Wow, it's already been a year! Since the big 10 Year Anniversary, I released The Illusion Murders, The Evolving World: Catalyst Wake, made 11 minutes of the Life of the Dolls animatic, and launched my Patreon which I've continued to update every week.
Even though there aren't any huge announcements like last time, I still have a few exciting updates and reveals up my sleeve for this Anniversary. So let's get to it!
What's Next for Life of the Dolls
I rushed Life of the Dolls's animatic in order to meet the deadline for my class. So while some scenes are more obviously unfinished, every single scene in this animatic is actually going to look quite different in the final version.
The first big change will be that I'm adding multi-plane movement. This involves rendering out more passes which takes longer, however the sense of dimension that it gives each shot is worth it in my opinion. This 2.5D approach — similar to techniques I used on Catalyst Wake — while a bit tedious, still takes less time than rendering 3D camera movement would.
The other big change is that, after some consideration, I've decided to use a 4:3 ratio instead of the current 16:9 one. Yes, it is a little pretentious. However, a story that is so focused on feeling trapped and confined, and doll-like, it just seems more appropriate. This will affect the cinematography for every scene so I don't make this choice lightly.
Finally, I'm unsatisfied with the way the sets look and will be doing another pass at props and textures to see if I can create something even closer to what's been in my head.
So the next time you see Life of the Dolls, it will be quite a bit more polished!
Methods: The Canada Files Has Started Production!
I've begun creating assets for The Canada Files, including character art, music and UI! You will get to meet many new characters, and find out the answer to the question: "Why did Larika lose her competition?"
Because it's a standalone game, I'm taking the opportunity to revisit the game mechanics. Unlike Methods, this game will have a stronger puzzle component, so prepare yourself for more of a challenge when it comes to mysteries. Though I assure you I'm trying my best to make it less frustrating than Broken Minds.
Here's the main theme from the game, "Illogicality"!
It's a spin on the original Methods theme, with a piano improv by Emanuele Filippi. You will be hearing many more real instruments in this score, which I'm very excited about!
Lastly, I'll be revealing a character on Twitter and bilibili every week for the next five weeks. Hopefully by then I'll have created enough material to launch the Steam page, which is my current plan.
Catalyst Wake Chinese Translation
My final announcement is that yes, I've decided to go ahead with the Chinese translation for Catalyst Wake! I don't yet know when we'll be able to work on it, since I do have many other projects and I'm still somewhat burned out on it. However, I can now confirm that yes, it will happen eventually!
I'm sorry that I can't give out exact release dates at this time. I have rough ideas of how long it will take to create projects but often I really don't know until pretty late into production. I kind of shot myself in the foot with the last Anniversary by putting release dates on projects that have now ended up being delayed, so I'm trying to learn my lesson for good.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you're looking forward to all the upcoming projects!
Until next time!
— LockedOn.