Quick Update - Playtests and Next Steps
about 2 months ago
– Tue, Dec 03, 2024 at 04:19:32 PM
Playtests were a success and I got a ton of feedback. I stuck with a small group of testers, but their feedback has me feeling much better about the game now. The testers were: Exeat, tes and eigen. They're all in the Thief's Roulette discord, so if you want to ask them general questions about their experience you can, but please don't bombard them with messages lol. I asked them if it was okay to name them here for my own sake. It would look funny if I announced playtests and had no one to confirm that they happened.
I've already started making adjustments and improvements throughout the game based on their feedback. Of course at the end of the day, I have a vision for what the game should be, so some things will stay the same. The most crucial feedback has been in relation to the characters and clarity in the narrative. I've got some cool ideas for refining both, and they won't add very much development time. That's the key here. As much as I wish I could make the game perfect, it's just not possible, so I'm going to focus on addressing the game's faults in the snappiest and creative ways that I can. Some faults I will just have to live with.
I'm giving myself till the 15th to make all the improvements I can, and then I will call it complete once more.
Lastly, regarding the discord, I will open it to the public after Thief's Roulette is released (make your delay jokes here). For now I'm keeping it backer only, but when TR is out, I will transition the server into a more general server for all of my games, and make it public.
That's all for this update. I'm always available, so if you want to ask me anything, go for it.
Slightly Embarrassing Update... it's a delay but worth reading!
3 months ago
– Fri, Oct 25, 2024 at 11:02:39 PM
I'm sure some of you thought it was too good to be true, and unfortunately it is. There will be another delay, but this time it's totally on me. I can't put any blame on the publisher, or QA or anything like that. I'm just personally feeling hesitant about the state of the game, and I want to do some more minor adjustments/finishing touches. So in November, rather than a release, I will be conducting full-game playtests with backers (preferably). Scroll to the bottom to skip to that if you'd like.
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Content wise the game is complete, and has been for a while now as I've said several times. It's just that when I play it, I feel like there's a punch to it that's lacking. I know this is at least 75% in my head, but I really need to feel better about the game before I can put it out as my first "official release" as a game developer. I've made a couple free games, and a single (lowkey) paid game on Steam: Phrixothrix. I barely even talk about that game for similar reasons to why I'm fixated on these "finishing touches" for Thief's Roulette. It just doesn't have that punch. Thief's Roulette is going to be $20, and even though I'm a game developer and want to be paid for my work, I'm also a gamer. Sometimes even $20 is too much for me to spend on a game, so if I were to pay that price, I want to feel something when it's all said and done. That's what will ultimately make the game "worth it."
I think I've made it clear by now that although Thief's Roulette is inspired by Danganronpa and Zero Escape, it is not those games. It is something much different at this point. Comparing your game to big names like those can bring you eyes, but it also comes with expectations. I'm grateful for the eyes, but I need to do a bit more to try to meet those expectations. And it's possible most of them I could never meet, and that's okay. That's the beauty of art and creation I'd say. The structure of the game is simple and mostly familiar, but the way it's presented can be unorthodox. This was on purpose, and I think it could be really fun, but it needs to be satisfying. It can't just be weird or unconventional for the sake of it. That's what I'm wrestling with the most right now.
With the publisher we've done several rounds of QA testing, but ultimately that has only helped me improve performance and fix bugs. The feel of the game, however, is still up in the air, and as far as I'm concerned it's not quite where I want it. Now, I wouldn't do any kind of paid early access or anything like that, but I'm thinking what the game needs is some real player feedback. Spoilers and all, full playthroughs from people other than me to get feedback on the gameplay, story, pacing, etc. Non bug-fixing feedback that can actually help me gauge where the game stands in terms of being something people would want to play and talk about.
So that's what will happen in November instead of a release. In November I want to send the full game to a couple backers (and probably some non-backers) and get some real feedback. Of course it would have to be a small number of testers and very hush-hush. I'll need to work out NDAs through my publisher.
Although there will be another delay, hopefully this can double as an "I promise the game is actually finished, I'm not a scammer." Testers can help me refine the game, be credited in game as testers, and bring some reassurance to this whole kickstarter ordeal.
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If you want to be a tester, message me on Kickstarter, Twitter or Discord. I'm not going to demand chunks of your time. It's not paid work, so don't think you'll be expected to do 10 hour sittings. If you have some free time next month to take it slow, play, and test the game and don't mind seeing things early; message me. The tests will be on PC, but the game is pretty light weight so you don't need a powerful computer. Controller support is fully functional as well, so you can even play it that way.
Of course this means you will see everything, and if experiencing the game under these circumstances is not appealing to you, do not apply.
That is all I have for now. It will all be worth it. Have a nice weekend.
Thief's Roulette is Releasing in November
3 months ago
– Sun, Oct 06, 2024 at 07:20:18 PM
Sorry this isn't the official-official announcement I wanted it to be. I'm waiting on some more information from the Publisher. They had just been very busy with Tokyo Game Show, so our planned October announcement is just a little bit off schedule. They have some more things left to do on their end, and when it's all settled we will have an exact date and give a real announcement. For now we'll go with 'not late November.'
Sorry again. Another update will follow this one very soon!
Very Small Update
4 months ago
– Sun, Sep 15, 2024 at 06:39:21 PM
Unfortunately this is more of an announcement of an announcement, but it's been a long time and I think that's better than nothing. The publisher and I have done enough to feel comfortable saying that we will have a release date to share by the first week of October. For now I can only say that it will release this year.
There's a couple more small things that we want to have done and to get right, but we can make an announcement for sure at that time. The game and QA is complete, so come October this can all be made official. I'll also present that final Release Trailer then as well, which I've been sitting on for quite some time.
That's all for now. Next update in two weeks or sooner.
Simple short update
6 months ago
– Fri, Jul 26, 2024 at 12:52:34 AM
There's been another long gap with no updates, so here's a quick one.
The last update ended with me saying how close we were to wrapping up QA testing. It clearly has lasted a bit longer than I thought, otherwise I would have made this update sooner. Still, the things that we're testing is not related to the game's content, it's purely bugs and improvements.
Most notably, the improvements I've been making are all in relation to the controller support. This game was initially going to be PC and Switch only, and I wasn't even totally sure how I'd go about getting the Switch port done myself. Because of that, a good deal of the game was designed with mouse and keyboard in mind. Many of the puzzles feel great with the mouse, but when you're controlling a cursor with an analog stick things get a bit clunky. I've been going through every part of the game to make it feel better for controller, without making it worse for keyboard and mouse.
Again this is one of those things that will ultimately make the game better, but I am just about ready to call it a day on QA. I've got no serious NDAs or anything in place, so I'm comfortable being upfront about this. I sent a new build in on the 19th, and am waiting to receive another batch (hopefully a small batch) of notes. After this, unless there's something gamebreaking, I think it's time to just get this thing out the door.
I was talking to a friend earlier about this aspect of games/game development but it really applies to all forms of creation. Eventually you just need to release what you have so you can blow it out the water with the next release. That's not to say I'm not proud of Thief's Roulette, but with all the additional hours I've spent with it post completion, I just know how much better I could have done every aspect of the game. This is an exciting feeling, but that excitement is a little bittersweet since the game is still not out lol. Still very excited for the future.
All is well, and I should have some better news soon.
