HOS - Episode 1 | DevLog #2

This week I finished working on the next scene in Episode 1. It was a very challenging scene — not because of the work itself, but because of what the scene is actually about. Adapting it from the book I wrote was heartbreaking, which I think is a good sign.

It's a morally ambiguous scene since people will not paint the Woman in Red with the same brush. Some people will think what she did was justified, some will hate her even more. I think that's what makes a villain stronger — when you feel bad that sometimes you agree with them.

Renders & Progress

In terms of renders, I've created 118 renders for this scene — polished and added to the game. It was a very productive week in that department. I want to focus on producing more renders per week, but considering that this episode is more of a slow burn it makes it challenging. Also, this game will have some scenes covering the backstories of WIR's children and since they don't talk much, I have to compensate with gestures — meaning they require more renders per scene. Still worth it.

I also bought an OLED last week but forgot to mention it. It's actually great because I can produce better renders since the colors are more accurate. My old monitor is now used as a second one where I keep everything else open — it sucked so bad.

Steam Demo
The demo is live on Steam and in less than three hours around 300 people played it — and I didn't even send a notification to the people who wishlisted the game. That's incredible. I am fully aware that the game will not appeal to some people but I am not changing it. I have my vision and that's what I will deliver.

What's Next

Next week I will be off from work and I will have a lot of free time that I will invest into the game. I want to finish one or two scenes. I try my best to deliver as fast as possible.

The good news is that the scene I am currently working on involves Jessica, which I love. It's going to be a nice breather after the first scenes I completed, which are more on the darker side. During this episode you will be able to make choices that will shape the MC. While the choices in the prologue have some impact, the choices you make moving forward will actually shape the LI prospects for the entire game.

I've already picked the songs for Jessica's scene. I found a perfect song for her — she's the sweetest and I missed working on a scene with her. I will share renders from that scene in the next development log.

Progress This Week

That's it for this week — back to work.

~ Obscuryn