I'm not dead and neither is this game!

Hey there, I hope you're all doing well!

For those who might remember and for those who have been digging around the page for The Forest Calls, you'll know that it's been a while. Two years. And my last devlog for this game was ambitious and full of hope for an update that summer of 2020. You're probably wondering what happened. 

So....in short, I found steady employment as a freelance writer. It came as a massive surprise and a dream come true all rolled into one. (And I highly suggest checking that project out. It's been an honor to help work on this visual novel.) Understandably, this little game was put aside. And for something I threw together in a short game jam and treated it as a GB Studio crash course, I think of it as a massive success. I'll continue to hold the original build fondly in my heart. 

But, I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew. And I've never let go of the original vision I had for The Forest Calls. More recently I had to invest in a new computer (one that wasn't driving me up the wall crashing in a blue screen of death at the most random moments) and I hit a rest period in between work. The past few weeks felt like the best time to return to this game. And I'm really glad I did!

I pulled out my original outline and mapping (both of which are scribbled on both sides of a beat up sheet of printer paper) & got to work relearning GB Studio. Believe it or not, I forgot nearly everything about it. At some point I will need to check out the way newer version that's out....but fun fact, I stuck with the old version for one reason. This:

This feature that I fell in love with was a complete and total accident. Once I figured out why the game was breaking this way (which turns out was because there was too many unique tiles - basically means I went too complex with the backgrounds) I decided to use it to add the unsettling vibe I was going for. If I lost this...I don't think I would've moved forward with the update.

So what's new?

-Our main character got a redesign!

Before:

After:

I know I'm particularly pleased with this because I've doodled this character so many times now in my notebooks when I'm distracted or busy thinking. Here's how I picture them:

-The story and the bulk of the dialogue was completely rewritten! I hope it's a much more satisfying short story now. I really enjoyed going back and adding personality & life to the characters you can interact with. 

-The map layout didn't change a lot from the player's perspective, but in some places depending on when you entered or left a location the area you move to can change. This was so I could add more dialogue in places. The downside is that there is a chance the order of things can get screwy, because I didn't want to force the player to move in a completely linear path. Things did unfortunately get more linear, but there is still a freedom of movement maintained. Try not to break things going forwards and backwards instantly, lol. I know this game is far from perfect. Love it for it's simplicity please. 

-New hidden area added! You should always be checking and poking at the invisible barrier boundaries. Sometimes there are surprises!

Good luck finding this location! I enjoyed this little story moment greatly.

-The character portraits. It's not a lot, but their addition was extremely fun and it helped the story telling immensely. 

What didn't make it?

Originally and in the previous devlog, I listed a handful of things. Combat was one of them. And while at the end of this game there is a brief and basic taste of it....there still isn't any to be found. 

I decided early on when I began this update that combat just had to be scrapped. Additionally the fetch quests and item menu had to go too. It was all too much for me right now (and I decided that there just wasn't a need for another fetch quest). The mechanics can be learned and the art can be made, but it takes time. And when I began last month I wasn't sure what kind of time table I was looking at...I still don't. While I'm appreciating my current break, the point is to rest. 

And I couldn't quite decide on how I wanted combat to be presented. Were there enemies/what would be attacking you? How would they differ from the creatures you're already meeting in the forest? My notes suggested several of the eyes in the backgrounds could be stabbed to influence the ending. (To be honest, I'm still incredibly interested in that idea.)

Any kind of sound design and music was also scrapped. I thought about it constantly, but it's all beyond my knowledge. I doubt I'd come up with any kind of music that would do this game justice. It sucks, but maybe one day I'll be better experienced in that field & I'll slip some tunes in.

Will there be anymore updates?

As of right now, no. I'm extremely pleased with the state of this game. It's far from perfect and I can list a million flaws that can be found, but I'm happy leaving it as is. One day I might want to add tunes or tweak the mapping, but that's for future me to figure out. 

Here's to the next project! And thank you so much for reading this far and for playing. 

-Rachel <3