Since yesterday, you can watch the whole PirateSoftware stream on YouTube:
I must admit that I was really nervous as you can probably tell from the Dev interview part. The game is still a work in progress, and hundreds of things could easily go wrong. This was the first time that someone had played the game publicly in front of thousands of people without me being able to provide any guidance.
However, the game proved that it is already in a pretty solid state. I was surprised at how well the current version worked and at how it silently guided Thor, who quickly grasped the mechanics and had a really good time!
Designing a game that values player freedom and intelligence is all about giving the player just enough information so that they don't get stuck, but not so much that they feel guided on rails. It's often the small changes that greatly help to improve the overall experience.
As you might imagine, I worked frantically before the stream to sandpaper every problematic corner.
One such last-minute change was making the letter you receive at the beginning of the game more visible. Look at the before and after:
Seemingly small change that required new texture, lighting, adjustment of animation etc.
In fact, there were dozens of similar small polishes made just before the stream. Sometimes, it was only about rephrasing a part of text dialogue. Other times, it was creating whole new page in card album.
But it all paid off, and the reactions were incredible.
Anyway, if you want to see more behind-the-scenes content, join the Discord server or follow the freshly created subreddit.
Until next time!
– David