stuff if I do it this way.

When I made Gnosis, I had a solid concept for a meta-narrative I wanted to weave, a story and a world hidden away,  a grand idea of interweaving, almost conspiratorial grandeur that I could translate into almost anything. I could adopt a persona in real life and do performances of a sort. I could make an ARG on it. I could, I could, I could - but what does that translate to? Well, it translates to working for months on a game and realizing that sticking as closely to fiction as I planned, staying in-character all the time, meant no advertising, practically no community engagement, I couldn't even help the dude who asked a question while staying in-character.

So, that idea went out, and here I am - talking to you people directly. As much as I love playing to the bit, being an indie dev like this and publishing my stuff as I am means I have to be more responsible and reasonable about things. In accordance with that, I'm hoping that keeping something of a dev log will help me see if I'm on the right track with folks, if they can get excited about a concept, and maybe can help me organize my stuff while I work on it.

Thanks for checking in, everyone who sees this.

NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO

WELCOME TO

CIRQUE DISPAÉRDU