Hello, Children of Intermine!

I am starting something here that I will affectionately refer to as "The Intermine Log-acy," which will be a monthly update blog to let you all know how things are coming along as development continues. 

Indiegogo Campaign Post-Mortem

I won't lie — as July began, I breathed a sigh of relief that the Indiegogo campaign was over. I have never done anything like that, and for two solid months I was probably more stressed about reaching new folks than I ever have been. Thankfully, as the campaign reached an end, I learned to cope with the reality that we were probably never going to reach $10,000, and it was naïve to believe we would.

But, that's OK. I am extremely grateful to those who did donate, and the amount we were able to raise. It will definitely help us get started on the next chapter, and it did manage to revitalize my passion to stick through the hard times and keep chugging. In speaking of the campaign, this week we were able to get (most) physical rewards shipped off to their respective destinations. I plan on getting digital stuff sent out shortly — due to the nature of things, and the fact that one of the digital rewards is a code for the full game, those obviously won't be ready for a hot minute, but we will make sure to get them sent once they're available.

Updates to the Game

So, that said, it's time to discuss updates on the game itself. In the campaign, we had a handful of folks stream the demo and offer us some very valuable feedback. I know one person really had an issue with accessibility, especially when it came to text visibility. I took that very seriously, and made it one of my top priorities to revamp the Intermine Database so that it was a little easier on the eyes while also capturing the aesthetic style I want it to. Below, you will see what it originally looked like, followed by what it looks like now.

I opted for a more subtle shade of blue (which is still subject to change by the final release, mind you) and go for a more interactive style rather than the static (and forcibly alphabetic) list of terms. In the current build of the game, players can hover over any given folder — presuming they have unlocked it, that is — and click to learn more about each topic. They will automatically unlock new terms by playing through the main story, and there are no real challenges behind this feature. It's really just a method of worldbuilding.

I would really like to create a pseudo loading screen that plays very quickly before the database pops up — I really want to create a sense for players that they're actually reading information obtained from a backdoor into the Intermine Database. OH, ALSO — if you think these descriptions are all the same as in the currently available demo, you'd be wrong. I won't say much more, except that I had a lot of fun reworking some of these glossary terms to help immerse players in the world I have created. 

In addition to the database rework, I have also created a semi-functional chapter select menu! I will have it set so that as soon as players complete chapters, a flag will be raised that allows them to re-play from that chapter from the dedicated menu! In future iterations of the incomplete game, unfinished chapters will deliver players a message letting them know that we're hard at work on new chapters. 

Also, you may notice that each chapter's thumbnail is kind of blurred — that's by design. I have it set so that when players hover their mouse over each, it not only clears up but color returns to what is otherwise a grayscale void. I anticipate making some more adjustments to this feature over the coming weeks, so check in next month for a new update. I am thinking about swapping out the blue BG for the walls of Intermine Labs itself for an added layer of immersion.

Meet Chaos Texture ... Soon!

It's not happening immediately, but I figure I should mention this now ... but we'll be attending San Japan in San Antonio, TX from September 1 through September 3, 2023! It's through their indie gaming space, so we'll have a table there and at least one station setup where you can play the most recent version of the demo — though by then I would like to imagine it'll have been on Steam for a month. 

If you'll be in the area — or better yet, if you'll be at San Japan itself — feel free to stop by our table and say hi! It would be great to meet y'all, and you'll get bonus points if you're cosplaying as a character from the demo! 

And with that, we bring this inaugural Intermine Log-acy to a close. I anticipate getting to work on actual story-based quality of life improvements for the first chapter perhaps next week or the week after, so look forward to those in next month's edition. In the meantime, please continue to spread the gospel of Chaos Texture far and wide — it'd be great if we could pump up those download numbers and ... maybe ... get our very first rating here on itch.io? I guess a man can dream, can't he?

Sincerely,

James David Herd
Creative Director || Chaos Texture Games