Office of the Returned

Durinde · Thu 15/06/2023 00:15:32

After taking part in Adventure Jam 2023, I've decided to expand and begin work to produce a full release of my game "Office of the Returned"

Story:

You died over 100 years ago - and for some reason, you and others are back... and you're not the last.

Considered 2nd class citizens, life isn't easy to the newly "returned" and many challenges lay ahead.

As one of the first that has come back, you are luckier than most, you've been given a position in "The Office of the Returned" to guide the newly returned to life.

Development Progress:

Story: 65%
Scripting: 40%
Graphics: 40%
Sound/Music: 30%

Expected completion date: End of 2023

You can play the jam version here:
https://durinde.itch.io/office-of-the-returned

The jam game is more of a proof of concept and I lost a bunch of development time during the jam due to local forest fires so do not expect a polished experience. Once the polished version is done I will create a release thread.

You keep up with the latest by following my twitter durindeplays

Nahuel · Thu 15/06/2023 08:21:53

Awesome I will take a look at the demo. Looking really good! Keep it up! Good luck!

bicilotti · Thu 15/06/2023 18:23:27

A great little game, which manages to narrate a touching story without being pathetic. Graphics are cute, UX is comfortable to use. Minor bugs:

- Inventory bar distracted me in some screens (in the yard, where you have to move up and the inventory GUI keeps popping up).
- When PC takes something, it should beforehand move near it and then have the object added to the inventory.

Durinde · Thu 15/06/2023 19:11:57

Quote from: bicilotti on Thu 15/06/2023 18:23:27A great little game, which manages to narrate a touching story without being pathetic. Graphics are cute, UX is comfortable to use. Minor bugs:

- Inventory bar distracted me in some screens (in the yard, where you have to move up and the inventory GUI keeps popping up).
- When PC takes something, it should beforehand move near it and then have the object added to the inventory.

Thanks for playing! Already working on fixes for those particular issues for the expanded release.

Durinde · Sat 17/06/2023 15:15:51

I've upload a 1.1 version which includes some animations and some minor fixes. I'm still a ways a way from a "complete" version, but 1.1 is more polished version than the Jam version.

Durinde · Sun 25/06/2023 18:04:03

Restructuring the intro so the story flows a little better instead of being blasted in multiple paragraphs of text.

Durinde · Tue 04/07/2023 01:28:51

Weekly update (apparently I'm doing this now... for now)

Still working up the playable prologue (Your life before you die and come back as a zombie)
Fixing dialogue
Minor changes include player position when entering rooms

Best play to follow progress is following me on twitter @durindeplays (at least until twitter completely implodes)

Durinde · Sun 09/07/2023 19:02:03

Weekly update time:

The jam voting officially ended with the game coming in 89th out of about 350. Not the most stellar performance, but I'm happy with the feedback and the current direction for the project. Scored fairly well in character and emotional engagement, but fairly weak in mental engagement which means the story is OK, but I need to step up puzzles. I get the feeling when I get to the point of releasing a "demo version" it's going to be quite a departure for the jam version. That's a ways away yet.

Got a bunch of work done over the weekend. Wish I could put the hours into the projects every week.
-Working on new puzzles which means even though I'm using premade assets for this stage of the game, I had to do a bunch of custom graphics. I'd love to do all custom graphics, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get there.

-Added a new area which will be tied to the new puzzles

-Cleaned up some scene transitions

-Added new sfx and music for some of the areas

-Reworking some interactions

-Added new travel screen (see above) In the game it's animated with the road rolling by.

Stupot · Thu 20/07/2023 14:47:46

It's looking great. 89th out of 350 is good going. Keep them updates coming.

Durinde · Mon 31/07/2023 14:04:23

Still working. The last couple of weeks have been bizarre in terms of my professional life. I'm pretty sure the spot where I'm working will be shut down before Christmas so it's been hard to find the time or energy to put the time in on the game. If anyone knows of anyone willing to hire a D Tier radio host/comedy writer/pixel artist let me know. I can hopefully still release a full featured demo by the fall and then move on from there.

Any mostly been doing little tweaks and cleanup. Adding new inventory items and the such. Everything seems like it still is in pieces, but those pieces now have shape and its a matter of pulling them together for a coherent experience.

It's no secret that I'm using a graphics pack for this one, but that doesn't mean that I don't have to put create custom pixel art for certain things like inventory items.