Hi! Artem Netyagin, Head of Development, here and today i’m gonna tell you how the development of The Uncertain: Episode 2 looks on the inside. I hope that having read this you’ll learn more about some aspects of work of small indie-studios as well as why there wasn’t a second episode for such a long time.
The Uncertain: Episode 1 - The Last Quiet Day was our studio’s first game. The development of a sequel didn’t start right after the release of the first game - there was a half a year pause. During that time we were not only coming round after the release of our first project, but also supported Episode 1 and ported it to other platforms. Meanwhile first steps in Episode 2’s development have already been made simultaneously with the finishing touches of the first. We’ve already had a first draft of the story, first models, concept arts and even a couple of really crude locations.
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After the release of Episode 1 we’ve got a lot of reactions. The feedback was generally positive, but there was some critique as well, fortunately quite insightful. Having taken notice, we’ve realized that we had to change our approach to development: in Episode 1 I took up too many tasks and I had to solve many of them for the first time in my life, which affected the quality of the game. After some discussions we’ve decided that everyone has to do his own thing. We hired a dedicated script writer and a dedicated game designer. And even though I continue to closely work with them, they have taken most of key tasks for themselves.
Changes in the team and the approach to development have led to a complete overhaul of the game concept and the script of Episode 2, effectively meaning we started over. Thanks to the team’s expansion we were actually on the way to creating something special, and the award that our script has gotten, “Die Grosse Nordklinge”, or “The Greatsword of Northern Lands” is another indication of that. Working as a team we’ve managed to interweave the story of Episode 2 into the already existing one of the first episode, not really changing the general concept, but making the story more engaging nonetheless. The work on the script and dialogues became much more serious - at the same time taking much longer to complete.
While reading your comments we’ve noticed that a lot of players were upset by the fact that the game was quite linear. Surely it is not in our capacity to create something as non-linear as Detroit: Become Human, but we’ve put a lot of effort into creating some story branching, which should make each playthrough more individual. We won’t disclose the details just yet - you’ll see everything for yourself after the release. Moreover, the type of characters has changed. There is a reason why there were only robots around in Episode 1: I’ve chosen them not entirely because of the plot. They are also easier to animate, their movements are rather simple, they don’t have facial expressions or eyes. This simplified the development process. This time around the main characters in the game are humans, which leads to a whole bunch of stuff getting much more difficult: lipsync (the process of synchronising the lip movement with the speech), realistic movements, facial animations, eye movement, even the dialogues. There is a particular emphasis on the ill-fated Emily, the main protagonist of the game. She was getting on the nerves of our animators and modelers, her own model was re-created from the ground up multiple times, trying to achieve the desired look. The game will also have much more QTEs and animations, which complicates the development, but adds variety.
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Another reason for such a long development cycle is the decision to discard Adventure Creator, modified code of which became the basis of Episode 1. Surely we were hoping that we can relatively quickly create Episode 2 based on the work done in the previous one. But since AC created a lot of unsolvable problems and bugs we’ve decided to write our own version. This task turned out to be huge and complex. Currently, our own Adventure System, as we’ve called it, functions almost to its full extent and we’ve already begun to adjust gameplay utilizing it, but the work on bug fixes and small patches is still underway. This was a difficult and delicate decision, but we are sure that our new system will positively affect the the game.
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Gameplay changes
Having received a lot of negative feedback concerning the controls and the camera, we have decided to significantly overhaul the gameplay. Initially we wanted to create the classic, old-school control scheme, but it didn’t turn out the way we intended. We have heeded your words and now, as you could have noticed, we'll have a modern control scheme with the third-person camera. We’ve tried to keep as much of the good stuff from the first game as possible, so you will see the familiar circular action submenus, icons and much more, but at the same time a lot of changes were implemented. For example, we’ve dropped the cursor completely. Now the character just needs to look in the point of interest’s direction. Also we have added lots of new features, such as Emily’s smart watch and mini-games, which took some time as well, but makes the gameplay more compelling.
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The puzzles will also change - we’ve decided to make them harder, since most of the players thought previously they were too easy. Moreover, we’ve put a lot of effort to create truly unique puzzles, to make this part of the game different from other projects.
Some changes have affected smaller elements of gameplay: players were annoyed that some objects were impossible to pick up until it becomes clear that they are needed to progress, as well as inability to talk about every single topic during the conversations. This information is also taken into account while working on Episode 2.
Easter eggs played an important part in Episode 1. Some players loved us for them, some didn’t, but they definitely left no one indifferent. We admit that some of them were too on the nose and obvious, but we are not planning on abandoning them. They will be hidden more thoroughly in Episode 2 and it will be harder to find them. Moreover, it will be possible to track them with the smart watch in order to get an achievement for finding them.
To improve the optimisation we’ve built a test PC with minimal configurations: i3, 4GB RAM, GTX 650. We are doing everything we can so that the game launches smoothly with minimal graphics options. Also we’ve completely revamped the save system. Now on top of the autosave you’ll be able to save at any point (except for the cutscenes), you’ll be to create separate save files and the game will support Steam Cloud.
Atmosphere is very important in games of this genre. That’s why we plan to pay more attention to voiceover of the characters and have already brought in well-known and experienced voice actors. I’m sure this will improve the general impression of the game and reinforce its tone.
I could have named a dozen of tasks and minor factors that take up our time - from problems with careless contractors to the shooting of our trailer and preparations for Kickstarter. But none of this will affect the game directly. Instead of listing nuances and tasks that are probably not that interesting to you, I would rather talk about game development as a whole.
Many people wonder how is it possible to spend so much time on a game that can be completed in 2-3 hours. Unfortunately the player will never get to see the bulk of our work. Game development resembles shooting and editing a movie. But in some stages the development is much more complex. On average, creation of a movie, between the first announcement and the theatre release takes about two years. In the movies the director gives the actor the script and the latter executes everything that is written there. Virtual actors have to be programmed, given voices and manually be granted movement and actions. In the movies the shoots are often are carried out at real locations. A developer has to create all the decorations from the ground up. In the movies the dialogues and the script is linear. A video game allows the player to choose interesting topics and make choices that can have consequences. But, at the same time, there are easier factors, like absence of extra takes, the work is done with a virtual camera, the costs of labor and equipment is generally lower.
Both areas are a long and hard work process.
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A project development for us is a long journey that spans across the years and we are grateful to everybody who follows the project, comments on our news, discusses the concepts and ideas. Some of you’ve fallen in love with The Uncertain with the first demo, some of you hear about it for the first time on Kickstarter. But each player, each comment is important to us. We thank you and ask you: stay with us and keep commenting! Your words, your support and your critique is the only thing that can help us create a truly unique and interesting game.
And it’s fine if the finished game is just a short experience. But we’ve seen that it can excite you, lighten up your day and bring you nice emotions. The joy of showing your world to the players, positive reviews, high grade on Steam ratings - all of this was worth the effort and time put into it and it has inspired us to create something new, and to do that better every time.
Thank you so much for your support and I hope this post answered most of your questions regarding development of Episode 2! If not - please do not hesitate to ask us in the comments!