i didn't mean to wait so long before writing this postmortem. but you see, i had to make an apirl fools game right after this came out. so here we are, a week and a half after the release of escape from wormwood… better late than never! (you should play it if you haven't!)
a feast, a feast!
i had the idea for drop's backstory many years ago... at the very least, i had written it down when my character pages were still only in notion (i didn't have a handmade website yet!). i ended up teasing it during moxdonald's, but i hadn't gotten to say anything concrete beyond what you could infer from her appearance in wandering wolf trick (screenshot above). the plan was that she gained an interest in the outside world through the travelers who were sacrificed for the feast, with one man in particular being a pivotal figure in making her realize what the cult was doing was wrong.
i left the idea on the backburner as a game to make when i had a good opportunity/excuse for it, and… that excuse came sooner than expected! i was writing chapters of Timber's Community Service and realized i NEEDED to have timber and drop talk about what they have in common. it's too much to put into another piece of candy, so i was happy to have a format better suited to tell the story… but like… could i really accept this webcomic being the first place drop's backstory is dropped?! no!!! i'm currently still posting chapter 1 (with pastille), and felt like nanoreno taking place in march lines up perfectly for getting to tell drop's story right before she says everything in the comic (chapter 2 will start in may!)
i'm REALLY glad i was able to finish the game in time, because seeing the entirety of events unfold for yourself is so much better than a quick retelling over the span of a few comic pages. PLUS… LOAM…!! his character was originally much more pure, but then i gave him some buddies to watch die before him. i think his reaction to everything that's happening is much more realistic while still being extremely interesting. drop still holds him up as an idealized figure in her mind, especially now that he's dead and can't ever disappoint her… it adds to her warped view of the world, that she's still trying to iron out, even though in this instance it's like warped in a positive way…
uh, i love loam! i love loam and drop's messed up relationship, it feels so unique! what if you killed your father figure who tried his best to teach you that murder is wrong and then only realized your mistake after the fact?! beautiful! be free and live a better life, drop!!!
production
i wrote this game sooo quickly! it just came pouring out! what the heck!
i started on it MARCH 15TH, which was really late to be starting nanoreno (it was halfway over!) but i knew the idea could stay small and i wouldn't need a lot of assets. i was so decisive. i love to make a game real fast, it always feels lucky whenever i'm able to. i had been resting a lot the two weeks prior, so i feel like i must've just been charging up all my energy during that time... compelled to make a game happen......
the first build was literally the next day, and had about half of the script playable in it. it stays in one room for most of it, and i'd only drawn drop's character art (not peat and moss yet). moss was actually the last to be drawn, i wasn't sure if i even needed to draw him since he doesn't even get to speak, but it felt bad not designing a cute rat man after drawing peat...
i've been really enjoying my pixel brushes, especially the rougher ones i'd been using for Night with Timber's backgrounds. i used it for the character art in this one… which gave them a sort of painterly look. i'm not very into digital painting, but somehow with pixels it works great for me. so crunchy…
the music was finished last. the whole time i was writing, i thought "how can i make this game sound like house in fata morgana…" but in the end, i don't think it came out how i expected. it still fits the mood and i'm very happy with it—i had to ask PeachyPapillon's advice while i was still trying to figure out what to do, and she basically just said WHEN IN DOUBT, ADD REVERB! which honestly worked great. huge thanks to her for giving me the confidence to go forth and make spooky songs, i had been panicking slightly because there was no time to hire someone if i couldn't figure it out in time.
Dining Preparationi love the soundtrack i ended up with! The Highest Power is the first one i finished (easy because it's just reworking the original wormwood theme from LWT), and Chopping Block came from me poking around my unfinished project files to see if anything fit. actually there was a 6th track like that too that i ended up scrapping because it didn't fit the vibe… i'll find a reason to post it sometime. also, fun fact, Unmasked was built off of drop's theme, which is keyshifted from the wormwood theme… it's nice how the songs sound so different even when working from the same base hehe.
credits and gallery
the illustrations at the end of the game are callbacks to drop's appearances in lonely wolf treat and syrup 2! i knew fans would be happy to see my other characters pop up, but it worked pretty well for newcomers too since who she's meeting isn't important. (sorry moxie for saying you're not important)
i like that even though drop decided to escape, she still wonders if it was the right call at first, but she lands on her feet with a little extra guidance...
i finished the main story and all the art and stuff by march 23rd! after that, i tackled the bonus gallery, which i did something similar to what i did with NWT for... CHARACTER COMMENTARY!!!!
it's just really, really fun for me to write dialogue. i love to write a silly joke, and i love to see my characters reacting to things. actually, they also did this in the bonus materials for house in fata morgana... like, whole scenes talking about some of the meta stuff. i found that really inspiring at the time (though i guess i'm just making the connection after the fact and it wasn't a conscious decision haha)
i guess i have to end by saying, if you enjoyed escape from wormwood, you should totally read house in fata morgana. i'm gonna replay it, it's been a while. i'm a huge fan... okay i've run out of things to say, so thanks for reading! i hope to bust out more short stories like this when i get the chance!!