Hello, and welcome to March's devlog! I hope you’re holding up ok, there’s been a lot of craziness that has been going on, so remember to take a step back when you need to. Pull up a chair, make your favorite drink, and get comfortable as we take a dive into what’s going on in the wild world of what this cursed [said with love] game has been putting me through. 

With the final demo release coming up next month, I figured I could focus on what’s being worked on, how it’s been, and what will be happening leading up to the self-inflicted deadline. 

It’s interesting, to say the least, doing another release of the demo. When going through software development, you have all your fun terms like “vertical slice”, “alpha version”, “demo”, ect. A lot of which I’ve heard sort of thrown around depending on what spicy mood you’re feeling on that day. For this project, demo felt like a good word for both releases, and made slotting it into the Steam page easy as well. While this one doesn’t have the same stress as the original, it actually has its own set of NEW stresses that come along with it. Who would’ve figured? 

I went into making the demo wanting to get the original idea just out there. I had the basics of ‘Oops’ written down about eight [oof] years ago. I’m sure one of the devlogs will go into the original game, because ‘Oops’ was supposed to be much different than it is now. You guys get to see a 3D, action/adventure, when it was originally a 2D-pixel, turn-based RPG. Crazy how things change. So my sage advice to any creatives who read this, be prepared to let some ideas go, and grow into something different, because you will also be growing in what you like and your skills, which will reflect in your work. 

But everyone knows that, and the past ‘Oops’ is ramblings for future rainy days. For now, let’s chat about the present. 

I’ve been working through the final demo for the past couple months, and here’s what’s being added! 

New Additions to the Demo

As mentioned last month, all of the demo music has been swapped by Alex. It’s been wonderful as always to work with him, and he’s actually been posting teasers for the rest of the soundtrack, so check those out! With the new music, came a new way to implement it. I won’t be getting too technical, but the first demo was using Unity’s in-engine sound system to play all the music and SFX. Alex was kind and patient enough to introduce and work with me on using a tool called FMOD, which has allowed for a more robust implementation of the sounds in the game. Of course, this came with a bit of a learning curve for me, but I’m glad to say that it’s sitting pretty and ready for you guys to listen to it. 

The next thing I’ve been chipping away at is level design. While keeping the same…structure? Level flow? I’m adding more to each section, and finding ways to make it a bit more intriguing to explore. This has been a fun part, because I feel a lot of creative things can come from when you’re working within a set boundary, and you can decide how to push it to get the most for both you and the players. Now, it’s not breaking the glass ceiling in any way, but I hope that it will make the next bit feel even more fulfilling, which is: 

New mechanics. New abilities. Cool tricks you can convince your “Rule of Cool” DM to let you do [which I personally call ‘Kick-flipping the Horse’]. Whatever you want to call it, I decided to add a few more things to your toolbelt. I suppose I can tell you what they are here, but you get the delight of figuring out how to get them. The first new mechanic? A rope. 

Wow, big moves over here, I know. 

But hear me out, you’re playing as a Thief, who only has a little sword against all the enemies that will be jumping you in an alley. That’s not exactly fair [and there wouldn’t be a challenge if you were a super cool, actual hero], so wouldn’t you like to level the playing field a bit? If you can be clever, like a Thief, you may be able to make things a little easier for yourself during those fights. And of course, ropes can be used for a lot of things! Tying things down, swinging over gaps, ect. Fun stuff like that. 

And speaking of easier fights…maybe you don’t have to go through them at all? Who says you need to fight in the first place? Really, you’re the designated main character, shouldn’t you decide what you want to do? But hey, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, Hero. 

Then of course, there’s polishes and bug fixes that I’m working through as well. Redoing the UI has been a blast, as well as making the experience feel smoother. 

Fun stuff, right? 

Challenges During Development

Well, maybe not all fun. Just like the original demo, these past couple months have had their own challenges that I have had the delight of going through. 

Going back to the mechanics, I’ve gone back and forth on the beloved, yet dreaded, “scope creep” that many game-makers know and abhor. It is so much fun to imagine and plan out new things for players to experience, but when it comes time to make them, you soon find out how much is actually needed to be done. Anyone who has ever tried to make a game knows this, and I give them flowers for going through it. Deciding what to keep and bang my head against a wall for vs what should just be cut has been an interesting test of how I look at making games. I feel like I’ve always had a good grasp on what is feasible in a project, but this one has certainly made me better in that regard. 

And even with cuts, there’s still a lot of work to be done. This part goes out to all my fellow “working on a game but I have a 9 to 5, single mom who works two jobs, gig that I do”, as well as people who are interested in making either their own game, or an entire studio, with this model. There is a line of balance between the two that you have to carefully walk on, because you can easily be overwhelmed, and eventually, burn out. I could probably write an entire devlog on what this feels like, how I at least try to deal with it rather than avoid it. Maybe I will write that, but if you’re feeling like this, know you are not alone and you can reach out to others for help. 

Now you may be asking yourself, “Kit, if there were going to be these challenges, why change it at all? If you were going to feel this way, why take on the burden of adding more? You still have the rest of the game to make, why do this?” 

And this I say to you, “idk”.

But, in truth, it’s because I wouldn’t be doing myself justice if I didn’t push myself as far as I could with my abilities. I could elaborate on that, but then we’d be here for hours. And I have a feeling a lot of people would share that sentiment, even without me rambling on. 

So, where does that leave us for the next month? 

I will just be chugging along, continuing work! As we get closer to the release date, I will be posting more and more. I’m planning another trailer for the demo, and maybe some sneak peeks at what’s coming for the rest of the game. 

Thank you once again for reading, and I will see you in a month for the next devlog!

As always, if you want to follow along the process, share your thoughts, or think you might want to work on it as well, there are ways I can be reached! 

Me: https://linktr.ee/katiea_athanatosdev

Guilherme Alexander [The Composer]: https://www.guigagliardo.com/

The Studio: 

Bluesky:  https://bsky.app/profile/artificiumgames.bsky.social

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ArtificiumG

The Game: 

Itch:  https://athanatos-dev.itch.io/oops-youre-the-hero

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3166160/Oops_Youre_the_Hero/?beta=0

If you want to tag along, thank you <3 

• Kit