Another Regular and Timely Update

If you’re anything like me, you love reading my weekly devlog updates as much as I love writing them. Not a single week goes by where I don’t relish filling you all in on all the exciting developments going on with Terror High. I certainly wouldn’t miss a week, or thirteen, without updating you on something. That would not be nuts – that would be crazy!

Yup! Wouldn’t miss an update for the world!

…

Okay, so, like, here’s the thing: I have been doing stuff. Loads of stuff! So many stuffs that sometimes it’s hard to count! I just haven’t had any particularly unified or thematic stuffs to hang a whole post around, you understand.

With that being said, here’s a smattering of divided and unthematic update snippets for you, my adoring public, who might be asking yourselves, “What’s he building in there?”

Story Outline

As any indie game developer will tell you, your first project probably shouldn’t be your most ambitious.

Now, this is not technically my first e-rodeo. I’ve been dabbling in game development as a hobby for over 20 years*, but this is the first time I’ve thrown my full weight behind a project. When I set out to do this, I knew I needed a simpler hook than some of the more grandiose ideas that have been kicking around my little grey cells over the years. Terror High was the result of looking for that simpler hook.

So, of course, I immediately turned around and decided that simpler hook was going to be an episodic narrative about four unique characters and their four unique, interweaving stories. (In my defense, the episodic idea was an effort to keep things simpler, by breaking a larger game into smaller chunks, and therefore hopefully helping with production time, but time will tell…)

This means that, for Terror High, a solid story outline is invaluable. I don’t want to Lindelof this thing. What’s more, beyond crafting a solid story for four characters, I’m also forced to consider whether those solid stories lead to solid gameplay. It’s a puzzle that’s still coming together. Every day, I bait my hook and wait for the fish, as David Lynch would say. Some days I catch more fish than others.

But while these creative decisions percolate in the background, I keep myself productive with, among other things…

Research & World Building

A key element to the “real world horror” genre Terror High is a part of is, well, the real world. For all the fantastic and horrific things that happen to your characters, you still want them to start out grounded in the plausible.

What this has meant for me is a surprising amount of research, ranging from the historical to the occult to digital “location scouting” to Googling weird creatures for inspiration and seein’ what looks freaky. (Spoilers for nature: Lots! Lots looks freaky!)

Speaking of location scouting, this has also led to…

Designing Locations

Though the outline remains a work in progress, there are certain areas I know are going to feature prominently, so I’ve started sketching these out and creating some rough prototypes to get a feel for these locations. This process has been useful, and has revealed a lot of design decisions that have proven more complicated than one might think (dealing with perspective, tile size, etc.), which I’ll detail further in future posts.

To give you an idea of what’s been going on, take for example one of the most important of these locations: The titular Terrault “Terror” High, for which I’ve taken inspiration from a number of schools I’ve found in my “location scouting”:

I hesitate sharing that last shot of “Terror” High, as it’s still very rough, lacking details and shading which will be added as the design tightens up, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the process. I drew inspiration from the bits and pieces I liked from the locations I found (the entrance of Astor Elementary, the brickwork and window embellishments of Old Lenox High, the shape and coloring of Mishawaka High, etc.) and tried combining them into a new, pleasing whole. As with everything, it’s a work in progress.

The Future Is Certain – Give Us Time to Work It Out

Though I often wish my road map were a little clearer, it helps to just keep working. When I’ve found myself stuck on one part, I’ll switch over to another (AI routines, dynamic level loading, lighting, keyboard/gamepad remapping, etc). I often find that by pushing forward and working on something, the path becomes clearer.

(Also, I realize this post accidentally sorta became both unified and thematic, but maybe that just proves my point.)

Anyway, that’s it for this week, Terrorteers. I’ll see you next week‡ for another exciting update. Until then: Be excellent to each other.

* I am still getting used to saying that things happened over 20 years ago and not questioning my math skills and/or focusing on my mortality. Hello Darkness, my old friend.

† Who would have thought I’d be so good at both writing regular weekly updates and keeping simple ideas simple? A real Renaissance man, I am, I am.

‡ Or maybe, like, August or something, knowing my track record?