Hello, it's me, IRN, and it's finally my first devlog of 2024! Yippee! And I'm feeling good about this year.

Pitch Black has fallen low on my priority list, and although that may sound like a bad thing if you're interested in this game, it may be vital for making this a great game. I need to learn to fail, and if I had committed to releasing it when I wanted to, Pitch Black would have been that first big failure. I have learned a lot from Pitch Black, and it probably would've been worth even releasing it in this state. The thing is, I don't want it to be a learning experience. I want it to be a finished product with a worthwhile story, fantastic gameplay, and a beautiful soundtrack.

If I explain why I find this game is so important to my future, it'll spoil a lot. Think of it like my "Project" being on the line. If this game is an utter failure (critically) it'll be the immediate end of the Project.

That means some of my projects will be released this year, such as Lights: DIE OUT or Home Grown's beta, and while that may lead to Pitch Black being delayed again, it'll be better for the future of the Project. Lights: DIE OUT is another project that's already become a learning experience for me. And if I'm honest, it's not vital to me.

Anyway, this was a quickly thrown-together devlog by yours truly, IRN.
bye-bye.

Yes, I know it's been a long time since the last Devlog, but I've been feeling down for a while and also didn't have much to discuss (until now).

And also, yes, I'm finally having fun working on my own game, and it's after I forced myself to start planning things out.

_ _ _

[h2]Story[/h2]
The story was quite barebones, but now that I am writing and thinking through it, I finally have one I want to tell. It is still unfinishedvery unfinished. But now I have a real story, instead of just "Its dark, scary, there are monsters, blah blah blah. Oh, and some cryptic lore."

Until I'm done writing the script for Act 1, I'll only be improving the base systems I already have. I have begun developing big games like Pitch Black with a "Go slow to be fast." mindset; Make the base systems simple but flexible so that it's easier to add onto later. This is more vital for something like Home Grown, but since there's still a lot ahead of Pitch Black (not just in terms of release content), a solid base is a good idea.

So please bear with me as I finally write the story and improve the base game's last bit of spaghetti code.


[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
I've made the most progress in gameplay; there is now full controller compatibility for Xbox, Switch (Pro Controller only), and PlayStation (DualShock); adding new content is simpler than ever; and the entire first area is beginning to feel more cohesive.

There's not much else I can mention, but I've also tried testing on Xbox (I made a Developer Account and was able to put our Xbox in developer mode). But, it'll likely not work unless I get with another company to do the porting for me (so no console ports).

_ _ _

Also, since Im now focusing more on making a good game (instead of rushing out a long but ultimately purposeless and unfun game) and taking my time with it, Ill be working on some of my other games that arent as big or complicated. Ill likely be joining more GameJams to sharpen both my game dev skills and communication skills (and also to have fun).

So, I will see you in Pitch BlackWhen it is ready!

Hello again, everyone!

Although it has been several months since the last devlog, there's not much to update you on. Most work recently has just been to do with the story.

The first thing I want to mention is how Act 1 was originally gonna be an introduction to the mechanics, and Acts 2-3 would only introduce more monsters and puzzles. But I want to change how this works, and I want each Act to stand on its own, each introducing a new mechanic and/or tool.

Second: As I had mentioned previously, I had been planning out the rest of Act 1s levels while improving on what I already have (the first 1/3 of Act 1), and I am continuing to do part of that but more of a focus on the story. When I had begun planning Area 2 I had only been planning the level itself, and now I'm also writing out the story along with character dialogue.

For the game, player control is the only thing I'm working on and improving. I think I have a very solid control scheme since you only need to learn two mouse buttons and two on the keyboard (plus WASD and Esc for pausing), but it's even better on a Joypad/Gamepad since there're a total of five buttons you will ever need to use in-game.

It was foolish of me to tease an early demo in May, but now, instead of rushing myself to finish a demo with barely any story and unfinished mechanics, I will make sure I do this right. There will still be a lot of time between each devlog, which I'm planning to start releasing on an area-by-area basis (e.g. I'll probably wait till I start on Area 3 to publish another devlog), but I hope to see you all in pitch black sooner than I expect.

It's been well over a month since the last devlog and I haven't done much with the game. I have done a lot of planning and story writing but not much to do with the game itself. But I think it's good that I have "taken a break" Because now I have a plan and an actual story I want to tell.

[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
The first thing I did since the last devlog is finally add a death screen, which looks pretty good. There are some problems, but they have to do with the save system, so I'm just finishing with the first area while planning out the second areaBut wait, didn't I say I had finished the first area? Well, yes, there were just some small things I needed to touch up in its third puzzle. Technically I didn't lie in the last devlog because it could be completed from beginning to end ;)
After finishing the things from area one I'll resume planning the second area while improving parts of the save system. I also found more problems with the controls, like the number of buttons to keep track of (E is using an item, LMB is interacting with an object, RMB is hiding in an object, Q/C is dropping the tool or item, etc.). I might change the inventory to display when you press a button. Then I can remove the need for a mouse by making E interact with objects when it's closed. This would also make certain parts easier since you wont have to select an item to unlock a door, itll just use the first key in your inventory that matches the lock.

That's honestly it for gameplay, everything else I've done can't be revealed yet.

[h2]Music[/h2]
I want to get back into composing the music, especially after playing Undertale and listening to its music over and over again.
But I'm wanting to put more time into each individual track and make them more unique.

[h3]Final Notes[/h3]
Since summer break is coming soon I'll have more time to work on all of my games, especially this little game. Until then, I'm only working on Pitch Black and its novel, and hopefully, you all should be in Pitch Black very soon.

Welcome to the 13th devlog! It's been over a week since the last devlog, so here's all the new stuff (that I can reveal)!
Wait! Before we get into that: Remember to check out the cover image for each devlog, because that's where I'll be placing new teasers.
Now onto the first category.

[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
The first major gameplay change I've done since the last devlog is improvements to the controls, which originally had E as using items, interacting with objects, and picking stuff up, F was for using the current tool (e.g. the candle), and hiding, Q was for dropping the current tool, and C for dropping the current item.
So, I kept E for using the current item and F for the tool (but now you no longer hold it down), then I changed interacting and picking up to the left mouse button, and now you can click what to interact with instead of interacting with the nearest object to you. The right mouse button is now for hiding in objects (chests, wardrobes, etc.) so you don't accidentally put out your light which is important now because of the candlesticks and matches. However, since I'm very close to... Announcing something, I'm not gonna explain here. You should be able to experience it very soon anyway ;)
I'm also finally finished with the first area of Act 1, now for two more areas! Don't worry, though, because the final two areas of Act 1 should be much faster with their development. I think what happened with the first area is that I never really planned it out, I just kinda did whatever. But now I'm actually planning out the second and third areas for Act 1 before jumping into it.

That's it for gameplay (of the stuff that I'm revealing), now onto Sound Design!

[h2]Sound Design[/h2]
Yeah, I'm very happy with the changes :D
There are now more ambient sounds to be heard, like a subtle windy sound in the caves. The footsteps of the player are also something I've been meaning to improve for a while. I've also been messing with adding footstep sounds for when you step over, for example, a puddle that makes a small splash.
Something else to do with Sound Design that I've been wanting to do but never really knew how to implement is muffling sound through walls. I've got it working alright now, but it's very abrupt since I can't make it smoothly go between Muffled to Unmuffled and reverse, it just switches between two different busses (what the sound players use to choose which effects and what volume to play at), one that has a LowPassFilter and a slightly lower volume, and one that's just the normal cave sounds bus.
There is also something else I'm working on for the sound design of the game, but I can't talk about it here because it would spoil part of the game. Just know that you're gonna have to pay extra close attention to the sound in the new puzzle.

[h3]Final Notes[/h3]
I would also like to mention that I will be spending a lot more of my time thoughtfully, Im gonna be reading more and just learning in general. I dont think Pitch Black is gonna be a great game, but I do think its gonna be a fun game, and I think I'll be learning a lot from this experience.
But dont worry, Im still working hard on the game and ain't givin' up on the rest of the game being good, so you all should still be able to enter pitch black sooner than you might expect.

See all previous devlogs on the Itch devlog

Yes, although it was quite a struggle to set up the game's page for Steam with its such high standards (it's a joke, Steam), I was still able to make a lot of progress!

[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
The next monster is pretty much finished, I just need to give him sound and get him to appear all around the next puzzle area.
The next thing to work on is a new system for the candle, making the candlestick last for a limited amount of time. Whenever you put out the light, you'll also need to use matches to relight it, making you think more carefully about putting it out when you need to hide. I'm not 100% sure this feature will make the game fairer, but it'll give the player more incentive to search chests.

[h2]Atmosphere[/h2]
Soon I'll also improve, in general, the sounds and ambiance. Currently, most of the time, there is complete silence, but I want a sort of very (and I mean very) subtle whistling wind sound through the caves. And then, on top of that, you would occasionally get a larger gust of wind blowing through in larger areas.

[h2]Final Notes[/h2]
One more thing I'd like to mention is that there are now a total of 4 ways to dieyay!
So that's all for this post, it'll be a lot longer till the next Devlog post, and there're mainly two reasons for that. First: the game is still so far from being done, that I'm going to be focusing most of my time on the game itself, with less focus on small improvements, music that I can finish later, and anything that I can put off to the side so I can get this game to a finished state. Second: I have three different platforms to publish these devlogs to; give me a break. Don't worry, though, because I will still let you all experience pitch black very soon...