Hello degenerates, thank you for checking out the 17th developer log about VYCE. I have attempted to work on the game every single day, but I missed the first one in over a year on October 17th. Regardless of that fact, I still tried to work on it, but was unable to. Rest assured, it is still on track to be out in about a year’s time if I continue at my current pace.

Admittedly, that pace has slowed down. In the last post, I was popping bottles over 1000 downloads and almost 100 wishlists, and since surpassing these arbitrary milestones, I feel a pertinent emptiness like I just watched a stillborn get aborted. Perhaps I’m being melodramatic, but it’s hard for me to get excited about this game when it feels like nobody else is. I know there are some of you out there reading this, and I am grateful for you. Ultimately, comparison is the thief of joy, and I shouldn’t let such insecurities slow me down.

While I don’t consider it a failure, the VYCE (DEMO) launch was basically a fart in the wind. Next Fest came and went, and while the numbers reached a higher plateau of consistent visitors, it’s not something I’m necessarily tooting my horn over. I spent the last post dissecting statistics, and while wishlists received a considerable uptick, it’s not outside of my initial projections. Veni, vidi, but no vici. The more positive analogy I’ve used is “getting to first base.” Not a strike-out, not a home-run, just further than I was before.

While working on a game, you get this idea in your head, a what if, this fantastical interpretation of what happens after pressing that release button. By all accounts, my life is exactly the same as it was before I dropped the game, if not worse, because now I lack the overwhelming drive that initially propelled me. This feeling isn’t anything new, if you have been following my work, I typically experience this post-partum-like depression after launching a project. Perhaps I was foolish to assume it would be different this time, but this has been my biggest project so far, so the swing of the pendulum hit even harder this time, and it’s been rough to say the least.

I don’t want to make this a sad, attention-seeking post. I don’t want or need sympathy, it doesn’t help me. The very thing that’s kept me on this horse is the horse itself. Along with this, there are genuinely some people interested in this game, and even if it was just one person, that’s enough for me to keep going. Ultimately, I do this for myself, because I believe in myself, but that’s half the battle.

As for features, I just updated the game to v0.1.4. This update contains a couple bug fixes and quality of life features like all the other ones. I was previously titling them v1.0.x, but changed my mind. Especially with the final game being built off the demo, it felt wrong titling them the way I was. The final iteration, including all 3 acts, will start at v1.1.x to avoid any overlaps or confusion.

Along with the game still being available on Steam, the demo is now on itch.io. I don’t plan on uploading the full game to itch.io, just the free demo. I also hope this is the last version of the demo I upload, as I have been making good progress on the first dungeon of Act II (the demo ends at the end of the first act). The game is also much more optimized, while simultaneously introducing new features, music, and more. I managed to cut the file size in half with one simple fix, which made uploading 3 different builds to itch.io possible. The fix? I had duplicates of several audio files in order to get the audio visualizer working, and found a workaround that integrated it with the original files.

As it stands, there are several new VYCE that are in the games files but unavailable on the multiplayer selection menu. Some of these are combination VYCE, which are possible to obtain in the demo’s campaign mode, and offer more options for the sidequest in the tunnels which involves collecting 3 of them.

In conclusion, things are still on track, the demo is mostly the same, and the end is now in sight. Unfortunately, I had to remove a few radio tracks that were copyrighted (despite getting written permission), but there are still over 100 songs that you can tune in to, including some new tracks. For anyone reading this, I am still accepting submissions for radio music/skits, but if it gets flagged while I’m streaming, it will be removed.

By the way, I commissioned an artist by the name of Walkozuki to create some incredibly fine art of certain characters and VYCE that you interact with in this game. I have linked the full quality versions below. Thanks for your attention to this matter. Have a VYCE lyfe.

–infelicities