Big Decisions and Big News 2020

Vilserio folks.

Munisix here, coming at you with some updates and news of what we are planning for the year 2020. First things first, the PlayStation 4 version of milestone one is currently being reviewed by Sony and barring any hiccups, it should release this month or January. Along with it, we'll be beginning the production of physical versions with Limited Run Games for both consoles (yaay~).

Now for some real news directly from HQ. Let me give it to you straight with no sugar coating: Folks, we're struggling. We're struggling with the frustration of not being able to release a new installment of the fault series and proceeding the story. What's holding us back is a lack of a dedicated programmer, and it's been an uphill battle pretty much the whole year of 2019. Even though we've accomplished what we set out to do this year, we're bottlenecked continuously by the fact that we are outsourcing our core gameplay mechanics. There are programming needs for StP that our current programmer cannot take the time to implement until Q3 of 2020 or later. This is unacceptable. It's time to make some drastic decisions so we can finally get out of this rut and proceed with the series.

After much deliberation, Hare and I have decided that we will be suspending the production of StP for now and releasing fault - milestone two / side: below first. I really didn't want to do this. The story structure was designed so we can have StP slotted between MS2a and b for maximum emotional impact and relatability, but given the choice of not being able to release anything fault related in 2020 vs. making some narrative changes/sacrifices, I'm willing to choose the latter. I also don't think we can last an entire year financially if we don't get new installments out soon.

It's not all bad news. Originally, MS2b was going to be a quick turn around game using tech from the base Unity version of MS1 and MS2a just to get the narrative across... but since it's going to come out before StP, we're planning on incorporating some StP mechanics we are confident we can implement. Here are two gameplay mechanics that are currently being tweaked for MS2b:

1) DELIBERATION MODE

"In the Vita Domain, a body prioritizes the healing of the physical aspects to an extreme degree. It's said that the most complex of bone fractures can be mended in just a few days... but it comes with a tradeoff. Your cognitive functions deteriorate rapidly if you do not exercise the mind, much like how a muscle will degenerate if not used frequently. It will become imperative to think and deliberate everything you do and keep a healthy mind, or the Domain will swallow your psyche whole."

That's the lore or "narrative" of the Vita domain. But on the game mechanic's side...

Have you ever been baffled by the choices a VN throws at you sometimes and wonder to yourself, "where the fuck did this come from?" Or worse, backfired because the context was lost or unclear? Choices are typically there to give the player a sense of agency (and to pad gameplay time if I'm being cynical), but I've always thought that it would be more interesting if we can hear the reasoning behind why a particular character ended up with these choices. Maybe if they deliberated on these choices, they would end up with a completely different answer that they didn't realize before thinking harder. Thus DELIBERATION MODE came to be, and it fits perfectly with MS2b's narrative. Ritona will interact with Paige and various characters throughout MS2b but must exercise her mind at every step to make sure she doesn't go insane. Whenever a choice comes up, Ritona can think harder about the spur of the moment answer she is about to give. Sometimes this will give birth to another decision that wasn't available at first glance... but sometimes overthinking can backfire too! The player must decide on a logic that is "reasonable" and progress the story.  The video above is a mock-up of how this mode is going to be incorporated into the game. Check it out!

2) (CENSORED TO AVOID SPOILERS) ROOM
 
I'm going to skip details as to avoid spoilers, but certain things happen in MS2b and Ritona ends up in a "certain room" where she can interact with different characters to make sure she isn't going nuts. Talk to everyone and hear them out. They will be an integral part of the storytelling... but certain people's advice/conversation may not make sense when you deliberate on it. Again, this is part of the game. What's real? What's not? Will Ritona make it out of the Vita Domain sane?

We'll post another video soon as we get a mock build of this working too.   

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Final words

To be perfectly clear, we are not giving up on StP. We've invested too much time, money, blood, sweat, tears, and emotional insight to give up on it. It will be released, you can count on it. But we also have to keep the series alive. As it displays in the video, ETA for MS2b will be around Q2 of 2020.   Thanks for sticking around!  Please leave a comment if you have any concerns or questions.

Happy holidays everyone.

-Munisix