First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who's reading this right now because, according to Steam's own documentation, this event will only go out to the game's "most dedicated fans". So, thanks for that. In any case, let me fill you in as to what your old friend JIMMY DIAMOND's been working on.
New Game Announcement!
I'm very excited to announce my new and upcoming game "cryspace". cryspace is a social media simulator/visual novel with a heavy focus on dating/relationships, and contains multiple branching paths with thousands of lines of original dialogue, endings, and plot points.
Admittedly, cryspace is quite a bit different from Surreal Experience, but if you do like the style in which I make games, and if you enjoyed Surreal Experience, it'd mean a lot if you could check out the game, maybe do your boy a solid by wishlisting it, and tell all your friends!
Surreal Experience is a finished game. I don't anticipate there will be any further updates, aside from the occasional holiday event to spruce things up. Surreal Experience was a very fun game for me to work on, and I'm still satisfied to this day with how the finished product came out. Surreal Experience was also a learning project for me, as it was my first game in Unity, and my first "real" game in general.
That being said, considering you took the time to read this highly-marketed post to completion, and just between you and I, I am definitely intrigued to make games similar to Surreal Experience in the near future, perhaps even a direct sequel. I don't want to definitively confirm that, but I think making a rogue-like/rogue-lite game in the future in a similar setting to Surreal Experience would be really cool. When that day comes, I'll be sure to make an announcement.
Anyway, for the time being, if dating sims are your type of game, check out cryspace and let me know what you think!
Thanks for your continued support,
JIMMY DIAMOND
A Surreal Halloween
Halloween only comes once a year, and the cast of Surreal Experience isn't letting it pass them by!
Enjoy exploring the Office and Sunday School during this limited-time event. Every character (well, most of 'em anyway) has been redesigned with special Halloween costumes to tap into the true spirit of the holiday. How can we forget the most important aspect of Halloween? Trick-or-treating! In both Office and Sunday School, candy can now be found around the map, which will give you a much-needed sugar rush in high pressure situations. This event ends November 1st, so enjoy it while you can!
Have fun,
JIMMY DIAMOND
Big Optimization Patch
As a brief update, the game has been significantly optimized and updated with a few new additions.
The Office level has been redesigned to make colors more vibrant as well as make the scenery more enticing outdoors. Upgrades have been added under the hood which results in a 10-20 time increase in performance.
Fixed bugs in the Sunday School where some lights would cause shaders to glitch out.
The tutorial has been redesigned, once again, from the ground up. This time, it takes the form of a guide, which provides useful information on everything in the game.
This update refines the game significantly and makes it more playable for everyone. Try it out!
Sunday School NOW AVAILABLE!
Hi all,
Tonight, I have a very special announcement - Sunday School is now complete and available to everyone for FREE.
This is Surreal Experience's first major content update and includes the following new features:
Brand new Sunday School map, which is larger, more detailed, and overall longer to beat than the Office level.
EIGHT new achievements to unlock.
6 new Sunday School specific NPCs, each with their own unique personalities/purposes.
New Easter Eggs hidden through-out the game.
A brand new, fully-fledged ending/map for those who beat both the Office and Sunday School levels.
Full support for all bonus modes for Sunday School (excluding Sandbox).
And much more!
Here's some screenshots of the final map and the NPCs:
There isn't much left to say, except for enjoy this new update! As always, get in touch (either by adding me on Steam, emailing me, or posting on discussion forums) if there are any issues that you run into. The next planned update will include optimizations (for both Sunday School and Office) and the game's release out of Early Access.
Enjoy!
JIMMY DIAMOND
New Map Announcement
Hi everyone,
I'm excited to announce the upcoming release of a new map for the game: Sunday School. This map will contain a whole new cast of characters, a whole new set of items, and some different mechanics as well to shake things up. Additionally, there will be a number of hidden rooms, areas, and secrets not before seen in Surreal Experience.
Here are some early screenshots of the map. Of course, this is subject to change, but this is what you can expect for right now:
As you may have guessed from some of these pictures, instead of kicking out homeless people, you will be "freeing" cult members, who've been manipulated and trapped into cells. Your objective will be to navigate the map in search of keys, and free these fellas out one-by-one until the job is done.
That's all I have for now that I'd like to publicly talk about. That being said, if you are interested in experiencing the Beta of this new level, please send me an email at jimmydiamond289@gmail.com with a screenshot of proof that you've beaten the Office level. This private beta will be available soon to anyone who is interested in pursuing it and wants to have an early look at the future of the game.
The release date for a public release will likely be in July or, at the very latest, August.
Thanks for your continued support, and those who have purchased the game during this year's Summer Sale.
Yours,
JIMMY DIAMOND
More Game Modes Available Now!
As a part of today's update, two new-game modes have been added.
Speedrun or Die
In this game-mode, your primary goal is to get through the game as fast as possible, or face the consequences.
Features
All items are set to "Very Common".
The longer you take, the more NPCs that spawn, and the more frequently they do.
NPC spawns are random, and could be either the Thug, Crackhead, or Manager.
Everything else is exactly the same.
This game-mode is intended for players who know the game in-and-out, including the locations in which the homeless people spawn, where items generally spawn, etc. Lack of game knowledge equals guaranteed failure. Taking longer than about a minute and a half to speed through the game will make it extremely hard to beat.
Realistic Mode
Ever wondered how Surreal Experience would play out if your ran at a normal speed and things were a bit more normal in general?
Features
Walking/running speeds of the player, as well as all NPCs have been divided by 2.
Homeless people now move around at a random speed and in random directions as opposed to standing completely still.
The Manager is slightly nerfed in this mode.
It is slightly harder to lose the Thug.
Items that cannot normally be used towards the end of the game can now be used at any time.
This mode is primarily intended for players who prefer slower paced games, and also really just to demonstrate how the game would look if it weren't for the crazy speed that all the other modes have. That being said, with these adjustments, it brings its own unique set of difficulties to the table, which may require you to take a different strategy than what is effective in the other modes.
These modes are a bit more abstract than the ones found in the previous update, so have fun with them! Additionally, there are 2 more achievements to be unlocked for completing them. Good luck, and have fun!
Next Update
This concludes the addition of any new game-modes for the foreseeable future. Work will now go towards finishing the second level of the game, which will take about 2-3 months to finish. I'll be leaking some information about it probably next month or so. Additionally, I will be focusing my attention towards optimizing the game to achieve higher frame rates as well as fixing some bugs/providing some quality of life improvements.
Enjoy,
JIMMY DIAMOND
Sandbox and Hardcore Mode Now Available!
Intro
Welcome back to Surreal Experience. Today's update includes an all-new Sandbox game-mode to allow for complete customization over the game, and a new Hardcore game-mode for those who want a grueling challenge. Both game-modes are accessible from the main menu under "Bonus Modes" and are playable regardless of whether you've beaten the regular mode or not.
Sandbox Mode
Features
Customize the game to your exact liking with different variables.
Spawn as low as 1 or up to 20 homeless people to search for and kick out.
Spawn up to 7 Thugs, Managers, and/or Crackheads for your run, or completely disable them! (excluding Thug)
Adjust the difficulty of NPCs to either be in Normal or Hardcore mode.
Control the amount of items that spawn in, ranging from very rare to very common.
Sandbox Mode gives you the freedom to make the game as easy, difficult, or absurd as you'd like with minimal restriction. Have fun!
Hardcore Mode
Features
Play through a challenging mode in which items are scarce, and NPCs are harder.
The Thug will run into you more often, and has a faster moving speed than in Normal mode.
The Crackhead will chase you from a further distance to confront you, and will annoy you more often.
The Manager is much less tolerable, and will make it his mission to impede your progress. Any slight break in your work, and he'll haul towards you with a verbal warning.
Like in the Normal mode, this mode also keeps track of your best time upon completion.
This mode is much more difficult and much less forgiving than the normal game, and requires technique and finesse at a level in which only Surreal Experience seasoned veterans could even hope to complete. Good luck.
What's Next?
This update breathes a lot more life into the game and allows you to play it any way you want, giving you a re-playable, fun experience you can keep coming back to without it getting stale. I have some great ideas for some additional game-modes as well, so you'll be seeing 2 new ones released in about a month's time. After this, work will move towards completing the second level of the game, which I'll be teasing sometime soon once the ideas come more into fruition.
Thank you for your support thus far, and I hope you enjoy the new game-modes! As always, please post on the discussion forums or get in touch with me directly if you notice any problems with this version of the game.
Yours,
JIMMY DIAMOND
Game Progress Update
I wanted to take some time and give an announcement as to where the game is headed as I understand updates have been scarce. The reason for this is that currently, I am working on adding an entire new map as well as various new features such as Sandbox and Hardcore mode.
The primary goal for development right now is to finish the game practically in its entirety to offer an experience in which will be fully feature-fledged, re-playable, customizable, and fun to the vast majority of players. Understand that even the Office level took some time to create to offer, what I believe to be anyway, the perfect blend of difficulty, unpredictability, and a bittersweet experience that is both fun and frustrating. I would like to achieve the same thing with the next level on a larger scale, and this will, of course, take me some time, especially as I am the sole developer of this game.
The other features, such as the aforementioned new modes, shouldn't take me nearly as long, but I obviously want to make sure that those are working well once they're developed, and I'll need to ensure that I have testers to have a look at that stuff and make sure it's good to go and bug-free before release.
The primary goal here is to have a game I can consider "done". Will more developments come after this upcoming update? Quite possibly, yes, as I'd like to do even more to the game, but I also don't want for it to be convoluted with half-baked ideas either, so I think this update will provide more than enough content.
Thanks for being patient, and you can expect this update within the upcoming months.
Patch Notes for 2/27/22 (Game Version ea1.0.2)
-Revamped the "How to Play" area from the ground up to be more helpful to new players. -The game will now ask you to review the tutorial if you haven't already before loading a level. -Removed heroin
Please use the discussion forums to report any issues you may experience with this build of the game.
Patch Notes for 2/25/22 (Game Version ea1.0.1):
Added a crosshair to make it easier to pick up items.
Applied a major buff to the manager.
Added slight buffs to the crack and disguise.
Please use the discussion forums to report any issues you may experience with this build of the game.
