Thief's Roulette

The 13th Thief + Other Stuff
about 6 years ago – Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 07:42:52 PM

Okay, so no big Update after all. I underestimated just how much I would procrastinate with a 2 week Update schedule. Nonetheless I have 1 new Thief done (the last 2 are rough at least), I also have some other maybe interesting things to show.

So starting with Thief #13, meet K.

 Not to be confused with King of Fighter's K'. Maybe it stands for something, or maybe its just her favorite letter. She is one of the Characters in the game that will have unique effects if she lands on your Team. Much like being teamed with a Rival, she can negatively effect the placement you get during Challenge Rooms. Maybe there is a way to get her to take The Game seriously?

I like her Character and will definitely stick with it. She will add an interesting dynamic to the way you play the game. However, I want to stress that most (if not all) of the Character's Visual Designs are subject to change in some way or another. Whether that be I find a more interesting design to give them, or I simply improve my own Art Skills and wish to adjust the Characters accordingly. As of now, that is not my priority, but that is something on the horizon. It's safe to say that most of the Designs you see here will be what make it into the first Demo.

I prepared a fairly crude look into some concept and in game visuals. This will be the location in which the first Demo takes place. The one Challenge Room that is. I may include a look into the Casino in that Demo but I'm not sure just yet.

The colors are a bit off, I've been playing around with the lighting. This was a pretty early location. It showed up in the game's Reveal Trailer. It has since been re-purposed to be the first section of the Challenge Room. In the Diagram on the upper right of the Sketches, that is the super simple layout of the Challenge Room. This first small room, and out through the door straight ahead you can reach the second section.

The Train Zone is just outside that door. The challenge here is a bit more complex in terms of you having to move around a much larger environment. The first section will teach you things like movement, searching for items, using items, keys, doors, etc. No real puzzle solving. Once you enter the Train section, you are given much more room to explore. In here you learn to pay attention to environment cues (most notably the cord that extends from the Locked Train Door to another Room), and how to complete a simple logic puzzle.

This environment is still not totally populated with stuff, but you should be able to get a grasp of the layout well enough. Here there's a display of elevation. Stairs are off screen (sadly you cannot jump in Thief's Roulette). Future Challenge Rooms will sometimes have more vertical designs and other interesting ways to bring the rooms to life. I want to set this game's puzzles apart from Zero Escape's by having a strong emphasis on exploration. That is why the level's design is very important, and giving the Player something interesting to traverse is key. 

A small room that looks out at the Train. Getting in here is linked to a puzzle in another part of the room. Reading the little notes I wrote for myself won't give anything away, so I left them in lol. 

I've been getting the game mechanics all polished up. I have been spending a lot less time working on visuals. So I'm happy that the game is getting to a state of being playable (and maybe even fun :o ). When that's all tip top, I will go back in and bring the visuals up a notch. Not saying you need some crazy hardware to run it, I'm actually trying to make this game very low spec. I just want to make sure everything is presentable. 

Moving on!

With Thief's Roulette's Release Date as far away as it is, I have been pondering the idea of a small scale "Companion Game" that I could complete in a fraction of the time. It could help with funding the game, and allow me to put something out there for everyone to play before Thief's Roulette finally comes out. I'm not totally sure what this game would be like, but I think it could be something cool to do... Or maybe you guys think I should just do a Patreon like a normal person. 

Just throwing it out there! I want to make sure you guys know my every move!

I think I will continue doing concept art and sketches in these Updates. I could even show some early Character Art. But that's all for this Update, I'll probably do another one next week. Later!

Update...
about 6 years ago – Sat, Oct 27, 2018 at 03:52:58 PM

Hey guys, its Update time... but not really. This one's a bit of a cheat. The Update schedule is every other week and I wanted this one to be pretty major but I'm not quite ready. So I don't want to show what I have just yet, but I can tell you what's coming up. I'm going to drop 2 Thieves together, because of this delay it might turn into all 3... So 2 new Characters coming up and a more in depth look at the Train Puzzle showed in the Trailer. That place (plus a bit more) will be the Challenge you complete in the Upcoming Demo. 

I'm almost done modeling the locations and designing the scenario that the demo will take you through. What comes after that is improving the gameplay and various mechanics. So the Demo is still on track. I want to say now, that this Demo will initially come to PC only. I am still trying to understand not just the Nintendo Switch porting process but more importantly whether I'm even permitted to create Switch Demos. So I am working on that, but I can't yet say for sure when or if a Switch Demo could happen. If it can, you should expect it a little while after the PC Demo. 

One last reminder about the Discord server, if you have not yet joined (and were invited) message me here for a Key. The one I sent will surely have expired so you will need another. 

Everything has just been falling into place lately and it all started with this Kickstarter and the help of all of you. So apologies for this small Update, I just want to do a really big Update for once. November (and Beyond) is going to be really exciting for Thief's Roulette.

The 12th Thief, Roland
about 6 years ago – Sat, Oct 13, 2018 at 02:13:54 PM

Later than I first said, due to a pretty major design change. But here he is, Roland (he prefers his last name), the 12th Thief.

12 Thieves now, just 3 to go. 

I really want to start redesigning some of the old characters. Like Thieves 1-5. As I've made more and more characters I've gotten a better idea of how their looks should be. I want to find more interesting ways to represent both the character and the world they live in. The MC in particular is still pretty rough. His design is close to what I had in mind, but it could use much more attention.

The only other Character stuff I'm working on is getting some more expressions and poses for the characters along with putting out Full Body Art of the entire cast. I've only really showed the torso of most characters. 

Next, we'll move onto some game mechanics.

Break Time

Break Time happens after the Challenges of the Day have been completed. The surviving members of the Cast will be scattered throughout 'The Casino,' as Lady Luck calls it, and you have the opportunity to speak with them. During Break Time you may encounter unique events and character moments. Encounters during Break Time (just like during mandatory story events) can occasionally effect your standing with other characters. Your choices can lead to characters becoming rivaled or allied with you. I'm working on a representation for this system at the moment. In a previous Update I mentioned the new Character Icons at the top right of your screen during Challenge Rooms. Selecting them will let you see their standings with you, among other things. During Break Time, you can look at the entire cast of characters. The upcoming Demo will be small but I'm thinking of ways to incorporate as much of these features as I can. My goal is to get multiple endings into the demo, but that may be a bit much given the deadline I gave myself.

Absolve Token

The Absolve Token is one of the game's tokens that I removed right before the Campaign. There was initially going to be the Absolve Token, the Trade Token and the Reroll Token. All of which would be distributed after a Challenge Room was completed. 

Basically what the Absolve Token does is totally clear one Mark from anyone you choose. At 7 Challenges, this idea was quickly thrown out as being too overpowered. 7 Challenges means 6 tokens on the floor (since no tokens are rewarded after the final challenge). Which means 21 Total Marks go out, and 6 of them could potentially be Absolved. So just 15 Marks and just 15 Characters. This led to me thinking up a pretty awesome ending (you can probably figure out what) but it hurt the game's tension. Not only that but it would surely add another layer of possibilities for the endings, which would be much more work for me 👀

The Absolve Token would be given to a 1st Place Team Member, and the Trade Token would instead be given to 2nd Place. I still think the Token is way too strong but it could potentially lead to interesting stories if it was changed or toned down.

What are your guys' thoughts on the Absolve Token? Is it  too strong? Should I not include it and just let more people die? Maybe we can make it more interesting in some way? If you have any thoughts dont be afraid to share. At the end of the day, this Token was scrapped, so it could just stay that way.

Discord 2

The Discord has been opened. All of the invites have been sent out through Kickstarter's messenger. If you haven't gotten yours then leave me a message. This invite expires later tonight so you should also message me if the Link expired before you could get in.

That's all for now. Bye.

Discord Update! New Character Tomorrow
about 6 years ago – Fri, Oct 12, 2018 at 06:13:12 PM

The Discord Server is ready. It could still use some work but we can make it better as we go. 

Tomorrow I reveal the 12th Thief. I still have some work to do with him. Here's a sneak peek in the meantime.

The Discord invites should be sent out shortly. If you do not receive one, just let me know. The Server is still a bit bare bones. I want to get some feedback for what I could do to improve it.

The End :)
about 6 years ago – Mon, Oct 08, 2018 at 01:22:04 PM

We're finally at the end of the Campaign, raising $13887. That's incredible. We also hit that first Stretch Goal!

This has been an amazing experience, and I thank everyone for their support. Because of you Thief's Roulette will become a reality. This will be the start of something great.

I think it goes without saying that this will not be the final Update. I will continue to make Updates here on Kickstarter, and on my Twitter: https://twitter.com/hiromu656

The Discord will also be going live this week. I'm still getting things in order on that front. 

Kickstarter Updates, specifically, will happen every other week. That is my "schedule" but I expect to make more Updates that just that. Big or small, I want to make sure I'm consistent with showing off some Progress. Many of these Future Updates will be Backer Exclusive.

There is no set date on the Demo, but it will be before December. So expect late November at the latest.

You may have noticed that the 12th Thief isn't here yet... sorry about that. I didn't like his design at all, and pretty much scrapped it. It won't be much longer now. Maybe I can do a Backer Only Update and show some sketches of my new design for him (not that you've seen the old). But speaking of Characters, we still have those 3 Backer Characters that didnt get scooped up. So I'll also be working on designing those final 3 Thieves. 

The Backers of the "Unlucky" Tier will be getting messages from me soon about their respective Characters. There were 6 Backers who got those Tiers, so I wont have a wall of 15 unlucky thieves, instead those 6 will represent the Survivors of the very first Thief's Roulette hosted by Lady Luck. This game happened much earlier than our new Thieves' game. So not so Unlucky after all, those 6 made it out alive.

I also wanted to explain the game's Break Time and other game mechanics along with the 12th Thief, but since he isn't here I'll save those for later. I'll be sure to put a bit extra on that Update as well to make up for it. 

Something I've only just thought about doing are Twitch Development Streams. I can work on Character Art, do some Environment modeling, that kind of stuff. Maybe some sneak peeks as well. I'll let you guys know more about that later.

I feel like theres something I'm forgetting but I don't know what. I guess I'll end it here.

If you have any questions or just want to talk about the game, feel free to message me here, or on my Twitter, or anywhere else you may find me. Talk to you all soon!