PeaceIsland

Soundtrack Demo, Walks, and History...

Added 2021-07-01 22:48:50 +0000 UTC

We are pleased to announce that we've released an interactive demo of the Peace Island soundtrack for both PC & Mac!*

NOTE: Remember to click the "download" button on the upper right!

As with our other demos, this is not the full end-product. This contains only three out of the planned eight "Music Biomes," and doesn't include the music that you will eventually hear, whenever you are near an NPC. However, it's a fantastic preview of the procedural soundtrack, at this point in development.

*At this point, I feel it's VERY important for me to address those fans of Peace Island who are either deaf, or hard of hearing: We will be working closely with experts in visual communication to ensure that Peace Island will be fully enjoyable by those whose ability to hear might be limited.

If you are not aware: I am losing my own hearing at a rapid pace due to a congenital condition. I only have 20% hearing remaining in my right ear, and my left ear isn't doing much better. Unless they come up with a way to literally re-grow the connection between my ear & brain, I will be among the fully deaf, before my time has passed.

I tell you this to let you know: I understand your needs, and I am committed to meeting them.

So- after we released the last alpha, someone mentioned that the uniformity of cat motion was off-putting. They (rightly) pointed out that cats move in different ways - both from individual to individual, and based upon their age and mood.

I'm pleased to report we have made progress on addressing this. Our animator created the first of these variations this week- the "Happy" and "Sad" walks. You can check out a video here! This means that in the next (and final) "Alpha" release, the cat's motion will reflect its mood - a sad, tired cat will move slower, with a plodding gait, whereas a happy, well-fed cat will move along at a faster pace, with more of a spring in its step.

We're also working on bringing in the Kitten, which will have a separate animation palette, entirely.

While we have been focused on getting to "Minimum Viable Product," we encountered a few temporary bottlenecks in recent weeks that left me in a position where there was little I could do, hands-on, within the project. Thankfully, there's always a TON of stuff that needs to be addressed.

I took a bit of this time to work with Scotty Arsenault (The guy behind the "Boyd's Lobster Shanty" logo, along with a LOT of other 2d art for Peace Island) to create a unique comic strip...

As some of those who have been following the project might know: Peace Island, despite its small size and population, has had its own locally-published newspaper since 1818 - the "Peace Island Current."

While it has passed through the hands of many owners since its inception, and its editorial policy & content has shifted radically through the centuries, one feature has been constant:

A single-panel comic strip featuring the wry observations of a cat.

As you encounter issues of the Current throughout Peace Island, you will see how this comic changed through the ages as it passed from the hands of one artist to another - and who knows - you just might encounter a clue somewhere in there...

Personally, I am really impressed with Scotty's ability to mimic styles throughout the ages - including the following, which was the first comic, published in April 18, 1818: