Have you ever entertained the thought that a game never ends up exactly as planned? Design and development are iterative processes, and this means that ideas change.
I have an example for you. It’s a small change that significantly impacts the way you perceive your ‘gaming experience’.
Here’s an SCPD (Sunset City Police Department) officer, one of your enemies, as we initially designed him. He has a white-and-blue uniform and generally isn’t that far from a riot police officer you might see in real life.
And here he is after a couple of tweaks
He also comes in two flavors, the second one being this:
We changed his colors to what we think feels more cyberpunky and less contemporary. His shoulder pads are massive, and in his larger iteration, his melee animation has a trail to make it more punchy. This new takes some inspiration from the music video for Billy Idol’s song Shock to the System, check it out!
All of the above results in a look that’s more futuristic and aggressive. Despite the fact that this enemy’s behavior hasn’t changed, you’ll (hopefully) THINK that he’s more dangerous. And that will translate to more exciting encounters.
Keep this in mind if you played the demo. The full game will bring a lot of surprises!
Episode 2 is complete(ish) // Infodump.log
{ Print(s:"It’s been a while since we last updated you about our progress. Let’s make up for it, shall we?"); }
Episode 2 is almost done! What’s Episode 2, you ask?
If you know old shooters, you know a lot of them have an episodic structure within a single game. Like Doom started with Knee-Deep in the Dead, and Duke Nukem 3D with L.A. Meltdown, remember?
This is what you’ll see when you start our game
Beyond Sunset is similar in this regard: we also have episodes that share the setting. The difference is that we actually tell a story through them, instead of simply presenting differently-themed map packs. Basically, in Beyond Sunset, episodes work like acts.
Each episode tells a segment of the story in a new location and introduces a twist to the gameplay.
E2 takes place in a technological megastructure that’s designed to function almost as a living organism. This makes it less cozy and familiar than the streets of Sunset City, but we feel that it adds nice variety and a break after exploring the dirty, Yakuza-infested avenues.
Despite the environment being more abstract, it was designed with a purpose and backstory.
In every level we make, we try to justify why the things you see are there in the first place. We feel that any game is more immersive if the surroundings have an actual purpose in their designer’s mind.
For example, we have a part that’s based on the real-life Hadron Collider. But for us, this is the system that powers the entire place.
Apart from it, a lot of what you’ll see in E2 is meant to resemble Ancient Egyptian architecture. Additionally, the three main sections of the building use their own color pattern and an individual motif based on a geometrical shape. This adds a unique look to each of the sections and lets us guide you through them easily without any objective markers.
The different visual elements blend nicely and create an eerie, cold, alien environment that’s in stark contrast to the city streets.
E2 also shakes up the way you play the game as the space gets wider and allows us to throw more enemies at you. Or faster enemies. Or tougher enemies. Or all at the same time!
Here’s one acquaintance you’ll make
As for the gameplay, I mentioned that we want each Episode to introduce a twist. This is something that should make Beyond Sunset stand out among other retro shooters. But it’s a huge topic to cover, so let’s talk about it some other time.
Thanks for reading! If you made it this far, consider adding our game to your wishlist.
script "HappyNewYear20XX" ENTER { MorphActor(0, "Metacorp", "PartyHard", -1, 0, "", ""); Print(s:"Happy New Year 20XX!"); Delay(10); PlaySound(0,"AuldLangSyne",CHAN_NOPAUSE); Delay(90); Print(s:"All the best in the brand new year 20XX from the Beyond Sunset team! May all your resolutions come true!"); GiveInventory("Hug",999); ACS_NamedExecute("FliesAway",0); }
Incoming message – Ho Ho Ho!
conversation { actor = "Santa"; class = "XmasConversationMenu"; page { name = "CYBER SANTA"; pagename = "HoHoHo"; dialog = "\c[XmasFont]Ho! Ho! Ho! Meeeeerry CyberXmas! Best wishes from our entire team, and from Movie Games as well! May your dreams come true, and may this time be filled with joy! Now tell me, did you behave this year?"; choice { text = "Yes, I did, Santa!"; giveitem = "AllThePresents"; yesmessage = "Good, that's what Santa wants to hear! Ho! Ho! Ho!"; } choice { text = "Uhh... Not really, Santa."; giveitem = "AllThePresents"; yesmessage = "Well, that's not what Santa expects to hear, but your sincerity is admirable! Merry Xmas! Ho! Ho! Ho!"; } } }
Beyond Sunset diorama! Do it yourself! + friendly reminder we’ll be in Denver
Digital games are great but sometimes we wish we could touch them… So we made a Beyond Sunset diorama, and one that YOU can make too!
Watch how Rox assembled it:
Do you want to try your hand at putting it together yourself? Click the link below, print out the picture and have fun! (Don’t forget to show us the results)
We’d also like to remind you that the team is gonna attend the Denver Indie Games expo on November 26 at Black Sky Brewery in Denver, Colorado. Do drop by and say hi!
We’ll be on Denver Indie Games expo
We're attending the Denver Indie Games expo!
The event is Saturday, November 26th from 11:00AM to 9:00PM MST at Black Sky Brewery in Denver, Colorado.
Swing by and meet the team!
New RHYTHM trailer!
Hey there!
While we’re working on the game’s new levels and mechanics, we couldn’t resist making this new trailer. It’s timed to Karl Vincent’s awesome synthwave music. Check it out!
If you want to a real taste of it, download the demo, put your earphones on and have a blast! Also, if you like the music, give Karl a follow on Twitter.
We’re preparing some fun stuff for you while the game is getting done. Don’t forget to wishlist and follow for new updates!
Time to share some more Beyond Sunset lore! Do you know that our Sunset City is basically San Francisco?
In 1968, San Francisco has been completely destroyed by a massive earthquake people started calling “The Big One”. But humans adapt fast and on the ruins, a new high-tech city was built. This new highly modern city is Sunset City. Later on, the MetaCorp was founded and the MetaComputer was created… and the rest you will find out for yourselves *wink wink*
In our world, San Francisco lies on an active fault line and the whole area is extremely prone to earthquakes. “The Big One” is a predicted earthquake that geologists expect will happen in the next hundred years. It's not without precedent either, in 1911 San Francisco was devastated by the biggest earthquake in California’s history. Let’s hope it won’t happen too soon.
If you look closely, you can see some similarities between San Francisco and Sunset City. For example, the West Sunset Mall in-game is based on the Ray Bradbury building from Blade Runner (and Ray Bradbury was a great sci-fi writer, btw.).
We’ve also tried to replicate the climate of San Francisco as best as we could in GZDoom. San Francisco’s bay area is well-known for its iconic rolling fog every morning and we captured it here:
What else would you like to know more about?
Crimerunner, a criminal sim with parkour action, is coming to Steam!
Our publisher, Movie Games, just announced a new game which will come to PC in 2024.
The 1980s were a different time. No smartphones, no GPS. Dirty jobs were more… dirty.
Start your journey as a teenage criminal in a single player first-person sim with parkour action. Run simple jobs: pickpocket, act as a courier, pick locks, all under the police’s nose. Earn respect with the city gangs and don’t let the cops catch you!
Do quests and earn reputation points with all gangs
Hide in the shadows and avoid being detected by the police
Use the verticality of the terrain and parkour around the city
Play lockpicking minigames with either a lockpick or a crowbar
Gain access to and decorate your own hideout
Brewpub Simulator announced – new game coming to Steam!
Quit your day job, open a bar!
We’re celebrating International Beer Day (yes, we know it’s tomorrow) with a new game about crafting beer!
Brew lagers, stouts and IPAs, and serve patrons at your own brewpub. Decorate the place, create your own brands of beer, and expand into the best joint in town. All of this in a relaxing simulator that values creativity and passion for crafting.
