Weekly Update #76 - Scripting on the way & designing an open gameplay sequence

Hey all,

Short update this week; as we're nearing the end of production phase, I have to pick up the pace and I'm kind of in the thick of it these days. A lot various tasks, and a lot of stuff to polish.

I've started the tedious scripting phase, and in parallel I am experimenting and designing a gameplay sequence that should be somewhat different to what you guys are used so far.

Following the result of the last content poll which, by the way, are pretty much aligned with what I want to implement in the game, I'm trying to present the player with a very "open-ended" problem to solve.

Picture something like this : a character, of whom you know a very limited subset of information, shelters a piece of information that you need to access. You are provided with some generic tools, and public, basic knowledge of the character. The player has then several paths to complete the task, some of which may be less "ethical" than others... and potentially yield different additional results.

Of course, such open-ended, non-linear gameplay sequences are very tricky to design and usually require to merely provide an illusion of choice. I've tackled things like these in some sequences, such as the branching dialogue paths or more recently the DnD roleplay scene. This time though, I want the sequence to feel more "sandboxy" : provide generic tools and let the player gather different inputs and play with the outputs (and whatever additional data the tools might unlock)

I know this may send very vague and generic for now, but it's only because I wouldn't want to spoil you guys too much (plus, whatever I'm working with so far is definitely not final!)

I do hope however that these kind of gameplay mechanics sound appealing to you, and that you're as excited as I am for what comes next.

Here's an updated progress chart:

Now unfortunately, that does mean no new teaser this week as I want to keep cooking for just a bit but rest assured that more sneak peeks are coming your way, and that the Early Access release is just around the corner.

Hope you guys are looking forward to it; as always, thank you so much for the support and bear with me, we're getting there!

Have a great one!