[ RELEASED ] Autumn of Death: Black Friday II

[Danvzare]

Autumn of Death: Black Friday II is the sequel to my point and click adventure game, Black Friday.

It's been twenty years since the incident, but the killer scarecrow has finally come back. Will this brand new group of five teenagers be able to accomplish what their predecessors failed to do, and rid the world of this pumpkin-headed scarecrow once and for all, or will they end up barely surviving a traumatizing event that will haunt them for the rest of their lives?

A homage to the slasher movies of the 80s in the form of a point and click adventure game, with some gameplay elements reminiscent of the Clock Tower series. With multiple endings, longer puzzles, and a deeper story, this is sure to please any fan of adventure games, horror, or slasher movies in general.


Screenshots:







Current Progress:
Story--  100%
Puzzles-- 100%
Graphics--  100%
Scripting -- 100%
Music/Sound-- 100%


Release Date:
Depending on when I get feedback on the beta version, it could be anywhere from the end of this month to sometime next month. More info once I'm certain, but definitely soon either way. I'm aiming for the 28th of November though, and I think there's a good chance I'll make it.


Development Diary:
17th June 2022
I've made pages on both GameJolt and Itch.io to use as DevLogs.
I'm planning on making this my first ever commercial game, so obviously I'll need to up my game in terms of art and quality, as well as come up with a good price.
(Is it too ambitious to want to sell it? If you have any advice or if there's something I need to know beforehand, please share it.)

24th June 2022
I've been working on scripting, sprites, and the living room.

You can now open all of the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen!

1st July 2022
This week I've been mostly polishing up that first act. Drawing character sprites, refining backgrounds, making animations.

8th July 2022
I gave some of the animations and backgrounds a first pass.

I also finished Act 1. Other than a few missing animations (including graphics that need another pass), it's pretty much playable without issue.

15th July 2022
I've done all sorts this week, including giving the backgrounds another pass, adding interactivity to the rooms, making inventory icons, and working on yet more animations.

22nd July 2022
This week I finished the inventory icons, added lip syncing (although there won't be voice acting), and sorted out most of the room interactions.

29th July 2022
This week I worked on act 2, polishing up a lot of the cosmetic details.

There won't be an update next week as I'm going to be taking a short break. But there will be an update the following week.

12th August 2022
I worked on the ending cutscenes. But they still need custom animations for that extra bit of polish.

I also implemented a note that you can pick up and read.

19th August 2022
This week I've been working on the main menu and the credits screen, as well as the game's music. Also the microwave after you've put something inside it, and the character wielding the weapon they use to attack the scarecrow.

26th August 2022
This week has been about polishing and removing placeholders.

I've worked on the main menu some more, the downwards sprites for two of the characters, a proper pixel-art version of the logo, and the basement's fusebox.

3rd September 2022
I gave the fonts another pass, made and implemented an animation for the scarecrow, and started working on making the characters actually sit down on that sofa in the intro.

9th September 2022
This week I finished off the introduction, the animations for the endings, and started going over all of the backgrounds and improving them, having just finished the basement.

Lastly, I finally added the game over screen.

16th September 2022
This week has been all about improving the artwork for the rooms. I've been adding objects, shadows, and foregrounds, among other things.

The game looks way prettier now.

23rd September 2022
This week I spent all of my time coding in responses for everything I drew in the rooms last week.

I also made a credit sequence, to give the game a bit of extra flair at the beginning.

30th September 2022
This week I fixed a few problems, such as missing sounds and animations. I also improved art used in the last game, so it's more consistent.

I added an extra step to one of the puzzles, and been working on an easter egg.

7th October 2022
I've been working on the smaller stuff this week, such as bugs and missing art.

Next week I plan on brushing up the menus and GUI elements, and finally make some icons for the game. Then it's testing time.

14th October 2022
This week I've been prepping myself for entering the polishing phase by doing up the GUI elements and making an icon for the game.

I'm very proud of how the icon came out. It took me an entire day to make it though.

21st October 2022
The polishing phase continues.

I've been fixing more than just bugs though. I've also put hints into places where someone might try a solution, correcting and improving artwork, and just generally polishing everything up.

28th October 2022
The polishing phase continues apace. It's taking a lot longer than I expected, but I should "hopefully" be out of the pre-alpha stage sometime next week and into the alpha stage.

4th November 2022
This week I finished spellchecking the script, and I'm now alpha testing.

I've fixed a few minor problems already, a missing hint here, a bigger clickable area there. I also added an additional puzzle.

Next, beta testing.

11th November 2022
This week I fixed up problems found during alpha testing, and have sent the beta off.

Now to wait to hear back from them. If there's no update next week, it's because no progress has been made as I'm still awaiting feedback.

22nd November 2022
I've finally uploaded a trailer announcing my game's release date.

28th November 2022
Fixed up some more things according to feedback from the beta test phase, and uploaded the finished game.

[Danvzare]

Time for an update.

I've been working on the scripting for the bedroom and the kitchen, so characters walk towards the things they interact with, say things when you look at something, that sort of stuff.
I've also been working on character sprites, object sprites (such as opened drawers), and inventory icons. Mostly in preparation to get that first act finished.
Lastly, I've also been working on the living room.

[Danvzare]

Another week, another update.

Say hello to the main cast.

From left to right we have: Scott, Alex, Chad, Katherine, and Kevin.
At the beginning of the game there will be a character change mechanic, to allow you to change between Katherine and Kevin. But it's mostly just there to setup the story. Throughout most of the game, you'll only be playing as one character. I'll let you guess which one. 
(If you know how Slasher movies play out, you should be able to guess easily.)

This week I've been mostly polishing up that first act. Drawing character sprites, refining backgrounds, making animations.

[Danvzare]

This week I've been working on the animations and the backgrounds.

Here are some examples:
[imgzoom]https://twentyquidamusements.thecomicstrip.org/files/black_friday_2/screenie7.png[/imgzoom]



They're just a first pass, and I do intend to improve on them. 

I also got Act 1 mostly finished. Other than a few missing animations (and quite a few animations and graphics that need another pass), it's pretty much playable without issue.
Act 2 is where a huge chunk of the game will take place, so it should take a lot longer than Act 1.

[Danvzare]

I've done all sorts this week, including giving the backgrounds another pass, adding interactivity to the rooms, making inventory icons, and working on yet more animations.

[imgzoom]https://twentyquidamusements.thecomicstrip.org/files/black_friday_2/walking_animation.gif[/imgzoom]



So yeah, I've been jumping from task to task with little rhyme or reason. But progress is coming along brilliantly. It feels awesome to be able to playthrough the game and not see a bunch of quickly sketched-out placeholder art.

I've still got a few more inventory icons to do, and of course there's always more animations. But after those tasks are out of the way, I'll probably concentrate on all of the little coding details for Act 2. Things such as when you use an item on the wrong object, or when you click on a hiding spot while being chased.

[Danvzare]

This week I finished off the inventory icons, added lip syncing to all of the characters (although there won't be voice acting), and sorted out the majority of the room interactions.
I also finished off the cutscene that plays when you transition from act 1 to act 2.


Now you too can admire the proper lip animations!
Truly a step up from the lip flapping. I tried adding random bleep and bloops to make it seem like they were talking, but it was kinda annoying and weird.

[Hobo]

Nice to see a steady progress! I also love that they all seem to be always smiling in almost every screenshot 

[Danvzare]

Nice to see a steady progress! I also love that they all seem to be always smiling in almost every screenshot 

They truly are an optimistic bunch. Sure, they're being hunted by a crazy killer scarecrow, but they're not going to let that ruin their day. 

Also, thanks for the kind words. 

[Danvzare]

This week I worked on act 2, polishing up a lot of the cosmetic details such as everything getting darker when the power goes out.

And what's an indie horror game without random scraps of paper that you can read?
So here's a book that you can look at ingame. Due to the resolution of the game, you scroll up and down using arrows.

I'm very proud of how it came out. The other little bits of readable objects in the game probably won't come out as good as that unfortunately.
And yes, I did write down the other page in its entirety, although you'll never be able to read it. Unless someone asks me for it, that is.

[Danvzare]

Just before coming back from holiday, I got sick. That mixed with the heatwave has meant that I haven't made a whole lot of progress this week.

That being said. I did work on the ending cutscenes. They still need custom animations for that extra bit of polish, but what is there is now at an acceptable level. If I wasn't planning on selling this game, I would leave those ending cutscenes as is. But I need to make proper animations for things, like characters falling down and such. 

Other than that, I also implemented a note that you can pick up and read. I'm trying to include all of the Indie-Horror Game tropes, but I'm trying to do them in what I consider to be the "correct" way, since those tropes typically annoy me. (I mean why would you leave pages of your journal confessing your crimes, scattered around your house? And who on Earth locks every door in their house?)

In the meantime though, here's a background from the start of the game:

It's an establishing shot that appears for less than a second, and never again.
Why did I spend so much time on something that barely anyone will notice? Because it adds to the atmosphere. The thing is though, I can clearly tell it still needs a lot more work.

[Danvzare]

This week I've been working on the main menu and the credits screen, as well as the game's music. Not to mention a few odds and ends, such as the microwave humming then dinging after you've put something inside it, and the character wielding the weapon they use to attack the scarecrow.
I also implemented the functionality for the game to recognize which of the four endings you got, so it can unlock the secret ending if you manage to get all four. I've also put in said secret ending. Although now the main menu looks rather cluttered.

[imgzoom]https://twentyquidamusements.thecomicstrip.org/files/black_friday_2/screenie12.png[/imgzoom]

I'm running out of things to show off. There's some things I definitely don't want to show off, so they're something new to look at when playing the game for the first time. But I've got to show something.
So with that being said, I'm willing to take a request for what I'll show off next week.

[Danvzare]

Alright, this week has mostly been about polishing things up and finally getting around to all of the "placeholder" stuff that's been in the game for so long, that I've forgotten it was just a placeholder.
I've worked on the main menu some more (making the background animate). I also finally made downwards sprites for two of the characters that you play as (the main character already had hers made ages ago). I finally got around to making a proper pixel-art version of the logo. Also, I worked on the basement some more, since there was something in there that was literally copy and pasted from somewhere else in the game, and I completely forgot it was just temporary.
Lastly, I've done the first pass of the fonts. (That's right, I've decided I'm making my own fonts for the game.)

The new fonts look surprisingly nice ingame, especially considering I just eyeballed it and as such is just a first pass. A little hard to read in places though.






I probably won't have much time to work on the game next week. So there might not be an update then. If there is, it'll probably be a day later than usual.

[Creamy]

Nice logo. Good luck replacing all the placeholders.

[Danvzare]

Nice logo. Good luck replacing all the placeholders.

Thanks, I appreciate it. 

So, as I said last week. I wouldn't have much time to work on my game this week, and that's been true.
That being said, I did give the fonts another pass, made and implemented an animation for the scarecrow, and started working on making the characters actually sit down on that sofa in the intro.

It's not much, but it's still something. I should be back to business as usual for next week though.
Obviously I still have another two characters I need to draw sitting down.

[Mandle]

Loved the original game and loving the way the sequel seems to be shaping up!

[Danvzare]

Loved the original game and loving the way the sequel seems to be shaping up!

Thank you. 
It means a lot.



This week I finished off the introduction. Now three characters sit on the sofa, instead of standing awkwardly in front of it.
I also finished the endings. They were mostly completed already, but I had to make a few animations and a whole lot of sprites to finish them off.
I've also recently started going over all of the backgrounds and improving them. Adding useless junk, shadows, and a foreground. The basement was the first on the list, since it was the most empty, and I've now finished improving that.
Lastly, I finally added the game over screen. (That's right, you can die in this game. Although thanks to auto saving and how easy it is to avoid, it shouldn't become annoying.)



I wanted to show off a background I've never shown before, but at the same time I don't want to end up revealing everything (got to leave something for players to discover). So I decided to go for a cropped screenshot as a compromise.
Then a certain someone decided to come out of nowhere and attack me. So I've decided to include him in the screenshot a little bit (rather than just completely cut him out).

[Danvzare]

This week has been all about improving the artwork for the rooms. I've mostly been adding random junk, shadows, and a foreground. But occasionally I'd change something I'd already drawn or add some texture to something where there wasn't any.



I've just about finished improving all of the rooms. I've only got one more left, and then all I need to do is quickly look over everything I've already done (to make sure I haven't missed anything) and then assign all of the new hotspots.

Also, I think I may have become a little too reliant on boxes and books. Since they're both easy to draw and make sense to be in almost any room.

The game looks way prettier now though. 

[Danvzare]

Thanks for sharing your progress. How much time do you need to finish it?

I can't give any specific deadlines just yet, because who knows what hurdles might pop up, but I am aiming to finish it for November. And worst case scenario, it will definitely be finished sometime this year. 
Also, welcome to the forums. 


This week I spent all of my time coding in responses for everything I drew in the rooms last week.
Those are responses for left clicking, right clicking, and using an inventory item. Because for some reason I always feel obligated to code a response in for everything instead of simply relying on the "unhandled dialog" that would appear if I didn't code in a unique response.

I also made a fake-intro-credit sequence, to give the game a bit of extra flair at the beginning.



I think there might have been an encoding issue with that gif. The characters have red eyes at the end there, which they shouldn't. Ah well, it shows off that credit sequence.

I'm starting to notice a lot of little bugs that will need fixing. And I can't imagine how many bugs there are that I'm not aware of. So that'll be fun... 

[Danvzare]

This week I fixed a few minor problems which I encountered during some of my testing, such as a missing sound effect here, or no grab animation there. I also improved a bit of the artwork I originally grabbed from the previous game, to try and make the artstyle more consistent, while not drastically changing anything (after all, I want that flashback sequence to still be a clear flashback sequence).

Here's a quick example of that:


Lastly, I added an extra step to one of the puzzles near the end of the game, and I've also been hard at work on a hidden easter egg that I doubt anyone will find.
Why am I putting in so much effort for a very well hidden easter egg? Well, because I dread bug-testing that much. 

[Danvzare]

I feel like I've gotten nothing done this week, but that's only because I've been working on a bunch of the smaller stuff. For example, last week I showed an animated screenshot of some burning hay in a barn, but this week I fixed a bug where it stopped animating whenever someone talked. I also added a pool of blood for someone who dies, because I finally realized it looked odd without it. So it's basically been a whole lot of that.

Oh, and I also finished adding in that easter egg. That took up a lot of time.

Next week I plan on brushing up the menus and GUI elements, and finally make some icons for the game. And after that's all done, I need to play through the entire game from beginning to end, fix any bugs I encounter, then rinse and repeat.
In other words, I'm onto the final leg of the race. The end is in sight, although it's still too early to give any release dates, because who knows what could happen. And I do intend to give the game to some people I know, in order to find and squash any remaining bugs, and who knows how long they'll take to get around to playing my game for me.

Still, I need to show something, so why not show off how the living room looks now, in all it's glory.