Devlog #11 - What is WGDITA? The Artist Initiative, who is Frei? Lot more!

Heyo, heyo. So it's been a good minute! But back to it.

Let's start with the fun interesting stuff. I keep mentioning GRAPHICAL CHANGES! But hey, instead of mentioning this stuff constantly, I'm just going to say this. THIS GAME IS GOING TO CONSTANTLY CHANGE VISUALLY. It is in development after all, and I'm still experimenting with the style of the game. And I'd like to talk about something.

THE ARTIST INITIATIVE!

So, what I mean by this is uh, well. Originally, I wanted to work on this game alone, and I still do, won't lie. But, I have been inspired by some other artists and their lovely stories. And I'd love to have some artist around (whether it be music, 2D, 3D art, or even writing) have their work featured in the game. What do I also mean by this?

Well, I have an idea where you can waddle around the town and see posters, maybe even movies in a theater. I'd LOVE to have some other smaller creators featured if I enjoy their work and have it plastered around the town. For the people who are probably feeling iffy about this, I wouldn't feel too worried. Because if I do anything about this, I'd only like it to be on in-game CDs, posters, or like I said, small 2-5 minute animations of an in-game theater where players can watch. Soon, I'll be talking more about this.

OKAY! What is WE'RE GETTING DEEPER INTO THE ABYSS? I get asked this question a bit, and I'd like to finally answer this question without stuttering.

We're Getting Deeper Into The Abyss is a story-based, interactive 2.5D adventure game. Focused on characters, music, and the world around you. There will be secrets, side-stories, and a main story. Follow the story of a lone music artist, Frei Kay. Who sometimes falls in and out of the "abyss." There is no timer, it's all open world exploration. If I had to compare a couple games, then take a look.

• NIGHT IN THE WOODS - THE "YAKUZA" SERIES

I plan for the game to be as unique as possible. Prefer to not reuse assets, and not buy any game ready assets. Also, if you'd like to know... What even is the "abyss..." Well, this question is hard to answer without actual spoilers, but hey. There will be some answers eventually because with THE ARTIST INITIATIVE I have been working behind the scenes to work on a 3D model for the main character. Soon, I'll share progress if this comes to light. Well, the person I've been talking with has been working on it, not really me. They deserve all the credit. So, huge props to them for working on this silly lil' guy. Once I have more information on this, I'll get back to everyone! (Such as their socials, n' such.)

Who is Frei Kay?

Well, I wrote a Patreon post about this, but I'll be honest, I don't really write on that place much. It's more of a supportive place if you want to support me and get benefits. Here's what I wrote about the main character and I still stand by this fact. Take a look:

So, yes, I'm still working on other things. Designing the town is still a lot of work and I'm working on the map layout as I wasn't happy with the original in my head. I started modeling it and played around with it. Here is an example.

It wasn't something I enjoy personally, so I wanna have something I like and also something players could like. This map is going to evolve a lot, so keep with me on this. What is in the screenshot? Well, the game is in a fun lil' town, I'm going to redesign this town as I'm not happy with the previous models and previous design. So, give me some time here. This is going to take a lot more time than expected. Modeling is a pain and time consuming, but it's something that I don't want to slack on either. As this is something that is visually important. Also, optimization. Womp womp.

The previous models are most likely going to be scrapped. Well, the BUILDINGs that I've posted before. Take a look-

See, this sucks. I don't like that. See the grass in it too? I've already remodeled the grass, and trees, and already reworking the building. Because I've gotten a lot better. What changed? I just took some references for the building for once, finally. And when this is closer to being finished, I'll share more. For now, this thing is pretty meh. But, I'd like to talk about the time that we went from. It's about a year into development and it's still not that far into it. Won't lie, it's just me learning still. My previous projects, if you didn't know... Were all bad horror games. And this is still extremely new to me. The gameplay is going to be pretty large. Meaning uh, well. Players can do a few things at once, really.

"Well, darn. I kinda wanna do that side-quest, that sounds kinda funny to do..." "I dunno, I prefer to just explore for a bit. Wonder what other silly SECRETS I can find."god so much more.

I've already announced that this game is my child and I'll take care of it til' the end. And before the end of 2025, I want to try and say early 2025, but knowing my track record, let's just say 2025... An extremely short demo will be playable. And I mean, extremely short. Don't expect a lot. It is just something to tell the beginning of the story.

While this wasn't a *huge* content render to show off, it still does go over some important details, I promise to be a lil' more consistent. these devlogs aren't too important but I feel it keeps me and you connected, y'know? Yeah, you get it.

I'll post more, but if you have questions, feel free to ask away, yay.

Patreon: patreon.com/freggs (Rarely upload here as I should, but as mentioned before, benefits are here.) BSky: https://bsky.app/profile/chainsawdev.bsky.social Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ChainsawDev