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Production update: tentacles, codices and proto-Bishops
Weve now finished artwork for all the characters in the game. Youll have met most of the major players if youve played the Mask of the Rose Demo, but we have almost as many secondary characters to introduce in the full game, including some familiar faces included thanks to our backers.
Our other primary type of art in Mask is location art. Our pipeline for backgrounds uses three steps: render the basic geometry of the scene in 3D; add colour and detail with digital painting; then light and animate. We now have all the backgrounds present in the game, but many still need bringing to life with this final stage; adding in animated elements such as fog and swarms of bats, and the character lighting that makes London appropriately atmospheric. This kind of work sounds minor, but its the difference between the game looking just okay (and a bit flat), or looking polished and inviting.
Mask is split into three seasons; Confessions, Yule, and Love. In the demo, you experience a (much truncated) version of the Season of Confessions (youll have more time to look around and introduce yourself to the cast in the full game). This is followed by the Season of Yule, which introduces the murder investigation and is the longest season in the game. The Season of Love is shorter, but arguably the most important; this is when the murder mystery concludes and tender feelings blossom amongst the characters. Currently, writing has been done up to the end of the Season of Confessions and the end of the Season of Yule, although were still weaving some additional characters into the Season of Confessions. Weve introduced a second writer to the project, James, to help Emily by writing the plotlines for specific characters. Those who enjoyed his work on the Church in Fallen London will appreciate what hes done with the not-yet-Bishop-of-Southwark! The remaining goals are to reach end-end playability and bring all the threads to satisfying conclusions in the Season of Love. This is what Emily and James will focus on finishing in the next few months.
All of the major user interfaces are now in the game. Samus and Toby recently finished work on a nifty codex menu that stores all the players information, such as relationship events, murder clues, and a conversation log.
The biggest gameplay feature still in progress is Storycrafting, the player-driven storytelling mechanic we use in different ways to represent the player character taking commissioned work for NPCs and theorising about the murder. Storycrafting involves activities like crafting love stories for Pages, generating page-turning plots for Rachel, as well as a few tails you might not expect. Alongside tech and UI work, this feature also requires writer work to populate the features with story possibilities.
Composer Laurence Chapman has delivered versions of most of the pieces in the game, and weve signed off on them ready for recording. We still have a few left to hear and approve, which hell be delivering to us between now and May, with a final recording session organised in June. As well as new tunes you didnt hear in the demo, youll hear fresh versions of familiar themes in the full game. The music is being re-recorded with live instruments (the demo mainly used solo piano performances and sampled instruments). Were very excited to share the soundtrack with the world and think backers who nabbed it will be happy with the final product. The soundtrack has become a work music mainstay for some of us at Failbetter already. For my part, Ive finished up on the ambient sound design which complements each unique location you visit.
All that sounds like were pretty close to done, right? Well, yes and no. We normally prioritise the biggest and riskiest chunks of work first, to allow us to produce an end-end playable build as soon as possible. That leaves us with a long list of smaller tasks to mop up. Some examples:
[ 2022-04-11 12:06:52 CET ] [ Original post ]
This month's update is from producer and sound designer Stuart Greetings, Delicious Friends! This month, Id like to update you with a general overview of the state of progress on Mask and let you in on some of the challenges we still face in the last few months of production.
Artwork
Weve now finished artwork for all the characters in the game. Youll have met most of the major players if youve played the Mask of the Rose Demo, but we have almost as many secondary characters to introduce in the full game, including some familiar faces included thanks to our backers.
Our other primary type of art in Mask is location art. Our pipeline for backgrounds uses three steps: render the basic geometry of the scene in 3D; add colour and detail with digital painting; then light and animate. We now have all the backgrounds present in the game, but many still need bringing to life with this final stage; adding in animated elements such as fog and swarms of bats, and the character lighting that makes London appropriately atmospheric. This kind of work sounds minor, but its the difference between the game looking just okay (and a bit flat), or looking polished and inviting.
Writing
Mask is split into three seasons; Confessions, Yule, and Love. In the demo, you experience a (much truncated) version of the Season of Confessions (youll have more time to look around and introduce yourself to the cast in the full game). This is followed by the Season of Yule, which introduces the murder investigation and is the longest season in the game. The Season of Love is shorter, but arguably the most important; this is when the murder mystery concludes and tender feelings blossom amongst the characters. Currently, writing has been done up to the end of the Season of Confessions and the end of the Season of Yule, although were still weaving some additional characters into the Season of Confessions. Weve introduced a second writer to the project, James, to help Emily by writing the plotlines for specific characters. Those who enjoyed his work on the Church in Fallen London will appreciate what hes done with the not-yet-Bishop-of-Southwark! The remaining goals are to reach end-end playability and bring all the threads to satisfying conclusions in the Season of Love. This is what Emily and James will focus on finishing in the next few months.
Tech and Gameplay
All of the major user interfaces are now in the game. Samus and Toby recently finished work on a nifty codex menu that stores all the players information, such as relationship events, murder clues, and a conversation log.
The biggest gameplay feature still in progress is Storycrafting, the player-driven storytelling mechanic we use in different ways to represent the player character taking commissioned work for NPCs and theorising about the murder. Storycrafting involves activities like crafting love stories for Pages, generating page-turning plots for Rachel, as well as a few tails you might not expect. Alongside tech and UI work, this feature also requires writer work to populate the features with story possibilities.
Sound
Composer Laurence Chapman has delivered versions of most of the pieces in the game, and weve signed off on them ready for recording. We still have a few left to hear and approve, which hell be delivering to us between now and May, with a final recording session organised in June. As well as new tunes you didnt hear in the demo, youll hear fresh versions of familiar themes in the full game. The music is being re-recorded with live instruments (the demo mainly used solo piano performances and sampled instruments). Were very excited to share the soundtrack with the world and think backers who nabbed it will be happy with the final product. The soundtrack has become a work music mainstay for some of us at Failbetter already. For my part, Ive finished up on the ambient sound design which complements each unique location you visit.
Just Ship It!
All that sounds like were pretty close to done, right? Well, yes and no. We normally prioritise the biggest and riskiest chunks of work first, to allow us to produce an end-end playable build as soon as possible. That leaves us with a long list of smaller tasks to mop up. Some examples:
- Art: Icons for use in storycrafting and wardrobe choices for the player.
- Writing: Content for achievements and backer rewards.
- Tech and Gameplay: Audio and graphical options, such as support for letterboxing on ultra-wide screens.
- Sound: Special sound effects to punctuate particularly dramatic moments.
[ 2022-04-11 12:06:52 CET ] [ Original post ]
Mask of the Rose
Failbetter Games
Developer
Failbetter Games
Publisher
Coming Soon
Release
Singleplayer Tags
Game News Posts:
37
🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🎮 Full Controller Support
🎮 Full Controller Support
Mostly Positive
(205 reviews)
Public Linux Depots:
- [0 B]
Welcome to Fallen London: a darkly hilarious gothic underworld where death is a temporary inconvenience, the rats talk, and Hell is only a stone's throw away.
Thanks to an unknown bargain, London now resides in a vast cavern under the earth. Down here, the sun doesn't shine, and Parliament has sunk into the Thames. Queen Victoria never emerges from her palace. Cats spy on their owners and whisper their secrets abroad. The fabric of strait-laced Victorian society has begun to fray.
New Masters are in charge. Why are they so… tall? And always cloaked? And why are they so interested in love stories?
The possibilities for personal connection in London are different now. Thrown together in crisis, you might befriend or romance many of the characters you meet, from Griz, your assertive housemate for whom the Fall was a chance to break free of Victorian societal norms, to the infernally well-dressed gentleman at the Brass Consulate with the amber eyes.
Even death itself has a twist here: the first murder victim since the Fall is feeling much better, and keen to see justice done. Unfortunately, as the doctor who treated him immediately before he expired, your housemate Archie is the prime suspect...
- (Re)invent yourself: who were you before the Fall? Who will you be now?
- Create outfits from a selection of clothing and unusual accessories to unlock different story options
- Fall in love with a cast of diverse Londoners, each with their own secrets
- Matchmake among your friends, or seek love for yourself (by any definition you like)
- Write love stories in a delightful minigame, and use them to impress the new Masters
- Pick up odd jobs to earn money and gather resources. How are you at rat catching?
- Solve the first murder since the Fall, with the assistance of the victim
- Discover cosy, mysterious and magnificent locations in a dark and delicious version of Victorian London
- Seek deeper and deeper secrets over multiple playthroughs
Will you be a brilliant matchmaker, connecting friends and rivals while remaining unattached? Or are you looking for lasting love? Perhaps you're open to whatever comes your way? Every major storyline is accessible regardless of whether your approach to love is romantic or platonic.
Use an elaborate, dynamic story-crafting system to create love stories – and murder theories. Are the twists in the tale not to your taste? Then change the motive, the location, even the victim, and see how the stories adapt!
Your past will open different doors for you in London. What was your life on the Surface like? Were your family landed gentry? Or did they own a tailor’s shop, or dabble in the occult?
Your clothing will also make people think differently of you. Your outfits open new possibilities in conversation: be bolder, more commanding, more flirtatious. Ingratiate yourself with London's inhabitants by changing your style of dress – they won't be able to resist you in that hat!
You'll also work odd jobs and collect resources which will open new avenues in social situations. Your housemate Griz has found you work as census-taker for those curious new Masters. Fill your census-taker's notebook with intimate details about your fellow citizens and you'll find you can pursue deeper relationships with them, romantic or otherwise.
Griz
For your fellow lodger Griz, the Fall of London has been a liberation – the chance to throw off her corsets, dump the dresses and be taken seriously in a position that would have been forbidden to her when she was 'Miss Griselda'.
Archie
For your other housemate Archie, the change is terrifying. What is a medical student supposed to believe in when even the laws of death no longer apply?
Harjit
When the Fall struck, Harjit stepped up to help anyone who needed it. Now he’s settling into his role as a man in uniform, but the territory is unfamiliar – and, secretly, he has a missing person of his own to find.
Milton
Milton is the amber-eyed host of a literary parlour with a scalding handshake and a prior address in Hell. He’s an excellent listener, but does he only want you for your soul?
Rachel
Rachel was halfway through her serialised novel when London fell and everything she was writing about was turned upside-down. Her publisher grows impatient. Fortunately (?) meeting Milton has rekindled her passion – for more than just writing.
David
Rachel’s brother, and no fan of Milton, David is also destined to be Fallen London’s first murder victim. When he returns from the dead, you can ask him all about it.
Horatia
For a decade, Horatia has taken in lodgers and turned them into family. Since London fell, people need the security she offers more than ever. So when a man made entirely of clay knocks at the door, offering to pay handsomely for lodgings, she can hardly refuse.
Mr Pages
One of London's new, mysterious “Masters”, Mr Pages has embarked on the titanic endeavour of conducting London’s first post-Fall census! But why are its questions so concerned with the love-lives of London’s citizens? How do people declare their affection, in this fair city? How lasting are their attachments? Might a Londoner take an interest in a very tall, broad-shouldered, cloaked personage that leans towards the chiropterous, hypothetically speaking?
Explore this unique city in glorious, richly rendered 2D. Experience London through three seasons: the season of Confessions, the season of Yule, and the season of Love. Help establish the first Feast of the Rose, a festival of romance that will be celebrated in London for decades to come!
For players of Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies, Mask of the Rose offers a chance to immerse yourselves in the city that founded this deep, dark, and marvellous universe. And for veteran players of the Fallen London browser game, it marks your first opportunity to visit the city just after it fell. But fear not: Mask of the Rose is an excellent introduction to the universe we’ve been building for more than a decade, and you don’t need to have played our other games first. Come on in. Most things won’t bite, unless you want them to.
Explore the locales, lives, and loves of an impossible city. Exchange bon-mots with devils. Investigate the first murder where the victim can testify at the murderer’s trial. Dive into the sunken ruins of poor drowned Parliament. And if you’re truly reckless, fall in love.
MINIMAL SETUP
- OS: Ubuntu 20.04+. ArchLinux
- Processor: Intel Pentium 2GHZ or AMD equivalentMemory: 4 GB RAM
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.2+. Vulkan capable
- Storage: <8 GB available space
GAMEBILLET
[ 6132 ]
GAMERSGATE
[ 2625 ]
FANATICAL BUNDLES
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HUMBLE BUNDLES
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