Hello Cleaners! Your pockets have just got better! We overhauled the inventory system and made it much more intuitive and faster. All this is thanks to new categorisation and toolwheel. We have also prepared a slight visual upgrade, which will make everything much clearer.
The inventory was a bit of a mess before all items were stored together and had to fit into a small space. Now every item has a separate category, so it is easy to find where everything is, especially when using the toolwheel. If you know that the stain remover you want to use is carefully stored in the detergent group on your toolwheel, you can quickly find it. This way, you don’t have to open your inventory and dig through it. Simply open the toolwheel, enter a category and choose the item you need!
Do you want to focus on penetrating stains? Would you like to carry more buckets? Or maybe one sponge is not enough? As you progress through the game will be able to use the experience you garner for packing more things into your inventory. It’s up to you which slots you upgrade, this way you can create your own cleaning style.
This change makes the gameplay much smoother, as you can choose all your tools on the fly. You don’t have to worry about constantly rummaging through your pockets to find that one sponge you previously might have buried at the bottom of the inventory.
We’re still working on some elements of this system and would like to know what quality-of-life changes you think we should implement! Let us know on our social media or discord!
Devblog #13 - The Night of the Dead
Hello Cleaners! The dead are scattered all over the place! In your cleaning endeavors, you will encounter many different situations and cases, and many of them will include at least one victim. Your job obviously is to get rid of the body and leave no evidence behind, so how exactly will you go about it?
Collect and dispose of. The main objective is to clean up everything to the point where the police can find nothing. You will have to locate all bodies and carry them to your truck for later disposal. This may seem easy at first, but there are a few challenges that come with carrying limp bodies through tight corridors, locked doors, and maze-like gardens. There is a silver lining in all these tough, we took care of the most grueling part of the task. The bodies will automatically package themselves into bags once you put them in the back of your truck.
Bodies are heavy. While you carry them around, your hands are full. This unfortunately means that moving around may be difficult. You movements will be slower and some interactions limited. Even simple doors may turn out to be too difficult to open. So strategize on where you are planning to go and how you will reach your car. We recommend you choose the fastest and easiest routes since you can only carry one body at a time, but we are well aware there is a challenge in taking a long way around.
Bodies are messy. When you think you are ready, you have to factor one more element into your planned routes. Bodies will still drop blood after you pick them up. They will leave drops where you walk, so remember to go back and clean those specks of blood once more. These may be the thin line between a job well done and getting busted. Luckily blood dries relatively fast, so moments after you pick up the body, they will not leave marks behind. Unless you decide to throw them around, then you will definitely have more mess to clean.
Learn their stories. During your time on the scene, you will have plenty of opportunities to learn about the victims. We want them to be more than just props scattered around the job site. Every victim has a story. The place of their death, their position, and even their wounds will help you understand the crime better and help with looking for evidence to clean. Finding a smashed family picture or seeing the last text message they sent to their loved one will also help you understand your own life as a cleaner. So look for clues and find small puzzle pieces which will help you see the bigger picture.
Despite this dark thought of cleaning after violent crimes, there is some comedy to the macabre of walking around with a dead body over your shoulder. After all, we want you to have fun while cleaning. There are some comical deaths coming along the way, so we’d like to know what you expect and want to see from our victims. Let us know here or through our social media. There is also a discord where we try to answer your questions. See you here or there! Until next time!
Devblog #12 - Let There Be Light!
Hello, cleaners!
As you probably know, game development is a constant heroic battle to balance game mechanics with aesthetic aspects. We have introduced you to many tools and mechanics, so it’s time to discuss our approach to environments and lighting. We’ll try to explain our philosophy without spoiling the looks of the map and avoiding story details.
We pay a lot of attention to the world we are creating. Every location has its backstory and unique elements. We want to make sure that the crime scenes we stage tell their own stories, not only through props and bodies but also through atmospheric lighting. The process of finding the correct angle and colour of the light has been a challenge. For the majority of the game, you will spend in darkness searching for evidence, the environment has to lead you through the level. From time to time, you will be forced to rely only on your cleaning intuition and scarce light from your flashlight.
While working on the levels, we want to marry the idea of lights and shadows not only as an aesthetic choice but also as a conscious gameplay element. This is why you will be equipped with many tools emitting light. Darkness will challenge you and allow you to show off your skill in using every tool in the inventory. We expect you to make use of lamps and your flashlight in many spots on maps. After searching through the map and finding evidence scattered around you can use a larger lamp to mark out where the bodies are. But we are aware that our plans and expectations will be walked all over by creative cleaners who will clean in complete darkness.
In the process of choosing which areas have to be darker, we seek to find a balance between a grave atmosphere and the immersive feeling of staying invisible. This is especially challenging since the environment has to look good when veiled in darkness and when lit up by multiple light sources.
While you closely examine provided screenshots and the video, remember that we took some liberty to stage certain elements to more explicitly show our process. We’re looking for general feedback on our principles and philosophy. So don’t leave us in the dark when it comes to your opinions on the matter. You can always shed some light on your expectations in our Discord or on our social media!
Devblog #11 - One Man's Trash is Another Man's Evidence.
Hello, Cleaners!
Every professional knows that cleaning up blood and dragging out bodies is not the be-all and end-all of cover-ups. You will be faced with many items which could lead the investigators to you or the people you are paid to protect. Every square inch of each room has to be void of any evidence and even the smallest items have to be collected and safely disposed of.
No one is surprised that violent crimes leave tons of evidence behind. There is SO MUCH to pick up! This is why you carry a trash can on you. Once you take it out of your inventory, you can see the evidence which you have to get rid of. A system of highlighting items will be helpful in finding things in places you might have not looked before. Anything from empty bottles of a party gone wrong to bullet shells and murder weapons has to be cleared out before the police arrive. This includes any items you might have brought to the crime scene yourself.
When your trash can fills up, it will automatically place all collected items into trash bags which can be easily transported to your truck. Those bags can be put into boxes and crates or carried in your hands. While the trash can has a limited amount of space in it, your car definitely has enough space to transport everything you want to take with you. It’s almost like it has unlimited space on its cargo bed or you have epic packing skills… Like every good father does.
Just like the majority of your equipment, the trash can will be subject to upgrades over time. You will be able to collect larger amounts of items and stuff more of them into trash bags. So even if at the beginning you will fill one trashbag after another, the good news is that you won’t have to worry about running out. Since there will be a lot of things to pick up, we don’t want you to clutter your entire inventory with tons of empty trash bags. You must have space for so many cool tools, detergents and devices.
So with every tool available to you, we are looking into making it efficient and fun to use. What do you think? What functionalities would you like to see attached to this specific mechanic? Let us know as we continue to implement and improve more and more mechanics. We’re always open to suggestions on our Discord and social media.
See you there!
Devblog #10 - The Beast in Your Arsenal
Welcome Cleaners!
Meet more of your tools! In preparation for your missions, you will have a great time choosing between many pieces of cleaning equipment. A true beast hides among buckets, cloths, and mops. This powerful machine will be crucial in cleaning outdoor spaces, as it's far too strong to safely use when cleaning indoors. Smaller objects may not survive meeting with the powerful water stream coming out of its nozzle. Meet one of the most powerful tools you can find in your arsenal: the power washer.
Once you reach the crime scene you can unload the power washer and begin working. This portable machine has a variety of uses when cleaning large spaces and more annoying bloodstains. With ease, it will clean floors, walls and small crevices hidden away from your eyesight. To stop it from being overpowered, we were forced to implement some limitations. After you place the power washer on the location, there is a limit to how far away you can walk away with the nozzle. The hose can only extend so far. You will be alerted about it before the nozzle jumps out of your hands. This means that you will have to carry the power washer around wherever you go.
When compared to a classic mop, a power washer allows you to clean without worrying about dirty water and the need to change it all the time. The machine also doesn’t require detergents cluttering your inventory to do wonders on the scene. Unfortunately, the water in your power washer is not endless. From time to time, you will have to find a source to refill the supply. There aren’t many places where you can get water, but the tank on the power washer is bigger than the majority of buckets allowing you to work longer without breaks and accidentally spreading blood around.
The basic power washer may seem a bit underwhelming despite its utility. There are a few elements we have planned to mitigate this. At the moment, we are considering a set of upgrades available to make using the power wash more pleasant and effective over time. Among larger tanks and longer hoses, we are looking into more versatile nozzles. Let us know what features you’d like to see implemented to this beast of a tool! We’re waiting for your ideas on our social media and Discord server!
Devblog #9 - Small and Larger Objectives
Hello Cleaners! Starting your job isn’t as easy as simply entering a job site. Sometimes there will be more to do than you can find at first sight. Your clients are not known for sharing detailed descriptions of their deeds. The rooms and spaces you have to take care of are messy… messier than you may think. In many crime scenes, there will be many hidden objectives you have to keep in mind and we want to help you with that.
Your choices will play a key role in how you interact with the environment and clean the entirety of the scene. To keep up with all tasks and points of interest you will be given a constantly updated list of objectives. They are specific to locations and can appear upon finding clues or information on the nature of the crime. Sometimes investigating an item will give you an idea of what to do, sometimes you will receive info from outside sources.
Finding a body or pieces of evidence will prompt you to do specific tasks. Some will give your more details, others will be small nudges towards a more general goal. Moving bodies or disposing of evidence won’t always be as simple as dragging some things around. There will be moments when even getting to the item of interest will be more complicated than just walking up to it.
The most consistent objective is related to the overall percentage of cleanliness. You should pay attention to the percentage on your screen. You may miss some drops of blood or smear it after you already cleaned everything. So before you even think of leaving the area double-check whether you are not leaving a bigger mess than the one you found.
This system of objectives and hints will be moulding itself to your needs and pace of progression. We want it to be very intuitive and unintrusive. Larger objective markers are loud and annoying, so we try to minimize that while still keeping the useful parts of their functionality. Let us know what do you think about the objectives, what kind of hints would you like to see the most? We’re waiting for feedback on our discord server!
Devblog #8 - Let There Be Light
Hello, Cleaners!
This job requires a particular set of tools. Some of them are more complex than others, but even the most basic ones are important. As you will be working in secrecy, avoid turning entire buildings into Christmas trees. You work in the shadows and need to know how to manoeuvre around crime scenes.
To help with dark corridors and small spaces, you will be armed with two different sources of light: movable lamps and a flashlight. They will both come in different varieties: normal light and blacklight. Many bodily fluids shine brightly under UV light, so this will help you discover small droplets on the scene. Unfortunately, blood does not react the same way, so you'll have to use normal light to see the shine of both fresh and dried out blood.
Large stationary lamps. You can carry them around to light up larger areas and clean in peace. You will have to prepare them before the mission and order them, while still in your base. Details of the missions should be a clue on whether you need them or not. On the scene, you can grab the lamps from your inventory to place them around the crime scene. You can switch between UV and normal light at will to see if you missed anything.
Flashlights. It covers small areas and is fantastic for detailed insections of tiny spaces. Similarily to lamps, you have to prepare flashlights to take with you and make space for them in your inventory. Switching between UV and normal light is as easy as pressing a button, so you can quickly double-check if you finished the job or not. The flashlight will also be helpful in navigating dark maze-like corridors and dark rooms. You can’t clean well if you get lost in the darkness.
Both these sources of light are essential to doing your job, so pay close attention to mission details. There will be important information about what you will need. We’re working on some even more essential tools to help you leave the scene squicky clean. If you have any ideas on what types of rags or detergents will work best when disposing of bodies, let us know in our Discord. We may get a bit suspicious but will always appreciate the help.
Devblog #7 - Don't Leave a Bloody Mess
Hello Cleaners! We know you are ready to clean after criminals, but you have to be careful about the mess you may make. Splashing dirty water on the scene will be problematic, so be mindful of where you swing that mop. Blood is sticky and everything can get covered by it, even you!
We prepared a multitude of blood splatters and divided them into 5 different origins:
Dropping splatters - picking up objects and dropping them on the floor will leave markings, which you will later have to clean.
Dragging smudges - when you move bodies or drag blood-covered furniture, you will leave blood marks behind.
Throwing spots - thrown items will also leave blood behind, so be mindful of leaving trails when moving things around.
Dripping spots - carrying objects covered in blood leaves little spots of blood on the floor. Remember that this also applies to your own equipment. Once your mop becomes dirty, it will leave small drops behind.
Bloody footsteps - be careful where you walk! Wherever you accidentally step into a blood puddle, your shoes will be dirty and you take will leave footsteps all over the place.
Every origin will have a set of variations, which will adapt themselves to your actions. They will change directions, shapes and sizes depending on the objects you carry around and the way you handle them. Cleaning your own blood splatters and footsteps is just as important as removing evidence.
As usual, we're waiting for your feedback! Let us know what other blood marks we should consider via our Discord or social media!
Devblog #6 – The Investigation
Hello cleaners!
When taking care of a crime scene, you need to assess which items can be left on-site and which you should dispose of. You will learn the murderers' secrets and motives behind the crime and for a brief moment, you will become a detective investigating the scene.
Items found at the level will have their own details and information, which will give you secrets about the world. Some items will be more important than others and allow you to progress through the game, so look out for suspiciously placed objects. Anything can be a piece of evidence, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the first glance.
Each item can be thoroughly inspected. You will be able to look at it from all angles, read detailed descriptions and decide whether you want to keep it or not. Certain objects will be evidence, so your job will be to dispose of them at the end of the level. If you decide to leave the wrong item behind, the police may trace them back to you and your clients.
You will find books, letters, receipts and phones, each with information about people involved, as well as the entire situation at hand. Dirty secrets and details of dramatic events will reveal themselves as you discover more and more objects scattered around the place. You will read texts between lovers, discover money laundering schemes and learn people’s life stories, all by simply looking at what was left behind by victims.
Don’t get too attached to the items, because, at the end of the day, your role is just to get rid of the evidence.
Let us know what you think, either on our social media or Discord!
Devblog #5 - Cleanup Playtests
Hello cleaners!
Shaping blood spatters and smudges is coming along nicely. Devs are tirelessly working on new and exciting features. The game is slowly being prepared for playtests and we activated the registration button.
Unfortunately, it’s going to be a while before we can start sending out access to the playtests. We have a list of things to keep in mind about it all:
1. The start of playtests will be announced separately and we don’t have a date yet. This is only a registration process, so please be patient.
2. The playtests will be buggy, and we are already sorry for that. On our own, we can’t find all the bugs.
3. Steam does not allow us to add specific players into playtests. We can only ask them to add a specific number of players.
4. We will add not everyone at the same time. We would like to have people seeing the game’s progress for the first time on every stage of the playtests.
We hope to see you all next year with more details about the game’s mechanics. There are a lot of things we want to share with you all but we still need to make sure that they pass our own quality control.
If you have any questions, don’t forget you can always ask us about anything here and in our Discord.
