If you’re confused by the title, there have been 10 other developer diaries for ManneKin: Hessler Storage over on the ManneKin Indiedb. Feel free to go back and have a look through them!
Today, I’d like to address a question that I often receive about ManneKin: Hessler Storage: can you die in this game? In the horror genre, there are two ways a game can go: you can either die, or you can’t. The experience in between varies for each game. In games where you can’t die, the emphasis is on scares, story, and experience. The challenge is in your willingness to proceed, knowing that the game is designed primarily to scare you. In games where you can die, the emphasis is on gameplay, with scares integrated into the story.
Death in Hessler Storage
In ManneKin: Hessler Storage, I’ve decided to handle death in a similar way to games where death is a possibility. I don’t intend to punish players, but actions will have consequences. The health of Professor Tobias Shaw, the game’s protagonist, is measured by his sanity. Whatever is in Hessler Storage wants to wear him down, and your interactions with the mannequins inside the storage facility will lower his sanity.
The first time Professor Shaw’s sanity reaches 0%, he wakes up in the last safe place he entered. His base sanity is now 50% lower than it was in the beginning. If he is caught again, he will awaken in the last safe place he entered, but his base sanity will be reduced to 25%. Once it reaches 0% again from there, the mannequins will kill Tobias, and death will be permanent.
Restoring Sanity
To regain sanity, Professor Shaw must complete tasks and make progress in Hessler Storage, such as fixing antennae for radio comms, finding and placing Eilat stones, re-lighting previous unlit areas, finding and collecting artifacts, and discovering occult art. Doing any of these things restores his sanity, and restoring it to 100% resets the counter.
But what is it that’s lurking in Hessler Storage? There is more than one type of mannequin, and while some actively hunt you, others do not. Some are more reactive to your decisions. When your sanity reaches 0% for the third time, any of the mannequins can take your life, and death will be permanent. You may also start experiencing… things.
There’s a lot to cover when it comes to ManneKin: Hessler Storage, the lore, the story, and the levels. The next thing I’ll be covering will be some of the enemies you’ll encounter within the depths of the disused storage facility.
Until then, why not go and wishlist ManneKin: Hessler Storage on Steam, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for the upcoming new game trailer!
Alpha Demo v0.0.4 Releasing 14th January 2023
Welcome back, Kin!
This coming weekend I'm releasing an update for ManneKin: Hessler Storage that has a lot of fixes for bugs, updates to current scares, new scares added, changes to the demo level, and an extension to it.
An options menu is also in the game along with partial controller support. However, you cannot change the button mappings right now.
The full list is as follows:
Mannequin 0.4 changelog
5 new scares added
5 updated scares
Made sledgehammer an inventory item
Added wall-breaking cutscene
Added door to Lower Floor 2
Added random key spawn for the key to Lower Floor 2 in Pillar Room
Added new audio log
Added new VFX and SFX for mannequins
Added new puzzle
Added Options Menu
Add partial controller support (in-game only, not working with menus yet)
Added functionality to the red sigil
Adjusted chances of triggering wall breaker mannequin
Removed portal
New soundtrack additions
New ambiance tracks added
50 new lines of dialogue
New interactions
Updated models for some keys
Added new elevator in-game cutscene
Added new ending
Added 3 new rooms to Lower Floor 2
Added new notes for lore and hints
Removed one ending
The last bits and pieces of polish are being added to this version of the build for release on Saturday 14th of January 2023. There may be more things that will get updated in between, but this is the main list. I'm looking forward to seeing people play the newest version!
If you are planning on streaming or making a YouTube video, don't forget to tag us or let us know. I've watched every playthrough so far and plan on doing it for this next build too!
Dev Diary #8: Updates, Options, and Wishlists!
It's been a while since the last Dev Diary and the reason for that is updates have been keeping me busy. Very busy. Not only for the alpha demo, but also for the full game. ManneKin: Hessler Storage managed to gain some traction with it being featured in a YouTube video on Channel13Horror, showing some of the streamers and YouTubers who have played the alpha demo in its recent build. Watching the Wishlist count rise on Steam has been very motivating.
Anyway, onto the updates! Firstly, there's been a few improvements to the level and look. I was thinking that Hessler Storage was a little too... clean? The renovation team did the upper floor and they're working on the lower first floor -- but after that? Things should be getting a little worse for wear. They did, however, establish maintenance rooms on every floor they could get to. This will be your saferoom -- if you can make it safe.
New lighting and updates to textures should optimise things to a much better level. It's incredible how well it seems to run, but I had noticed a lot of people getting screen tearing, some loss of fps, and overall, the want of an options menu. So, I spent three hours making one. Yes, it looks incredibly basic right now. But it does work, which was what I wanted. I'll make it pretty later, the main thing is the functionality is there.
And yes, in the bottom left you can let the game do a quick hardware check and pick the optimal settings for you. You can set Fullscreen or Windowed, turn VSync on or off, change your resolution, and change the FPS limit. I'm sure a lot of people will be looking forward to getting their hands on these settings. Audio settings aren't on the way right now, but something I am looking at.
Another thing to note is that I'm working on giving Professor Shaw his body! Here's another look at our protagonist.
New scares and updated scares are coming too, though I don't want to give the game away on those just yet. Some of the mannequins have had upgrades as to what they can do and how they react to players' actions. Some are more simple than others, but it's just another something that should leave players wondering what they can get away with.
New sound has been added to the game as well, for effects and scoring. Thanks to a recent purchase of a new audio library, I'm able to really ramp up the tension. I can't wait for you to hear it in action. The mannequins have also had a small update to their audio SFX, with them being made from wood and not being disturbed for a while, I've added creaking to their motion. This should make you feel a bit tenser when they start moving.
I've started building the lower levels, things are beginning to expand for the full game, but once again, I don't want to give too much away. There's a lot to get through and we're still in the alpha stage while I get things ready. But I'll give you a peek at one area.
You can follow me for more updates on Twitter or join the community Discord, and don't forget to Wishlist on Steam!
Today is a big day as we announce the v0.0.2 update has gone live and is available for players to download now! We're still kicking bugs in the teeth and getting the alpha demo up to scratch before we turn our full focus to the full game development.
So, what's new? Well, in v0.0.2 there's a massive update to the map itself. Featuring new assets, streamlined player direction (so you should get less lost, though we do want you to be disoriented) new scares, and a lot more. We've been focusing on features that will be implemented in the full game while giving players an experience that they'll remember.
We've been scouring the internet for the best reactions to ManneKin: Hessler Storage as a celebration of the v0.0.2 release and we found some great ones. So we put them together in a short video to hopefully encourage more players to try out the alpha demo and wishlist the game.
The map extension moves players from Lower Floor 1 Section 1 to Lower Floor 1 Section 2 and a little beyond. But there are still four endings to the demo... or are there? There may be a secret fifth ending... Not that we said anything...
Though you may want to be wary of Section 2. Things seem different past the bricked-up doorway. The mannequins seem more upset than usual and you're going to need to navigate your way through a strange columned area to safety.
We've also been working on something that will come in handy as the game progresses and can be found in Section 2. It's your only defense against the mannequins but use it wisely. it takes a little bit of time to use this item and there's a reason why. We won't divulge too much information, there's something explaining its use close by.
We've also included a bunch of new scares and removed some other ones. Of course, if you do see any bugs then let us know in our Discord! Here's the full list of changes:
Closed off upstairs to keep it linear
Added new assets including an actual elevator... that's out of order
Added clearer directions and instructions for player progression
Updated and extended map including Lower Floor 1 Section 2 and Lower Floor 2 Section 1
Four new scares
One scare removed
Updated interactions and activations
Sanity damage is now active You can "die" in the demo (this is being changed as to what actually will happen upon death)
A way to defend yourself
A new hidden tape
A new page Map for Lower Floor 1 Section 1 in level
One ending replaced
Mannequins now grab you
Low sanity affects the player camera focus and movement
Mannequins become more dangerous the deeper you go into Hessler Storage
Alpha Demo v0.0.2 is coming!
Welcome back, Kin!
It's been nearly three weeks since the launch of the alpha demo and ManneKin: Hessler Storage has had several patches, taking it from v0.0.1 to v0.0.13
The next patch will be a significant one so I'll be bumping the version number up to v0.0.2 and it'll include a lot of new stuff. Some things will be more subtle than others, with a lot of quality-of-life improvements for the alpha demo, but overall it will include:
New assets to make Hessler Storage more lived / worked in
Additional story audio dialogue
New scare mechanics
More visual cues for player direction
Removal of unused / unnecessary assets
Expanded lower first floor into section 2 (beyond the bricked up wall)
New scares for the player to experience
Sigils will now have a purpose
Use cues for items that require a right-click
A new mechanic for the player to keep the Kin at bay
Sanity damage that affects the player and the scares used
There's already been an update to 0.0.13, do check for updates as it has already fixed a lot of bugs.
Alpha Demo v0.0.13 Changelog
Welcome back! It's been nearly a week since ManneKin: Hessler Storage's Alpha Demo went live and I've been updating it while also moving forward with the project outside of the demo.
There's lots of updates, some bigger, some smaller.
- Framerate cap of 62fps (saves streamers graphics card) - Updated lighting and changes to optimization - New audio lines - New scares - Change in existing scare setup - Added some room numbers - Optimized scares - Added opening screen telling player of number of endings - Added skip button for intro - Pause menu now pauses the game - Added graffiti showing generator 1/2 - Changed button colour on generators to show current state (green on, red off) - Moved paper in room with mirrors - Optimized wall break - Additional wall decals added - removed torch
Demo Release Month!
ManneKin: Hessler Storage Alpha Demo v0.1.0
Welcome home, Kin.
It's finally demo month for ManneKin: Hessler Storage. So, let's go through what you'll have access to in the alpha.
Setting
In the alpha demo you'll have access to Hessler Storage ground level and Lower Floor 1 Section 1 and everything that comes with it:
Puzzles
Scares
Voiceovers
Lore
Mannequins
Secrets
With this being an alpha demo, I'll be looking to update the demo as I go along with the development of the full game, I want to make sure you get a taste of everything to come. I'm still busy adding some last-minute polish to this first alpha demo, and adding new dialogue lines to help direct the player to where they need to go.
Finally, I'm adding some new scares and multiple endings, so you'll see some in the first version of the alpha demo and more to be added down the line.
I hope you're as excited as I am, and I'm looking forward to the feedback for it. If you can join the Discord and put it in the Feedback channel, it would make updating the game a lot easier.
I'm looking forward to seeing you all inside Hessler Storage nearer the end of the month!
