Until last year, I spent four years quietly working on a game about exploration, mystery, and animals. After announcing Animal Well on his PlayStation blog and at Summer Game Fest’s Day of the Devs, I’m still struggling, but not many know. When Dunkey announced that his new indie game his publishing label Bigmode would publish my passion project, it was something only my parents and close friends knew about, and many people’s most anticipated. It made it to the top of the list of games played.
It’s time to give an update on how the game is going and properly introduce it to those who (especially) recently learned of its existence, including those who only learned about it after reading this post.
Today we are happy to share a new look for Animal Well and a trailer showcasing some exciting gameplay moments. Notice the updated hanging vines in the new video. Push them and they swing in a satisfying way. It also gives us a glimpse into one of the many unconventional ways in which items in the game can be used. You can also see more examples of how to interact with the well animals. These elements are some of Animal Well’s most distinctive features, with a large number of amazing animal interactions and item use in the game.
origin story
In some ways, I feel like all the scattered interests and hobbies I’ve pursued in my life have contributed to the skills needed to release this game. I liked drawing, painting, and playing the piano. I envisioned myself growing up as a cartoonist or a veterinarian. In high school, he explored filmmaking and animation, and developed an increasing interest in computers. After that, I went to film school, but started learning programming in my spare time. Various interests came and went, but one thing that remained consistent was a deep fascination with video games. They were complete magic to me and I have loved them for as long as I can remember. I noticed. I zoomed in on details without noticing the big picture.
Holiday 2006 I worked at Blockbuster Video and saved enough money to find a PS3 at launch.These are the boxes placed here and there in my parents’ house.
After finding this clarity, I quickly realized that making a game alone is very difficult. He spent the next ten years working at various game studios and learning as much as he could about the process. Animal Well is my attempt to fully understand what it takes to make a game from start to finish: from a blinking cursor in his blank IDE window to a complete game. Also, by refraining from using middleware and off-the-shelf engines, I made this task very difficult for myself. There is nothing wrong with games that use these tools. If so, it’s just that there are still many unanswered questions.
What is an animal well anyway?
Animal Well is all about exploring a mysterious world. You hatch from a flower and are able to understand your surroundings in any way you see fit. The world exists for the benefit of the many creatures that live in it: dogs, rats, kangaroos, capybaras, chinchillas. It’s not that they aren’t welcome. It’s just that they were here first. Some animals are very friendly, some are hostile. None of them are your enemies or your allies. They react to their environment in ways that are meaningful to them. You may need to work with them or avoid them to get where you want to go.
You may discover using some items to help you navigate the world. You may find hidden passages and secret trails to explore entirely new areas. There are puzzles to solve and platforming challenges to overcome along the way, some of which may not be immediately apparent.
How to proceed with development
It was great. This year he made more progress in adding content to the game than his two years before it. My engine and level editor have been pretty much finished for a while (although I’ve been thinking of new things and keep adding features), so adding content was quick. One of my biggest design goals is to ensure that every part of the game is intentional and not bloated or bloated. As much as I add new content, I keep going back and iterating over existing content — what items the player has when they reach a certain point, what the chances of the player coming in are. Consider the entrance to a room, and the overall difficulty. Curve from start to finish. Build, build, build, polish, polish, polish.
We recognize that many players approach the game with varying expectations. Some people want to play the game to the end and finish it. This group wants to have a good time in every new room they meet. Others will want to take the time to explore every nook and cranny. They take pleasure in rummaging through secrets, looking at all the details hidden in rooms to see if they can find something that someone else might casually pass by. , some obsess over the relationships between certain rooms, or what details in one room tell about another. This group will try to squeeze out every last drop of the game. When I design the game, I keep all three of her audiences in mind so that each can experience Animal Her well as expected.
We’re not ready to announce a release date just yet, but you can rest assured that we’re working hard to make Animal Well the best it can be. I hope