Everlife
1000 Downloads! (And an update on chapter 2)
Everlife has just hit 1000 first time downloads! So thank you to everyone who decided to try out my little game!
But at the same time... where is chapter 2?
In my previous post, I mentioned that I just had to finish the tsundere models, animate them, fix bugs, and then beta test the game. So you might be wondering, why did that take 5 months?
Part of it is because between that time, there were a lot of polishing changes I made to the game. Over time, there were more and more things that I wanted to polish up or change. Those changes include but are not limited to...
-Making the game suitable for 4:3 monitors (same with wide screens)
-Remaking two of the soundtracks in chapter 2
-Remaking the Intro cutscene (which I also posted on YouTube)
-Increasing the size of the tsundere level
-remaking the ability icons
-adding camera shakes to the explosive arcade machines
-a ton of other things
Essentially, I'm working to make sure this chapter is as fun and polished as I can make it. It has been a while since chapter alpha 1 released, so that should be the case, right?
But I also have some good news... I finally finished the tsundere models! I won't show them yet, but I plan on showing them in the official chapter 2 trailer!
What's left is that I need to animate the tsunderes, make camera animations for the jump scares of both levels, and fix up a couple of other polishing issues and bugs.
That's all I have to say, so once again, thank you for 1000 downloads, and thank you for your patience with me. I promise that chapter 2 will be as good as I can make it, and until then, have a good day!
Everlife 1-Year Anniversary + Chapter 2 Progress
So... About Chapter 2. What's going on with it? A year is quite a long time for one chapter to be in development for, is Chapter 2 cancelled?
No, Chapter 2 isn't cancelled. It's taking a while, but it'll release! As such, I'll give a quick update on how things are going.
Back in February, I gave a "progress" chart on how far along individual things were. Here's what the progress looks like now...
Abilities: 100%
Map Layouts: 100%
Map Polishing: 99% (might get balance changed)
Enemy Programming: 90% (Tsundere Animations and maybe a bug fix or two)
Enemy Polishing: 40% (Glitchese are finished, Tsunderes aren't done yet)
Models/Animations: 50%
Music: 100%
Cutscenes: 100%
Dialogue Writing: 100%
Dialogue: 98% (Literally one more line is needed)
So, most of the work is done at this point. All the cutscenes in Chapter 2 are finished, all the maps are laid out, and the enemies' AI is finalized now. So, the remaining work for chapter 2 is mostly the following
-Tsundere Models and Animations (This is the most daunting task left)
-Bug fixes and final polishing
-Beta Testing and balancing levels
At this point, the Tsundere models/animations are the most daunting thing left. I've already set a fall 2022 release frame, but once they are finished, I'll finally be able give a chapter 2 release date!
Thanks for reading! Hope to see you soon!
Chapter 2 Achievements Added To Store Page
If you checked the store page (which if you're here, you likely have), you'll notice that 8 new achievements were added to the game (alongside some icon updates for the current 4).
Bit of transparency for you, you cannot obtain these 8 new achievements yet. However, you will be able to obtain them when chapter 2 comes out! (As long as nothing breaks of course, but they all work in the editor :) )
While you're here, I'll give you a bit of an update on how chapter 2's development is going.
The levels are all constructed now, the AI is being finished up, and so are the outlines of the cutscenes, so hopefully chapter 2 will be ready soon! However, giving a release frame before I learned how to do certain things (namely voices, adding DLC to steam, and human/humanoid models) may have been an error. If things go well, it may be able to release before spring ends, but a delay to summer 2022 may end up happening (trust me, I'm more disappointed with a possible delay than you are).
That's all! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 2 Store Page
Store page has been updated in preparation for chapter 2
I don't know if this is justified for a regular announcement, but I kind of want to show the new look a bit, so why not?
The original screenshots on the store page showcased a pre-release version of chapter 1 alpha. As an example, if you paid close attention, you may have seen the screenshots and trailer show a plain red floor. However, this was changed 4 days after the game's release, rendering it invalid for 138/142 days Everlife has been released for.
As such, it was important to update the page, especially since I am preparing to have the chapter 2 store page become visible as well.
The quality of the images aren't reflective of the 1.1.6 version of the game (the current downloadable version), but they do reflect what it will look like when chapter 2 releases in the Spring 2022!
Yup, chapter 2 also has a release-area now. There are a few things I'll need to tackle that may be difficult, such as human models and voices (as well as their accompanied systems) though I would expect that it will be ready by then! (Between March 21st and June 20th)
Of course, I'm expecting Chapter 2 to release in the earlier half of spring (March or April), but I'm not forcing myself to rush the game to release (And likely release a product that is less-than sufficient), though I'm still of course working hard on it!
Thanks for reading! :)
Chapter 2 Content and Improvements information
We are a week off from valentines day, and it has been almost 4 months since chapter 1 alpha launched. Chapter 2 is still in development, game development just takes a long time (especially for one inexperienced person)
Before I get into the meat of this post, here's a progress report estimate for several factors of chapter 2
Abilities: 100%
Map Layouts: 95%
Map Polishing: 55%
Enemy Programming: 70%
Enemy Polishing: 0% (This hasn't really been started yet)
Models/Animations: 0% (See enemy polishing)
Music: 100%
Cutscenes: 25%
Dialogue Writing: 20%
Dialogue: 2%
The main hurdles regarding Chapter 2 involve human models and voices, which is why this list may seem a bit surprising, but once they're conquered for chapter 2, chapters 3, 4, and 5 should be much easier to make.
Now, the info you are really here for...
Even though Everlife is quite small, and doesn't receive as much feedback as other games, I have been paying hefty attention to the feedback I do get, and I have noticed a few people who have identified some problems with the current state of Everlife. Primarily, some people feel the game is unplayable as it is right now.
Of course, this opinion isn't shared by everyone, and an easy mode does exist, but there should be almost no one saying that about the first level of a game.
So as such, Murky Mansion will receive the following changes on Chapter 2's release.
-Ghost speed reduced from 1350 units to 1200 units (UE4 units, the player moves at a speed of 1500 units)
-Ghost numbers reduced from 8 to 6
For easy mode...
-Ghost speed reduced from 900 units to 800 units
-Ghost numbers reduced from 6 to 4
These changes should allow Murky Mansion to become more suitable as an introductory level, along with the variety of graphical improvements the environment has gone through.
Another common complaint is that the game is currently way to short, due to only one level being in the game. This will of course be addressed in chapter 2, which will increase the level count to 3/13 of the levels planned for the game, which begs the question...
What's going on with the chapter 2 levels?
The concept of Everlife is each level should be bigger and more difficult than the one before it, so Ideally, Tsundere Terror (Level 2) should be more difficult than Murky Mansion, and Game Grievance (Level 3) should be more difficult than Tsundere Terror (additionally, the art for this post is from that 3rd level, though it's still a Work In Progress)
The chapter 2 levels introduce doors and traps into Everlife's set of mechanics, and it has been a challenge to find the right balance of how they should fit into the levels, hopefully when the game releases, you'll feel the traps are well balanced and not to overwhelming for levels 2 and 3 (Murky Mansion of course, has no traps)
Additionally, both The High School and The Arcade are much more detailed environments than the mansion (even post-upgrades), meaning they'll take a bit longer to create. The High School's environment is practically finished (minus balance changes and necessary polish that still needs to get underway), though the arcade is taking much longer to create (due to it being bigger than Murky Mansion and Tsundere Terror combined)
And finally, there is one last topic I would like to address, which has also been addressed in the early access page.
Chapter 2 will be a paid DLC, likely costing about 99 cents to purchase (Or about 1 dollar), and I would like to address the reasoning behind this.
The full version of Everlife of course, will have 5 chapters, just like several other games you may be familiar with (Dark Deception, Bendy and the ink machine, etc.), and will likely be about 10 dollars, though the full version will likely have a bundle that's a bit cheaper.
The way I hope you'll see this is that you'll be able to play a small piece of the game for free (like a demo) and then will be able to decide about purchasing future content for the game, that way you'll know what the game is like before you buy the rest of it.
With that said, I am certainly nervous about Chapter 2 being a paid DLC. Chapter 2 will have much more content than chapter 1 (tripling the level count and at least quintupling the playtime), though it still won't be that big. I want to ensure I can create a (piece of a) product that is worth paying a dollar for, and I don't want players to feel like they aren't getting their potential money's worth out of my game. As such, I intend to work to create an enjoyable experience that will leave players excited for other future updates (notably, chapters 3, 4, and 5)
That concludes all the information I have to share with you, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comments or email masemaster2k@gmail.com
Thanks for reading! :)
Everlife Chapter 1's OST is uploaded to youtube
I would like to quickly announce that I have uploaded Everlife's OST to YouTube! There's a total of 8 tracks (the cliffhanger is a chapter 2 track), so if you want to hear them without worrying about a ghost murdering you, check out my channel for the OST!
MaseMaster2K Youtube Channel
Also before you ask, yeah, I do make other videos on games like Fortnite, and a couple other games, please don't judge me :)
Tsundere Terror Information (Everlife Chapter 2)
Recently, the game has surpassed over 300 Downloads! And to celebrate, how about some info about level 2?
If you have played Everlife, you might be aware that the game is currently really short. Thankfully, more levels are on the way, and chapter 2 will contain levels 2 and 3 (which still is nowhere near what the full game will be, but we're taking little steps here)
Today, I would like to inform you a little about level 2.
So, what is level 2 of Everlife? And what are some of it's features?
-The level is called Tsundere Terror, which you may have seen in the "Load Game" Menu (After beating Murky Mansion)
-Tsundere Terror introduces the detector ability
-Tsundere Terror introduces hidden traps
-Tsundere Terror is the first level to introduce "Damned Soul" Enemies
-Tsundere Terror has 3 unique enemies with unique abilities.
-As you might be able to tell from the level name, the level is themed around Love.
Now, I can imagine some of you may be skeptical of the thought that the next level is love themed. As such, I will answer a few questions you might have, and if you have any others, feel free to ask in the comments.
Q: How prevalent is the theme of love in Tsundere Terror?
A: The High School itself presents itself as a valentines-looking location with a couple of love related messages within (And a lot of pink, lol). The characters will also say some love-related lines, but regarding the actual gameplay of the level, the theme affects almost nothing.
Q: Will there be any explicit scenes in the level?
A: No, Besides the usual non-family friendly stuff that stems from a horror game (scary or not), the level will be family friendly. Some of you may be aware of some questionable trends in anime that I can not discuss here. They aren't present in Tsundere Terror, don't worry!
Q: Will there be romance-type scenes? Like characters making out?
A: Not really, for the majority of the time playing the level, the enemies will act in a manner as in "We're going to find the player and kill them". They might act a little bit flirty in a couple of voice lines or in their death animations, but nothing you will usually see in media such as romantic movies.
Q: Will the characters be portrayed as generic tsunderes like you see in anime?
A: Funny story, I have actually never really watched anime, though I am aware of the stereotype from a couple other games (Like Natsuki from DDLC or Osana from Yandere Simulator). It's questionable if Everlife's Tsunderes are really "Tsunderes" at all. The name is more metaphorical than anything (They are technically in "love" with the player character (Dere Dere), but they all want to kill the player (Tsun Tsun). The characters are going to have more realistic personalities than what you would see from normal anime-type media.
That's all I can think of, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask them! I want to make sure the level can get it's theme across while still providing an enjoyable experience for you, Assuming you aren't a fan of love themes, which is obviously subjective.
Thanks for reading! :)