Hello, Paper Trailers! Does that sound right? Paper Trailers? Paper Fans! Paper.... we'll work on it. We're back with another community development update that totally wasn't due to be released in April. It's a big one - we've got new art. new characters, new animations, and most importantly new awards! We hope you enjoy getting a peek behind the development curtains and don't forget - you can check out the demo and wishlist us on Steam to be updated when we release. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/Paper_Trail/ [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a6819ab6ca39682508d425c2f650641d0bb50071.png[/img] [h2]Development[/h2] [h3]Save System[/h3] We've conducted a major overhaul of the save system to improve checkpointing - this will now improve overall reliability of the save system and also more accurately place players back at their level of progression after leaving the game! [h3]Wires/Vines Tech Art [/h3] Something which regularly features in our concept art, but hasn't really translated to the game yet is swaying vines with things attached to them. Whether that's vines with dangling foliage attached, wires with dangling light bulbs, or in this case ropes with hanging lanterns. This required some editor tools to be developed so the designers could place and adjust bezier curves in the editor and pin game objects to control points. We had some time on the flight to GDC, so we decided to build it then (efficient working!) [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/935a09ce157cba60a35c07002d6825f713129269.gif[/img] [h2]Design[/h2] [h3]Fire Five World Level Designs[/h3] In the last update, we mentioned all the work done on completing the first five worlds in the game! In this update we essentially finished them, adding in art scenes at the beginning/ends, decorating magic moments and redesigning any problematic areas. We’re really happy with the outcome and can’t wait to share more in upcoming playtests! [h3]Cinematics[/h3] Cinematic (not to be confused with cutscenes) are essentially short in-game animations where we hijack the camera and show a sequence of events, usually to emphasise a special moment. These have been added throughout usually at midpoints and endpoints of environments to add some reward, and break up the puzzles. We still have some work to do on these, but the implementation and flow is now fully working! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a06b448790f2b0dcb5fbee431b9615a4427dba86.gif[/img] [h3]Cutscenes[/h3] We've made numerous changes to cutscenes including a new UI which shows how close the player is to solving the paper they're on, flashes to white on completion so it's clearer when players have progressed, a complicated new timing system so camera panning slows down if there's a lot of VO remaining, and lots more! Below you can see it running on iPad: [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/d1428c16238342f1cc8e15f7a367f8e0f491570f.gif[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a6819ab6ca39682508d425c2f650641d0bb50071.png[/img] [h2]Art[/h2] [h3]Level Select[/h3] We're continuing work on designing unique art for the level select screens which encompass each world. Below you can see the unique artwork for the Autumn and Village environments. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/440e4b5fcf9e375923363bc2394be56605acc971.png[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/0bb5efcfa56c48cc295195326b3ff9802021ddec.png[/img] [h3]New Characters[/h3] We're very nearly finished with all the character designs for Paper Trail! For this update, we have two new faces, the Birdwatcher and the Rich Old Lady. The Birdwatcher is introduced at the beginning of the Treetops environment. Initially, they appear to be an innocent observer of rare birds, but things aren’t exactly what they seem. The Rich Old Lady makes her appearance at the beginning of the City environment, where she falls prey to the Street Urchin who steals her handbag! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/9e8535cd17538fb819526b3f0e00f271232b26e1.png[/img] [h3]Swamp[/h3] The final puzzle in swamps was a challenge to dress, featuring many moving parts and a high level of mechanical density. It is decorated and functional in its current state, but we feel it will need a thorough re-design in order to fit both the difficulty curve and the aesthetic requirements of the environment. Thematically, we went for a crumbling ‘temple of frogs’ - a concept which we would happily re-apply to any future design changes. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a6e7ff656bc9fde71ffa194620b9f3e74fcc493a.png[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a7c1ae0d87f43d4cec455315a296633e9c289fb4.gif[/img] [h3]Swamp End Art Scene[/h3] The scene at the end of swamps that leads into treetops and the bridging cutscene is now in game, with a unique reverse side to match. A ladder, some lanterns, and a ruined plaza/foreground has been added to provide context in both directions. Previously just a placeholder static image, we now have motion in the form of light rays, shadows, and foliage. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/1ab45cf9db01c76e6c321206da0fe13c28364696.gif[/img] [h3]Treetops Trapdoors[/h3] A small but interesting design challenge in each environment is localising existing mechanics to fit within the new aesthetic. In this example, we were struggling to make pressure pad-activated doors make sense within the context of suspended wooden platforms. So instead opted for pressure pad-activated trapdoors - functionally exactly the same as doors but much more sensical in this setting. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/6a83b1896569522798ae85d06058228f25e76022.gif[/img] [h3]Treetop Final Levels[/h3] The final puzzle for treetops is dressed and ready for business! A grand central structure, with supporting buildings to house the teleporting doors. This is a tricky level but we hope that we’ve managed to give it the artistic flair it deserves whilst maintaining visual clarity. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/b9c69994a0bb5a6d4209067748353af5b2a657de.png[/img] [h3]Treetops Intro and End Art Scenes[/h3] Upon completing the difficult final puzzle in treetops, you ascend a rickety tower and come out inside a giant bird's nest, complete with two huge eggs! We had fun layering up the structure, showing Paige ascending through empty windows. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/360318c7593fd55a2e9a14ac2ff90df2e35abd0e.gif[/img] Starting off the treetops, we have a dizzying top-down perspective of the incredible climb Paige has just completed. Darkness has fallen, and the glowing lamps recede into the inky depths below. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/5a40721112bffac351a94d336779010acd56a1aa.png[/img] [h3]Mid Art Scene[/h3] Continuing the theme of breaking up puzzle fatigue by including central art-focused scenes with a low problem-solving intensity - we’ve included an art scene in treetops too. Continuing with our rule of breaking up continuous back-to-back puzzles with interspersed art scenes, we’ve included a broken-down cuckoo clock/birdhouse in the middle of treetops. You fix it up, it strikes 12, and the doors spring open! Allowing you to progress and spurring a character interaction. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/0d66ce1e5249d06b18dec7814e821fa02a1b92c4.gif[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/a6819ab6ca39682508d425c2f650641d0bb50071.png[/img] [h2]News[/h2] [h3]30k Steam Wishlists[/h3] After being featured in Steam events for PAX Rising and The Mix, we've now hit a major milestone of 30,000 wishlists! We’re super happy with all the support we’ve received so far and we can’t thank the community enough for their support as we edge closer to launch! [h3]Swag[/h3] Ahead of all the events we decided to get a bunch of material printed to support the showcases. This included 2 giant free-standing banners, postcards, business cards, freestanding wishlist upsell cards, and our favourite - T-shirts with the character from the game embroidered on the pocket. Whilst we aren’t actively offering this merch for purchase - we thought it would be cool to show everyone (we really love it)! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/8c5ea3ac277f67f86652c050754c74d560359ad3.jpg[/img] [h3]Awards - Game Connection America[/h3] As we were nominated for four(!) awards at this year’s Game Connection America awards, we received free entry and exhibition tickets. In order to best optimise our time, the design and art leads elected to split up to cover separate events. It was an honour to be selected amongst such a tightly curated group of games - including some really heavy hitters like ‘Planet of Lana’ and ‘Wandering Village’, and even more of an honour to be the only game to receive two awards! One for ‘Best Casual Game’ and another for ‘Best Upcoming Game’. Crochet Paige had a great time exploring the amazing baseball stadium which hosted the event. The day was spent showing the game on iPad, speaking to other nominees, fielding questions from the press, and eating too many hot dogs to be sensible. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/d559a42035d646be5bdd481a59c29bc2982abb4a.gif[/img] [h3]Game BAFTAs[/h3] We were honoured to attend the game BAFTAs and meet with other developers on our table, some of the BAFTA-winning studios, as well as sharing a few drinks with colleagues from across the industry. We don’t look too bad in tuxedos either if I do say so myself! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42245982/92e96bee731899b27e81f53a5c66cedda4dec6b4.png[/img]