Hello Last Time fans! Are you sitting comfortably? If you’re not, I recommend you stand up for a bit and do some stretches. Works for me.
I’ll start with an exciting announcement; thanks to the hard work of talented sound designer Tom Byrne, we now have a new teaser video to show you! I can’t stress enough how dedicated Tom’s been to this project; he really cares about it, and has been diligent in designing sound effects and music in such a way that emotion is enhanced and the world becomes more rich. I owe it to you guys that I’ve been able to bring Tom on board, because it was only with your backing that it became possible. Check out this video (best watched with headphones!) and listen to how the music escalates, and how the crackling fire intensifies as you enter the building:
So, what else is new? Things are really starting to tie together now with the game. As I fill in more and more of the placeholder content that I was using for the rough draft, it’s starting to feel more like a cohesive piece. As such, I’m finding that scenes that I initially thought would fit have turned out not to work as well as I thought in the wider context, which means that I’m planning some changes and additions. This no bad thing, as I see it as part healthy iteration and development of the story. I have the occasional ‘lightbulb’ moment where I realise that a certain conversation, or even just a single line, definitely needs to be put into a certain scene, and it will make it that much more brilliant. Plus, Tom’s been providing some really useful feedback, as have associate producers Thomas and Graham.
What are the next steps? I aim to have the game ready for beta testing in January. Once I’ve received feedback, I’ll be making changes, and then also have to do a bunch of other prep like making certain things ready for the Steam platform, getting the subtitles translated etc. After which, it would make sense to have a second round of beta testing. Looking at this timeline, we’re hopefully on track for the planned release date of March 2016 – but you never know what will happen with video game development, and I’m prepared to spend more time on the game if needed.
I’ve got a bit of a personal life update; so, as you may recall, I quit my job to focus on this project. Being able to dedicate myself full time to the game has meant that I’ve been able to get it to a point of completion that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. But, not that it’s nearing beta stage, it makes sense for me to get a day job and continue working on The Last Time during evenings and weekends. I’m nearing the point where time spent on the game will be quite patchy by necessity (waiting for feedback from beta testers, waiting for audio and translations to be completed, etc), and I don’t want to sit around eating into my funds while this happens. If I do so, there would be a risk that I’d run out of money and have to release the game before it’s ready – which I really don’t want to do. Having some income while I finish work on the game will mean that the Kickstarter funds can go to their intended use, and not be entirely consumed by my living expenses. So, I’m looking for and applying to jobs at the moment. Hopefully sales from The Last Time will be enough for me to get into video game writing / design as a career – if not, I know I’ll continue it as a hobby, and that day may come another time.
Thanks to you all for being supportive and excited about The Last Time. I’m going to get back to developing the game now, so that I’ll have some more cool things to share with you in the next update.
Take care!
Daniel
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