Hey Paper Trail Community! We’ve been hard at work building new levels, mechanics, characters, and cutscenes this year and we wanted to take a moment to draw back the curtains and update you on Paper Trail’s development progress. This is going to be a long one, so we’ve decided to break down this update as follows: [b]Game Development[/b] [list] [*] Cutscenes [*] Animated Text [*] Collectables [*] Design Reviews [*] Beta Feedback [*] Device Library [/list] [b]Art[/b] [list] [*] New Characters [*] Caves [*] Treetops [*] Level Select Screen [/list] [b]Team News[/b] [list] [*] Social Media [*] Events [*] Office Move [/list] [b]Closing Thoughts [/b] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a6819ab6ca39682508d425c2f650641d0bb50071.png[/img] [h1]Game Development[/h1] [h2]Cutscenes[/h2] We’ve been working hard on our in-game cutscenes, including their unique folding mechanics and audio narrative. Below you can see a tiny sneak peek of one of our cutscenes, including the folding mechanic that makes them uniquely interactable! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/c6a7a723ac123847d340c783729ca283cc4ad7b4.gif[/img] [h2]Animated Text[/h2] This may not seem like a huge deal, but we’ve added animated text to our in-game dialogue boxes, allowing us to animate sentences or particular words to give our vibrant cast of in-game characters a little more personality. It also allows us to convey more meaning through the text itself. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/03c2c76ce7d9c7236bfa3fa74c9ebb7ba18b075b.gif[/img] [h2]Collectables[/h2] One area of the game that we realised was lacking solidified design was the collectable system. We've been designing collectable placement as we build levels, and had some vague ideas of what we wanted these collectables to be, but didn’t have many concrete design thoughts. We went back and forth on a few ideas internally but given the primary mechanic of the game revolves around paper folding, we felt like it would be appropriate for the player to collect various origami models hidden within the folds of the levels. We know, we know, this was definitely the low-hanging fruit - but it makes sense for the game and gives players that extra incentive for taking their folding puzzle-solving skills one step further to collect them. We then designed this menu below, which allows the player to browse through their origami collection, and even gives a little fact for each one! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/ac9057496c4d36d23eb086e2c190b6bc26828cdb.png[/img] Below you can see how origami is represented in the world as simple iconography, and how the UI actually discloses which origami the player found. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/4a0a2f2fcdd6eea6bfae53a77e5dadb5b579b9fc.png[/img] [h2]Design Reviews[/h2] We've also conducted thorough design reviews for the first five worlds in the game. This focused on identifying levels which were frustrating, didn’t fit the difficulty curve, poorly utilised mechanics, or were otherwise not up to standard. Once these were identified, we figured out how we can best plan to plug the gaps, what development and art resources will be needed to do so, and task up anything else needed to bring each world to release quality. Below is an example of the swamp review where there are 3 missing levels, and an additional 3 in need of some redesign work. We’re committed to ensuring that Paper Trail feels great to play and that each level and puzzle feels more and more rewarding to complete as you get to grips with the thematic mechanics of each stage. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/1a3c8b2a31723999f7f4ed2b203bd84b4c09577b.png[/img] [h2]Beta Feedback[/h2] We recently ran a small closed beta to gather feedback on the demo - which went extremely well! We gathered lots of feedback and have been able to use it to double down on mechanics that people loved, as well as adjust things that people were not too keen on. As we inch further into the final phases of development, we will be utilising even more closed betas, so make sure you join our discord to get involved with the next closed beta and help shape the final form of our game! [h2]Device Library[/h2] We’ve acquired a rather extensive device library at our studio to test Paper Trail compatibility. Whilst we don’t have any official news to share on this yet but keep an eye out for future updates! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a6819ab6ca39682508d425c2f650641d0bb50071.png[/img] [h1]Art Updates[/h1] [h2]New Characters[/h2] We're very nearly finished with all the character designs for Paper Trail, and below you can see the initial artwork for our two new additions to the Paper Trail world! We don’t want to spoil their stories, or where they appear in the game, but keep your eyes peeled for them and be prepared to help them both as you experience Paige’s journey through two unique and distinct level environments. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/36e7c4f255b77915c38005863a19c5b2305a9ca4.png[/img] [h2]Caves[/h2] Our final pass on the caves is currently ongoing (very exciting!). With artwork now largely complete and cohesive, we have the luxury of adding dedicated art scenes and unique assets. This process is only just starting, but we’ve re-decorated the opening scene to feel more like you’re entering into a deep cave system. Expect more unique environment tweaks to come as we look to build out specific scenes to better capture our vision for Paige’s journey. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/034bdfe774fb2642927bc6098a3ad86fc0d32724.gif[/img] [h2]Treetops[/h2] We felt that the Treetops level was generally suffering from over-design, with an abundance of clunky mismatched unique sprites and too much visual noise. Standardising the buildings into which the teleporting doors are set was a large part of creating better cohesion - as well as small changes to contrast and colour correction. Finally, we improved the sense of depth by burying lanterns within layers of trees, and having vines hang down from the tops of levels. We’re hoping this adds much-needed visual clarity to the level, allowing players to better understand how to solve the unique puzzles this environment brings! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/1bbd389ecd866042a7eb100a6fcf41e280735d86.png[/img] [h2]Swamp Transition Scene[/h2] At the end of every environment, we have a large transitional scene that links the previous world to the next cutscene. In swamps, that's a big ol’ tree. We wanted to get a strong sense of height, so we really leaned into the false perspective with this one. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/e96928fbb9c852aaaa1525b37fa4d34da19b913a.png[/img] [h2]Smoke Animation[/h2] Adding a non-intrusive animated smoke stack to the lighthouse that remained in keeping with the block-white aesthetic of the UI was a bit of a challenge for the art lead. Still, he dusted off his old frame animation gloves and got stuck in. Building up drawings of plumes, before layering them up and de-syncing them, we were able to get the hand-drawn look we were after. I think you’ll agree, he’s done a great job (please tell him he’s done a great job). [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/fa6b50de3cf42917dcbbeff1ed50be558fe8254e.gif[/img] [h2]Level Select Screen[/h2] We're really, REALLY (yes, really!) excited to reveal the new artwork for our level select screens in-game. We now have two new designs for the Swamp and Ruins levels, both of which you can check out below. Both designs incorporate key landmarks from levels including statues, buildings and other structures. This gives each level select screen a clear visual identity and should allow you to know exactly which level you’re at, just by glancing at the screen. This Swamps level select screen utilises a wooden jetty to connect individual levels represented by tree stumps. Whilst these stumps don't feature in the world, we think they suit the swamp theme, plus we just really like them. We also added some cute frogs that we love so much, we're now looking at adding them to the game (stay tuned for where that might be!). [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a7badad2935a784578b729650e3704a9e22e44ac.png[/img] This Ruins level select screen uses a crumbling stone bridge to connect all the individual levels (yes we know it says “Caves” still, we’ll get to that…. promise!) [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/cdaf047e61794f51f70695f0d2c04f66b4e01ba7.png[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a6819ab6ca39682508d425c2f650641d0bb50071.png[/img] [h1]Team News[/h1] [h2]Social Media[/h2] We’re starting to get a lot more active on our social media channels this year as we prepare for launch. If you’d like to keep up to date with the team, the game, or you just want to see what kind of banger memes we can create then feel free to follow us on any of our channels: [list] [*] [url=https://t.co/DJvfcDj7u2]Discord[/url] [*] [url=https://twitter.com/NewfangledGames?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor]Twitter[/url] [*] [url=https://www.instagram.com/newfangledgames/?hl=en]Instagram[/url] [*] [url=https://www.tiktok.com/@newfangledgames]TikTok[/url] [*] [url=https://www.facebook.com/newfangledgames/]Facebook[/url] [/list] But really, please do like our memes, we work really hard on them… [h2]Events[/h2] As we jump into the new year, the event season is starting again! We are excited to have many events in the lineup already this year, including GDC, PAX East, Reboot Blue, and Tokyo Sandbox. We are equally excited to be able to show off an entirely new demo to everyone with these upcoming events. Having addressed some of the common critiques at previous outings, we have made various fixes, design changes, and demo adjustments for a better experience for players at events. As we progress further into the year, we are also focusing efforts on Steam, including event live streams, especially with the wishlist successes of last year. Keep an eye out on our [url=https://t.co/DJvfcDj7u2]Discord[/url] or [url=https://twitter.com/NewfangledGames?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor]Twitter[/url] as we’ll be announcing the events we are attending throughout the year. If you’re interested in getting your hands on the demo, or simply want to say hello, send us a message and we’ll be happy to meet you there! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/1e261ae77d6100bcb80bc9e0ee1beedd3aa36494.png[/img] [h2]Office Move[/h2] We very quickly outgrew our office corner last year, with our desks increasingly becoming a jenga of developer kits and test devices. Our current office space providers were keen for us to stay, and have now allowed us to move to a much larger space which can accommodate a larger dev team as we grow! We now have two desks dedicated to dev kits and test devices, which is great for QA testing! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/8bc64cc4355d07a80e4ee555fad37282c103b240.jpg[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a6819ab6ca39682508d425c2f650641d0bb50071.png[/img] [h1]Closing Thoughts[/h1] We’re hoping to bring you these updates once a month as we get closer to the full release of Paper Trail. You can expect us to update you on the game's development progress, new artwork additions, implementation of your feedback, and general improvements. We also like sharing our team news with you too, so you may get to see some of our faces here from time to time also! Remember, join our Discord and follow us on social media to keep up to date with our day-to-day activities and don’t forget to wishlist the game on our Steam page! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/Paper_Trail [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/aa9a82d225289a3662c607b3cbb82cb3635d3b89.gif[/img]