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Update! (Enter the Underdim and new game)
4 years ago
Hello! Just wanted to post a quick update after so long.
I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but Enter the Underdim is effectively on hiatus for the time being. I have a lot of ideas for where I'd like the story to go, but actually putting those ideas into writing has been a slog, and I honestly just haven't really been feeling up to it. So if you're waiting for ETU updates, don't give up hope! But also, don't hold your breath.
What I am actively working on is a new game, working title "Sublustris." I envision it as a sort of dungeon-crawler, RPG sorta thing with stats and inventory and turn-based combat (and, of course, plenty of smut). Because I refuse to learn any real programming, I'm still working in Twine, which recently led to a pretty demoralizing setback that halted development for some time. Basically, the Twine format I used for ETU (Harlowe) isn't great at handling frequent array updates and more complex functions. I only learned this after pretty much coding all the game systems in Harlowe, only to find that extended playtimes almost always resulted in game-breaking freezes. I concluded the only way to salvage my game was to port all my progress into a new, more flexible Twine format (SugarCube), which has a completely different and (for me at least) more complicated syntax. I've spent the past few days learning how to code in SugarCube and essentially reprogramming my entire game from scratch. It's been a good learning experience, if not a good time, but I'm satisfied with the results.
The upshot of all this is that, after all this work, I'm now more motivated than ever to get my shit together and wrap this up into a releasable product, even if it's just a demo to start with. I can't really offer any exact ETA (sorry), but I think if I can keep working at a semi-reasonable pace, I should be able to get something out within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out. If anyone's interested in helping test the game before release, feel free to shoot me a message!
That's it for now! Thanks for reading and for following my work :)
-Ich
tldr: ETU not abandoned but on hiatus; new game on horizon o.o
I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but Enter the Underdim is effectively on hiatus for the time being. I have a lot of ideas for where I'd like the story to go, but actually putting those ideas into writing has been a slog, and I honestly just haven't really been feeling up to it. So if you're waiting for ETU updates, don't give up hope! But also, don't hold your breath.
What I am actively working on is a new game, working title "Sublustris." I envision it as a sort of dungeon-crawler, RPG sorta thing with stats and inventory and turn-based combat (and, of course, plenty of smut). Because I refuse to learn any real programming, I'm still working in Twine, which recently led to a pretty demoralizing setback that halted development for some time. Basically, the Twine format I used for ETU (Harlowe) isn't great at handling frequent array updates and more complex functions. I only learned this after pretty much coding all the game systems in Harlowe, only to find that extended playtimes almost always resulted in game-breaking freezes. I concluded the only way to salvage my game was to port all my progress into a new, more flexible Twine format (SugarCube), which has a completely different and (for me at least) more complicated syntax. I've spent the past few days learning how to code in SugarCube and essentially reprogramming my entire game from scratch. It's been a good learning experience, if not a good time, but I'm satisfied with the results.
The upshot of all this is that, after all this work, I'm now more motivated than ever to get my shit together and wrap this up into a releasable product, even if it's just a demo to start with. I can't really offer any exact ETA (sorry), but I think if I can keep working at a semi-reasonable pace, I should be able to get something out within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out. If anyone's interested in helping test the game before release, feel free to shoot me a message!
That's it for now! Thanks for reading and for following my work :)
-Ich
tldr: ETU not abandoned but on hiatus; new game on horizon o.o
Also... programming is good for you, I promise :>
And idk man. Programming is pain. I only hope what they say about gain is true!
1. "I'd really like to make a game, but I don't have time to learn Renpy or a real programming language."
2. "Oh hey, Twine is really simple and easy to work with, let's use it!"
3. "Crap, Twine is kinda underpowered for some stuff I want to do. Oh hey, there's a newer version that can do it! I'll just-"
4. "Oh god what have I done? Oh god this new version is a nightmare, why did they make everything so much more complex, thus defeating the purpose of Twine in the first place? Oh god!"
Man, fuck Sugarcube.
Understandable though. Creativity is finicky. Being disciplined helps, in the same way knowing how to garden helps when gardening, but at the end of the day you're still somewhat at the whim of nature. I'll miss Underdim, but I look forward to Sublustris when it's ready.
Fuck Sugarcube for being obtuse, but also fuck Harlowe for being deceptively weak!
My tumultuous Twine journey has, I think, culminated in a healthy love/hate relationship with the platform, but I'm still sticking with it for now.
Discipline has always been a super tricky thing for me! I can work super effectively when I'm really into a project, but I'm very much at the mercy of my motivation. What I've generally found is that momentum is critical for maintaining motivation, so hopefully if I just keep working steadily, I won't keep falling into laziness.