Tuesday, February 12, 2019

What we have been doing since releasing TPK 14 months ago

It's been a few months since we posted our last blog, and that was before we released the Japanese localization of TPK. So what have we been doing since? Specifically, what have we been up to after releasing TPK? Quite a bit actually.

September 2017 - June 2018
The Painscreek Killings was released on September 27, 2017 and right after that, we realized one of the biggest problem players faced was falling-through-the-world issue. We tried to find out the reason but could not replicate the problem. We did narrow it down to a few possibilities. Nevertheless, it was a big issue and we decided to try and fix it. In doing so, we tackled game optimization, fixed the issue, and made the file size smaller, something which we were unable to pull off prior to the game's release. The good news is that our game can now be played even on computers with decent specs. The bad news is that it took us 9 months to make it happen. By then, we were told that our game was a 'dead product' from a marketing standpoint. Dead product or not, we did not want to give up on our game.

(A player's screenshot showing falling-through-the-world issue.)


July - September 2018

As game optimization approached completion, we started doing localization. A few languages were considered but due to funding and translation costs, we were unable to go forward with it. Instead, we decided to translate to TPK into Japanese on our own. It was a slow process having to translate the 30,000 words and it took us three months to complete. Fortunately, our translator was also one of the story developer, resulting in her being able to translate not just the words but the meaning and emotions of the characters in the game. After release, many Japanese gamers really appreciated the depth of the translation.

(Japanese localization finally released in September 2018.)

October - December 2018
Towards the end of September, we took a small loan and visited Japan in search of a possible location for our next main project. We wanted to create an authentic feel to our game, something that we couldn't do with TPK. So we chose Shizuoka, Japan, hometown to one of our game designer's family. We focused mainly on finding inspiration, searching for possible locations and understanding the Japanese culture. It was a really great experience!

(Visiting Mount Fuji World Heritage Center in Shizuoka, Japan.)

(Gundam, contributing to one of Japan's biggest pop culture, is being showcased in DiverCity, Odaiba.)

(Scouting Awashima Island at dusk in Numazu for design inspiration.)

(Passing through a countryside before checking into our resting place at Yoshida, Shizuoka.)

(Hatago Inn, a really nice hotel with 10,000 manga to read for free in the lobby.)


January 2019 - present
We've learned a lot for the past fourteen months and have gained a lot of insight into game development. Our fans have also given us a lot of constructive inputs on how to improve TPK. We could not be more grateful and appreciative to them! 2019 is a new start for us. Although our next project should have been The Johnson Files, we found ourselves having to reboot it, which we'll explain the reason in a later blog. We do, however, have something brewing so not all is lost.

Stay tuned on our blog for more updates and information!

No comments:

Post a Comment