Once upon a time there was a boy named Pete who slept quietly in a coma. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a nightmare.
Hey everyone! Thought I'd share some awesome deals on some goodies until July 5th! Woo! All proceeds help support my little indie studio :)
Thanks so much for your amazing support!
Thomas
Happy June! WOOHOOOOO! Can I be honest about something? I'm really glad May is over. It was super busy. I'm just going to start shot-gunning what we've been up to this month!
I'm applying the finishing touches to two levels before I move on to the underground skate park! Super excited.
Every day I kiss the ground and bless the lord for Erik Coburn. He's truly a development master, and he's working hard on the game's backend. The save system is currently getting a bit of a make-over to work across all platforms. He's also finished up the health system, and starting the coma card system, which is a fun little bonus collectible in the game. These cards will allow you to learn about the world around you, and also wear cool pieces of clothing!
I thought working from my home office next to the living room was possible, but it wasn't. My little girl Liv loves to play and shout and scream, like most babies, and it was getting tough to focus. So I bit the bullet and realized I needed to look into moving out. I also wanted to be cost conscious, and the rental spaces available were a bit pricey.
So I decided to move into... wait for it... the garage...
Turns out this was the best decision I've made in a while.
I did a little reno with the funds from a recent Pinstripe Steam sale, and here's the before and after.
I can't tell you how much I've learned in the last several months. It's been super challenging -- continuing to build a sustainable video game studio while working hard to meet and exceed your expectations. It's the best job in the world though, and I promise I'm going to make you proud!
I'll leave you with my favorite song for this time of year. Go drink a mimosa, sit outside, and listen to this song. I promise all your problems will fade just a tad:
Warmly,
Thomas
First, be sure to grab the all-new official Coma tee for 20% off, this weekend only!
This has been in development for a while, so I'm super excited to share it with you first! Use the promo code COMAKICK on checkout! Show off your support for strange indie games now! Grab yours now!
Whenever Summer comes around, I get an itch to explore the hot and steamy low-country of the south about 3 hours from my home! That's where the inspiration for the next level of Once Upon A Coma came from. It's been really exciting working on this with Erik. He's developed an incredible skateboard system, so ramping and skating around a strange marshland is awesome! Check out the theme song below:
For those of you who have played Pinstripe, you know the game has almost a sketched, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants art feel. And that's because I was learning digital illustration of that kind while producing it over five years. Now, I know my stuff. So clean, simplistic art that's both efficient in creation but effective in communicating an emotion has been crucial in speeding up Once Upon A Coma's development! In the following image, I used a lot of clean vector art. Much of the image below is super simple shapes, repeated over and over. The hardest part, however, is knowing what those shapes and colors are. Once you understand those aspects, the creation of a level is quick and easy!
As for the game's development, Erik is working hard on cleaning up the gameplay mechanics! Believe it or not, they are basically complete aside from a few bugs here and there!
Most of you know I work from home. During the Kickstarter campaign, I thought it might be a good time to move out. I looked into the price, and it just didn't seem worth it. I knew the budget was tight, so I decided to stay at home, even though we just had a newborn! That said, I figured I could move out of the home office and into my garage Steve-Jobs-style. I've been working late at night to get this place looking like a legit studio. A final renovation photo will be coming in the next update! Any ideas about what you think the Atmos Studio should look like? Let me know in the comments below!
If you participated in any qualifying campaign, your free copy of Pinstripe was sent out a few weeks ago! If you requested a bonus copy of Once Upon A Coma, that will be sent out when the game is released. If you haven't filled out the form, be sure to fill it out! If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's likely you did not participate in a promotion of some kind.
Every single day I think about all of you, and what your support of my studio means. Making games is the coolest job in the world, and I hope I'm making you proud with the content you are seeing!
Warmly,
Thomas
Don't forget about the tee sale this weekend! Proceed help support this little indie studio!
A wonderful teenage girl named Aliah in my city suffered a traumatic brain injury and was induced into a coma. I told her family and friends I'd try and help spread the world! Would you be willing to watch the following video, and consider helping her and her family? We've got one life! What better group of people to help someone who suffered through a coma than you all! Thank you so much for your time, and being so supportive of those around you!
If you choose to support, please email me at [email protected], and I'll put your name in the credits under "Aliah's Army!"
I'll be giving you an update about Once Upon A Coma in a couple weeks!
Thanks so much!
Thomas
First, I want to share with you how often I'll be updating. On or around the first of every month, I'll send out a friendly update about what's been going on in the studio. Sometimes I may send out updates if I need survey answers, information from you, etc. I'm 96% ready to send survey's out with information about your pledge, and also some super awesome add-ons (including Switch keys). I should have those out sometime this week! Keep your eyes peeled like bananas.
As for what I've been working on, the past couple weeks have been a fury of redesigning some issues with the next level, The Spiderian Well, while also designing some creepy artwork for Omen Grove. Omen Grove is essentially my little free pass to be as creepy as I can. Depressed drug-addicted children practicing witchcraft and smoking strange hallucinogens to start. I'm excited about this level because in the midst of the strangeness, you can skateboard on the roots of the tree on your way to Funnipple Skatepark. You heard that right.
This is actually happening... and will be offered as an add-on! The original classic adventure is being ported as we speak to PC and Mac as a standalone application with higher res graphics! I'm thrilled about this, and can't wait to share with you.
Thanks again for all of your incredible support!
Warmly,
Thomas