twoandahalfstudios

January 2024 Monthly Update

Added 2024-01-06 00:31:03 +0000 UTC

Hello lovely patrons!

We're back to working on our games after our holiday season break rested and reinvigorated. I always find this time to reflect on my work and take a breather really helps my motivation come January.

We have a lot of plans in the next couple of months, so lets quickly talk about what we've been up to, what we plan to do this month, and other news!

Dreambound

Programming

At the moment, our main focus on Dreambound is programming. We originally planned for the game to be roughly 50-80k words total - a shorter project than The Divine Speaker. TDS took us a very long time to write and program, so we wanted something a little quicker. Of course, I never know when to stop writing, so the actual total is roughly 200k words. Programming is going to take us a little longer because of this, but we're making good progress on Crow and Ivan's routes.

Escape Room/Point and Click Design

Going through the script again to add additional point and click sections, I realized that the ones in the common route fit well into the narrative, but there was no room during the character routes to fit them in without feeling forced. I made the decision to remove the plan for escape sections during the routes, though there will be small point and click sections towards the end of them.

You can think of the common route as being the point where Noah has no one really to depend on (in his mind), and as such spends a lot of time in his own head. He views dreams as a place to both escape to, and escape from. As the game progresses, it's less about becoming trapped somewhere, and more about accepting the position he's in and getting to know the love interest as a person.

I'll also be adding in an option to skip the point & click sections if you've played them before - it'll save some frustration for those replaying for more than one route.

Screenshots

Here's a preview of a scene during Crow's route that features Noah and August. This route deals a lot with the effect of the past on the future, and moving on while still remembering.

And another from Ivan's route!

Ivan's route goes all over the place... and Noah finds himself in another prison. Wow.

Wishlist on Steam

A huge part of making a game successful is appeasing the system... in this case, Steam wishlists!

You can head over to Steam to try the free demo (or try the beta if you're on the Solaris tier!)

A Date with Death

Additional Content Planning

As mentioned in our yearly wrap up, we've begun planning out some additional content for the game. We plan to make this a second DLC that will lead to a new ending, as well as many more days of content. At the moment we plan for a new day 6, and then extending the game to day 10.

We'll have more to show for this as we get further into production, but you can expect some domesticity, more teasing, looking after each other and an extended bet... as well as a brand new animation!

Grim Plushie

<20 to go grab the Grim Plushie from Makeship! We have plans for at least 3 more plushies across our games, and two other merch items (one of which we'll be one of the first people to have!). Lets continue pushing the sales up and see what else we can do!

Astralis Publishing Title - The Last Rose

For those that don't know, we have a small publishing wing of Two and a Half Studios for games we think align with our studio that want a little help with production, marketing or releasing their game. We're proud to work with many amazingly talented developers to bring their stories to life.

The very first game we're publishing is... The Last Rose!

UI and Programming

The UI for the game has been completed by our absolute favorite graphic designer Aster/Kathaeris, who also did the UI for Dreambound, A Date with Death and The Divine Speaker for us!

We plan to begin programming this so a demo can be created in the next couple of months.

The aesthetic leans into a kind of vampire-y gothic UI, which we really enjoy.

Art

Art for The Last Rose has been in production for some time, and there's quite a large cast of characters! Here's a little preview of the sprites, BG and UI in action.

Placement and fonts are not final - this is just a mockup! Once we begin work on programming assistance, we'll be able to show off some more art and screenshots.

Follow the Developer

While we're very involved in this game, it is being written and produced by the wonderful RJ Fern, who you should go follow for more updates on the game.