Sup buds ːcleahappyː. Hope you are all staying safe and positive despite these tough times. If you ever want to talk for fun, I often hang out on Twitter @InvertMouse.
When these lockdowns first started, I had scares and worries like everyone else. A few days later, I picked up Doom Eternal on my birthday. For at least a moment, I forgot about the real world and was filled only with happiness. I would have loved the game anyway, but now, I will forever credit it with helping me deal with this situation. Reality should be confronted head on, yet an escape once in a while is also healthy. Games are awesome ːPain_Elementalː.
Unfortunately, this virus has impacted our team somewhat. That said, things have picked up again, so I hope to make that new game announcement soon enough. As I work on it daily, I just think man, I really think you are going to enjoy this one ːwhappyː.
The best way to keep up to date is via our newsletter:
In fact, when the announcement arrives, I hope to share it with our subscribers first. To be on that newsletter is a huge sign of trust, something that we should not take for granted.
Next, how about those Switch and XBox ports? Happy to say, I like to think they have progressed quite a bit lately. This is my first time being on consoles, so trip one will always be the toughest. Thank you again for helping me achieve this dream, by the way ːyoyoː.
I will share port updates on Steam, but you know, I think I should make the newsletter and social media my main platforms for that type of news. Valve has kindly given us all this platform to share/play games on, so I want to maintain that respect.
Thank you! Talk to you pals again soon ːcleasunniesː.
Delays, plus new badges?
Hey buds ːcleahappyː. Hope you are all staying safe and positive despite the tough times. You know, with the release of Doom Eternal, that was the first time in weeks I felt happy. Like, from the bottom of my heart delighted. I am grateful this game has brought some happiness back into my life. Yet another reminder games are awesome.
A lot of us have been impacted by this virus, with some worse than others. This includes the team we have here with our next project. Because of this, I unfortunately think we will have to announce this new game later. The original plan was April or May. Maybe it will still happen, but June or July may be a safer bet.
Thankfully, I am doing all right so far. I have been working every day, and seriously, I wish I could show you pals some screenshots right now. We need to do this right, though. It should be presented in a way that brings you as much joy as possible.
In the meantime, I am wondering if we should add more badges to Clea? Originally, there was going to be a 1 life challenge, so no saves allowed during the campaign. In truth, it is hard to justify the investment when 1% or less of the players will put themselves through that. If it is a bragging rights badge, however, it may be viable.
I have been meaning to revise the badges feature, anyway. It can be used not only for Clea, but also future titles. Currently, badges are unlocked, but players have no idea how, or why they became available. I would like to create a badges scroll (so we can fit more in), and also a description. If you are keen on this, and/or if you have other badge ideas, please let me know, too.
Still, I need to be careful. Time is a finite resource, and I would love to dedicate every available work hour into upcoming projects, and also ones beyond. A delay now means less of a wait for future works, and/or an opportunity to improve upcoming ideas. There are always positives even if they may seem invisible.
Thank you, and let’s all take care ːcleahappyː!
March patch
Hi friends! Before anything else, let's all stay safe as we all navigate our way through this virus crisis. A lot of events have been cancelled now. If this continues, I will opt not to attend PAX in Melbourne this year, assuming the con is held at all. Best wishes to you all.
Okay, a patch just went up for Clea, so here are some notes:
- Fixed bug where you can have the same input multiple times when you bind keys. For example, "A, A, A" for up. - Updated some core internal code to make the Switch and XBox port process smoother. - Fixed a couple of doors that opened slightly awkwardly.
As thanks for being around, here are some unused/unseen materials from Clea. Perhaps they will be used in a future game:
Speaking of future titles, I am happy and thankful to those who have asked for a Clea 2. You know, a new title will be announced in a couple of months. I like to think you are going to love this one, so please stay tuned.
All right, back to work for me. Mouse out ːcleahappyː!
Port talk (progress, costumes, and arcade mode enquiry)
Sup friends ːcleahappyː! As you know, Clea is scheduled for release on the Switch and Xbox this year. We have been grinding since Christmas to give ourselves the best chance possible.
The Switch port was announced first, so things have progressed further along there. During PAX last year, many gamers said they look forward to Clea on the Switch. I hope you feel the same way. Clea’s aesthetics, designs, everything should be a sweet fit for the Switch.
I would like to use this chance to celebrate Nintendo (been a fan since Mario All Stars) and publisher Sekai Games (hopefully some collabs). This will happen via bonus costumes on the Switch. These dresses will have to be exclusive to the console, so I want to flag it early rather than try to keep quiet. The launch week dress, Christmas garb, Halloween costume etc, those are regarded as the exclusives for the PC version. I hope this arrangement is all cool.
There is one more item I wish to address. In truth, I created arcade mode as a form of training. I hope to make bigger and better games that support larger communities, which may involve leaderboards, so these are the steps I have taken toward that goal. Honestly, based on the stats, most players have only completed chapter 1 on arcade mode to unlock that bonus dress. I had foreseen this, and I am good with it.
With that in mind, to ensure Clea reaches Switch owners’ hands in a timely fashion, I would like that version’s arcade mode to be exclusively local. Like itch.io’s build, where you compete solely offline. Since I code everything solo, I would love to devote as much time as possible into the Xbox port as well, plus a new game, which I plan to announce in a few months. As usual, I will react based on player response, but this is another thing I want to raise early, so we can have that conversation if required. We roll as a family.
Speaking of that new project, as you may have seen, a casting call went up on Twitter last night:
That said, I would prefer you not look at the doc! It could ruin some surprises ːcleasmugː.
Thank you ːcleasunniesː!
Clea speed paints!
Hi pals ːcleasunniesː. Hope you are all doing good. Here in Australia, first we had the bushfires, and now flood warnings (things have settled now though). As for the world, we have that coronavirus to be cautious about. Let's all be good to one another and ride through this wave.
Once in a while, I would randomly stumble upon a new Clea fan art. I wish you awesome artists would link them my way, because these illustrations bring me such joy. Even though Clea is a horror game, I feel so proud when gamers describe it with words like fun or love. I am glad my creations can make you feel that way.
Yesterday, YouTube recommended me a Clea speed paint. I never knew this was a thing! So, I would like to share them with you. They are all cute and awesome:
All right, let's be real. You may be thinking, "Mouse, this is cool and all, but how about some updates/news on the game, or your next project?" Well, you caught me. I am kind of buying for time ːcleasmugː. At this pace, in a couple of months, my next project should be announced. I hope you will look forward to it.
Thank you!
клеа fanart vol 5
Are we up to 5? I have lost track pals, haha ːcleathinkː.
Anyway, yes, this is a клеа post, not Clea. See, this time around, we have some awesome fan art from our Russian community! I am delighted Clea has allowed me to connect with gamers from all over the globe. Someday, I hope I can travel to each of these countries and meet with you all. Damn, I love games so much. More than anything else in the world.
Bushfire donation, plus Lunar New Year costume (limited time)
Morning friends ːcleahappyː. We made just under $500 in total for our donations, so I went ahead and rounded up to $500:
Thank you for your contributions! Even though I am the one making these games, I am still proud to be a part of this community ːwhappyː.
With the Lunar New Year just several days away, we have this Chinese New Year themed costume on offer:
As usual, you can download this via the in-game menu. I created the “Happy New Year!” banner and everything a good few weeks ago. Unfortunately, as we know, the coronavirus is out and about, so I am aware this may not necessarily be a happy new year for many people. This is why we want to keep things low key this time. Above all else, let’s all stay safe!
At this stage, I believe we have created all the seasonal costumes possible. Switch and Xbox port news should come in the near future, then beyond that, a new game announcement. Please look forward to them!
Thank you ːcleanormː.
Wish for Rain Week
Hiya friends ːvintysmileː.
As you may have seen, things have not been great here in Australia. Our bushfires have slaughtered millions of wildlife. Countless families have lost their homes, and some unfortunately did not make it at all.
The air here has also been awful on many days, including in the cities where most of us work at our day jobs. We have been advised to put on masks when we are out and about. The smoke is at times so thick it feels like we are in Silent Hill.
Well, time to take action. This week, all profits made from my portfolio (from Unhack to Clea) will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery:
To mark the occasion, please hop onto Clea's main menu screen to download this "Wish for Rain" costume:
From early December to this day, we have seen only small amounts of rain. Instead, we have regular strong winds, which as you can imagine, is no help to say the least when it comes to fires. Fortunately, we have some heavy rains forecasted for next week. Everyone now wishes this will indeed come true.
Of course, it is probably more direct to just donate, so please feel free to do that. To those who are interested in my portfolio, you can find it here:
Heya pals ːcleahappyː! Hope you are all off to an awesome 2020.
As promised, let’s announce the winners of the #cleasnap comp. Remember the winners are chosen at random, so no worries if your name is not on top. Be proud of your creation, enjoy what is showcased, and let’s continue to have fun.
Postcard winners (some hidden to avoid spoilers):
1. Crusader
2. Battler
3. happygiggi
Steam key winner:
snakeybane
Thank you for participating! If you see your name above, please send an email to contact(at)invertmouse(dot)com so we can arrange your gift.
To the postcard winners, remember, if you would like to have one of the cards signed, please include your preferred name, and I can make that happen. Please also note there is always the slight chance the mail will be lost. If you do not receive anything by late Feb, feel free to email me and we can go for the Steam key option.
To snakeybane you can each receive a key for any one game or DLC from my portfolio. Please email in, let me know which key you would like, and I can get that arranged.
Thank you ːcleasunniesː!
Saved by Clea
First of all, Happy New Year ːcleahappyː! All of our lives from start to finish is barely a blink in the grand scheme of things. For us to share this period together, and to live in an era where games exist? Life is good ːcleasunniesː.
Clea truly saved me. Not my life, to be clear! Well, kind of. I mean my game dev life. Back in the Unhack days, to be honest, no matter what you created, once you made it onto Steam, you are guaranteed to sell at least moderately well. As the years ticked by, things took a downturn for a lot of us. Visual novels especially became less and less viable (for me at least).
I believe The Last Birdling is better than Cursed Sight. Also, I think Without Within 3 is the best in that trilogy. The sales numbers, however, do not reflect this. I in fact lost money for several years because of those titles.
The Last Birdling won VN Nows’ game of the year, and some players who read it felt inspired to share with me some personal stories. I even received a physical gift (a painting) from a fan. These obviously brought me great joy. Unfortunately, they did not translate into money/survival. If I wished to make more visual novels, I would have to change the type of stories I told, switch genres, or do something else.
I picked the last option.
Clea did not arrive smoothly after that. If you follow our social media channels, you may have seen glimpses of a game named “Gaia: Birth of the Motherland”.
Gaia was produced from start to finish. I put in the hours, paid for the art, music and voice clips. Unfortunately, when all was said and done, I had to say no, this is not a good game. The gameplay is extremely stock. You go through the motions, and when my own game fails to make me respond emotionally in any way, I cannot possibly put it out there.
The fault was my own. My bad design choices. Everyone else on the team did a great job. Aside from the sunk costs, I also shouldered the guilt of everyone’s works never being shown to the world.
First, we have the visual novel crash (or mine anyway), followed by a year of work, only to result in a mediocre, unreleased title. Things were looking dire.
So, how did Clea come about? There is no dramatic backstory to it. I demanded myself to do a better job, and I just so happened to have played Alien Isolation and the Resident Evil 1 Remake during that period, so I felt inspired. Truly, I never associate any romantic notions with game development. There is no muse I am waiting on. When it is time to grind, we will grind.
Fortunately, the codebase from Gaia did not fall to waste. Clea was in fact programmed on top of Gaia’s foundations. Some players are surprised Clea only took about a year to create, but as you can see, there is a story behind it.
For my sake, Clea thankfully turned out well. The presentation, gameplay, ambience—everything is several steps above Gaia. This means I felt happy enough to ship it. Still, it had been a few years since I last released a traditional game (since Unhack and Bermuda). With the current market situation, will this result in another failure?
To my relief, Clea outperformed The Last Birdling and Without Within 3 combined within the first few weeks. Best of all, thanks to Clea, I have at last achieved my goal of publishing a title onto consoles. Clea, and all of you, have made my dreams come true.
In return, I have offered plenty of free updates through the past few months. Clea now features a chaos+ mode, invisible challenge, a camera feature, and even an arcade mode where you can compete for high scores. On top of all that, Clea’s dress is moddable, and I (along with other gamers) have piled a decent collection (not to mention the unlockable in-game costumes):
https://steamcommunity.com/app/981020/guides/
Clea is a 2D survival horror without jump scares. The Whitlock Mansion is infested with Chaos Servants who dynamically roam the floors in search for their prey. As Clea, players must outwit these hunters and escape from this nightmare. Clea is available on Steam, with the Switch and Xbox One versions aimed for 2020. The game is on discount while the Winter Sale lasts:
