When it comes to designing games you think you might know everything, but players are unpredictable. But players are not the issue. The issue is always a design mistake - because I designed it poorly, players couldn't understand what to do next. Somewhere around the beginning of Immortum, on the spaceship itself, there is a door leading to a classic psychological mindfuck. You can escape this c…
To be completely honest, I held on for the next update because the game was very stable. I worked hard to optimize all the lights in the game - the biggest performance hog in the entire game. But I was afraid to break the already great working demo. Until I saw a streamer get stuck between rooms. The most fundamental mechanic of Immortum is separated rooms, in classic horror fashion, with a tra…
Steam Next Fest was great and I had joy watching people play the Immortum Demo . Considering the current wishlists, player base, and the direction of the game, I have decided that Immortum will not feature combat. Having most of the levels focusing on environment, scares, and the story, Immortum will be a better game without combat. The longer story is that the game follows a narrative, and in…
The reception of the new demo changes was great, but there was a single complaint that kept bugging me: it was just too quiet . Sound is a tricky thing since players can listen in with their headphones or their speakers, and the equalizer and sound levels change drastically between the two. Immortum was always about the ambiance and the atmosphere, but you can't set up anything if you can't hea…
As with all demo releases, if you don’t get it the first time, keep trying. And it paid off because I addressed all the issues the players had: · Maps are now small enough so you won’t feel like you are in a walking simulator, but not as tiny as a 21st-century spaceship. · Puzzles and key items have a much better description, not making it too easy on players, but not as hard as searching for a…
Players resonated with Immortum’s Demo, and it was a pleasure to see the faces of those lost in its depths. However, not all games are perfect, and the demo required some fixes. Keeping the balance between making the game fun to play without changing its core was a challenge. Challenge is a positive word since it brings much-needed change! Improvements in the current patch are: · Key cards and…
I have created Immortum out of a passion for Horror games. Drawing inspiration from what I like and creating what I wanted to see led to a game that can stand its own ground in today's Horror game scene. The official demo release date, July 1st, was communicated to enthusiastic content creators willing to try Immortum's Demo before everybody else. The reception was amazing and the dream I once…
Maps are tricky. Immortum started without any maps. As an ever-changing maze of corridors, the player should be on the edge of his seat without knowing what lurks beyond the corner. But the reality was different than expected and players got lost. Then how do we keep the tension of not knowing the entire map without getting lost? It took some time to find the answer. The first obvious answer is…
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Announcements are the developer’s own posts to the game’s Steam news feed: updates and their patch notes, in-game events, releases and sales. The important ones are marked on the players chart.