Crestpeak Bay

DOWNLOAD AND PLAY HERE: https://crestpeak-bay.itch.io/crestpeak-bay

JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/crestpeakbay

​Hi, all!

We are wrapping up unique events for our first batch of unique NPCs, which means now is a good time to talk about what unique events are and why they are so important to Crestpeak.

Unique events are longer interactions (~20-40 lines) in which players get to go in-depth with the characters we've created. It's important to us to have dynamic, memorable characters that can evoke various emotions in the player through our writing. These events are the defining moments in the player's relationship with an NPC, so having a wide variety while maintaining quality will make it more likely players will be taken by Crestpeak's charm.

​Hi, all!

There are a few music tracks slated for the next recording session. The process that we do recording sessions is pretty cool; a result of the... conditions prevalent over this last year....

Our engineer has a master project open on their rig with all of the accoutrements, plug-ins, software instruments, and hardware. The performer (me, in this case) has a remote connection to the project, and records MIDI performances locally for all instrument tracks. MIDI is a format that has been in use since the 80's and to this day maintains an incredibly lightweight profile (bytes and kilobytes) that allows for a low-latency transfer of the previously recorded performances. The engineer can change the sounds of the performance to almost anything!

The tracks being worked on will be for the workout and barista minigames, tailored for the exact duration of said minigames.

​Hi, all!

Just because we're looking for a dev doesn't mean we're slowing down any other areas of production. The first batch of unique NPCs is taking form. All of the portrait assets are done, events are being written, and the sprites are about halfway done. The second batch of NPCs has completed designs and we will continue to work hard on these assets because our characters are the bulk of the content for the game.

When we get back to releasing builds, there are going to be LOTS of new people for you  get to know! Getting 100% completion will require maxing out your relationships with each of the 70+ unique NPCs!

Hi, all!

New builds will be put on hold for the time being as our developer has had to step away from the project. We will need some time to find somebody equally communicative and competent. The vetting process will be thorough, and integrating someone midstream will create some unique challenges that make nailing down the next build date difficult to ascertain.

Meanwhile, asset production is still rolling, so when we DO get a new build out, you'll be meeting some actual characters with stories and personality and gameplay implications!

Hey, all!

This week we want to take some time to give you a rundown of the unique NPCs we're working on. Unlike filler NPCs who have 10 short randomized interactions and a few incidental lines, Unique NPCs have 2-3 events, 10-20 short less-randomized interactions, a few incidental lines, and vendor dialogue for some of them. Our goal is to have a rich interaction with our NPCs by making them emotionally motivated, clear-voiced characters with stories to live and tell. Here's the ones we are working on:

Nick Samson, overworked lab technician

Olga Yezhova, vacationing trainer

Lily Cromwell, goth gamer

Grant Johnson, friendly Aussie

Sarita Lal, reserved professor

Loriana Von Wolfsburg, decorated veteran

Doctor Akane, expert plastic surgeon

Imogen Kollias, intense bodybuilder

​We're looking forward to bring them to life for you all!

NEW BUILD (Alpha 0.09)

DOWNLOAD AND PLAY HERE: https://crestpeak-bay.itch.io/crestpeak-bay

Hey, all! The upcoming 0.09 build is coming in exactly ONE WEEK! Hopefully your playtester muscles are warmed up and you will report any bugs in our Discord server! Speaking of...

Hey, all! We will be releasing the new build on February 8th!

That's all. Keep an eye out for that!

Hey, all! Been a while since the last vlog, but we've still been doing QA and making more NPCs.

The next build will be a bugfix build meant to tune a few things in our maps to make everything line up a little better and clearing up a few trouble spots. A de-janking, if you will. There will need to be several waves of these over the entire development cycle because everything new that we add is a potential thing that can go wrong. Addressing them early and often will give us the cleanest final product when all is said and done.

​It's been a year since we started this journey. When looking back, we've made incredible progress. What started as an idea in a broken engine was reshaped quickly into a solid foundation to build on. Minigames, music, NPCs, basic systems... a skeleton has formed and now it's time to put some meat on those bones.

The year hasn't been without its challenges not only for the team, but for the world. That makes us extra thankful for everyone who's kept their support. This Thanksgiving we give you all extra extra EXTRA thanks. We can't wait to share with you what we've got in store!

​Hey, all! This week we just want to leave you with a message of health.

Health takes many forms. Physical health, emotional health, cognitive health, social health, financial health, and environmental health all form the foundation for a good life. Consider these 6 aspects of health as they relate to your own current state. Has one or more of these has fallen to the wayside in the midst of the daily struggle of living? The answer is often understandably "yes." Today, before you you get into bed, try to do one small thing to improve your health in one of these areas. Make your first entry in a food journal, make an appointment with a therapist, organize your living space, text someone who hasn't heard from you in a while. Try to make the today healthier than yesterday.

​Hey, all! Today we're talking about our Unique NPCs!

As you may remember from previous devblogs, we have 3 classes of NPCs in this game: Filler, Unique, and Dateable. We've finished putting all of the Filler content into the game as of the last build, and are moving into Unique NPCs.

Unique NPCs are characters that the player will be able to build relationships with. Unlike Fillers, they have a relationship stat that builds as the player interacts with them over time. They have more than twice the portrait expressions as Fillers, and their sprites may include some special poses and animations. Additionally, most Unique NPCs will have multiple outfits!

While the Unique NPCs are cooking (there's a lot of them and new systems will need to be implemented for them) we'll be killing bugs and tidying up the UX in the next build, so look forward to that!

​It's very important for everyone to stay as safe as possible this holiday season. Wear a mask, wash your hands, practice social distancing, and if you need something to cut through the boredom of staying at home, take a look at this month's Inspiration Roundup! These are some of the games that in some way or another provide a positive model for how we want to go about making our game.

1. Overcooked!

This cute game and its sequel was simple and fun to get into, with lots of pitfalls and curveballs tossed at the player as they progressed. Our cafe minigame takes some cues from the core gameplay, mainly time-limited task completion with no undos. While Overcooked! isn't the first game of its kind, it certainly showcased the fact that simple could be engaging.

2. Slay the Spire

The fundamental aspects of deck-building are front-end choices and back-end optimization. The fun is in the payoff of early decisions paying off as well as finding the most efficient way to leverage the cards available while having just enough RNG to keep things spicy but not silly. Slay the Spire rewards these fundamentals in a very rewarding way, which we are taking into account for our personal training minigame.

3. LittleBigPlanet 2 (Block Drop)

In addition to adorable aesthetics and breathtaking platforming sequences, LittleBigPlanet 2 featured several minigames that could be played and replayed without boredom. Even Block Drop, one of the inspirations for our workout minigame, which is a two-button game, manages to be a worthwhile experience despite a "shallow" mechanic thanks to the presentation and UX. Small touches like the camera angle and sound design go a long way in driving players to want to keep playing.

We'd love to hear from you what games have been inspiring you recently!

​Hey, all!

We'd like to welcome two new writers and a colorist to the team. As the project continues, a lot of character content will need to be added, and keeping a consistent pace will be important.

Coming up next is a UX-focused as opposed to content-focused build. There's going to be a lot of small things to work on, so compiling a list here would be a little tedious.

​DOWNLOAD AND PLAY HERE: https://crestpeak-bay.itch.io/crestpeak-bay

JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/crestpeakbay

​

​How's everyone doing? It's been a while since our last build, but the next one is gonna be a pretty big one! It should be out sometime this month.

What's in store for this one:

New music

New NPCs

New dialogue

UI changes

​Asset-wise this might be the biggest update ever for this game. Thanks for supporting us as we round the corner on Alpha 0.1!