Jack Self - Indie Game Developer

Ahoy hoy! This is just a heads up to let you know that I have decided to take a break from developing The Forsaken Ruins. Reasons being that other projects require my full attention at this moment in time. Moreover, I feel quite burnt-out and in dire need of a break. I hope to return with a fresh mind and deliver the last remaining update to the The Forsaken Ruins: Early Access Version, before moving onto full release. 😁

I can say that most of the ground work for the game is actually done! So I am hoping to cap off the full release of the game later this year. Once my watch *break* has ended, I’ll be sure to post about it. 

19th June 2021 😁

The fourth content update has finally arrived! V1.7.0 offers a complete overhaul and re-design of the sound within The Forsaken Ruins, along with updates to existing UI, bug fixes, and added optimization. Players can now expect to feel fully immersed as they attempt to uncover the dark secrets of Ever-Bleed Keep. Furthermore, I have attempted to keep things clean and simple (UI-wise) in the hope that players find the new screens more appealing and easier to navigate.

If you happen to chance upon any bugs within the game or, even have suggestions of your own, please don't hesitate to get in contact with me via the Steam or Tumblr page.

Thank you for your patience, once again! - Please note, I am currently working on other projects, so the time between updates may be longer than usual. Having said that, I still remain motivated on delivering the fifth, and final update to The Forsaken Ruins - Early Access Version. Cheers!

Patch Notes:

[New] Character Sounds (Footsteps & voice)

[New] Environment Sounds (Spikes, collisions, buttons, levers, keys, bones & more)

[New] Note/Journal Sounds (Page flipping & book open/close)

[New] UI Sounds (Transitions & selection)

[New] Event Sounds (Skull puzzle completion)

[New] UI animations

[New] UI screens

[New] Fonts

[New] Main Menu (Credits)

[New] Message Board Re-design

[New] Level Selection (Scene)

[New] Settings Re-design (Scene)

[New] In-Game Prompts

[Updated] Font size reduced (all screens)

[Updated] Shape size reduced (all screens)

[Updated] UI Animations

[Updated] Mouse cursor (50% reduction in size)

[Updated] General UI elements

[Fixed] Anti-aliasing not saving correctly

[Fixed] Gameplay bug where the player could 'fly' near the golden door

[Fixed] Gameplay bug when enabling the golden door (without keys) cuts off the sound completely

[Fixed] UI elements not disappearing when programmed to

[Fixed] Coroutines within UI scripts (Main Menu)

[Fixed] Transitioning from Level 5 will execute audio

[Fixed] Players can no longer hear objects being 'dropped' on start-up

[Quality Control] Scripts refined

[Quality Control] Project cleaned and organized

[Quality Control] Lighting baked

Hello! I hope you are all doing well! I have been busy updating the user interface for The Forsaken Ruins, more specially, the main menu screen. Below are some screenshots of the new UI you can expect to see in the upcoming feature update (1.7.0).  

The current version of the game has players switching between scenes within Unity - for example, main menu to settings, are two different scenes. However, this is no longer the case! I have now combined all the scenes together into one mega scene. In addition, I have attempted to keep things clean and simple in the hope that players find the new screens more appealing and easier to navigate. 

Players can expect a full list of changes to drop along with the 1.7.0 update soon. I will be finalising the UI next and then I will turn my attention towards overhauling the sound. Thank you for being patient! Cheers! 😎

Main Menu (work-in-progress)

Message (work-in-progress)

Chapters (work-in-progress)

Settings (work-in-progress)

Credits (work-in-progress)

Prompts (work-in-progress)

27th February 2021 👀

The third content update has finally arrived! V1.6.4 includes a new Note System (along with 25+ new notes to read from), a new Player Journal, new loading screens, a new death animation/screen, fixes and polish (full list below). This update is primarily about the writing - players can now expect to learn more about certain characters and monsters within the game, whilst uncovering the dark history of Ever-Bleed Keep!

If you happen to chance upon any bugs within the game or, even have suggestions of your own, please don't hesitate to get in contact with me via the Steam or Tumblr page.

Thank you for your patience - I underestimated how long writing would take me and I do hope you enjoy the new update. I am now focusing on re-designing the sound and menu screens. Thanks again! 😁

Patch Notes:

[New] Message

[New] Item highlights

[New] Crosshair colour

[New] Note System

[New] Player Journal

[New] 27 in-game notes

[New] 5 Stories (Note System)

[New] 4 Chapters (Player Journal)

[New] Tutorials added

[New] Death screen

[New] 10 death messages

[New] Death animation

[New] Loading screens

[New] Cover art

[New] Points of interest

[New] Fonts

[New] Blood decals

[New] Props

[Updated] Font size reduced (all screens)

[Updated] Shape size reduced (all screens)

[Updated] Animations

[Updated] In-game prompts

[Updated] Menu buttons

[Fixed] Animation issue with monster (level 5)

[Fixed] Navigation issue with monster (level 3)

[Fixed] UI issue where player could access death screen buttons whilst alive

[Fixed] Journal UI

[Quality Control] Scripts refined

[Quality Control] Project cleaned and organised

[Quality Control] Lighting baked

[Quality Control] Player Inventory now moved into Player Journal

[Quality Control] V1.5.3 notes have been re-written or scrapped

[Quality Control] Torches now highlight yellow and not green

Hello! After months of writing, implementing new features and testing, I believe the update is now at a reasonable standard to show off! I apologise once again for keeping you in the dark. The delay for this update was a consequence of underestimating how long my tasks would take to complete, in addition to starting other projects! 😁

I plan to use this blog post to show what I have been working on – or if you prefer, you can watch the video below. The Forsaken Ruins (1.6.4) February Update raises the overall quality of the game, whilst bringing in new features and adding to old ones. New gameplay features were designed to help tell new stories and immerse the player into the new world of The Forsaken Ruins.

Below is a list of features you can expect to see in The Forsaken Ruins 1.6.4 Early Access Build *when it drops*. 📖

New Story

Like before, you start as a prisoner locked away – it is then up to you to discover the dark history of Ever-Bleed Keep. There are 27 new notes to read from, outlining new characters and past events. I encourage any criticism and/or suggestions as I plan to include more notes in future updates.

Note Menu

The ‘Note Menu’ was designed to store notes and piece together much larger stories within the world of The Forsaken Ruins. You can access the ‘Note Menu’ via the ‘Pause Screen’ and from there, the player will be presented with different stories (left side) and the last note they read (right side).

All the notes are tied to different stories. Once a note has been read, it will be available to view again in its respective story. Furthermore, there are certain riddle notes called; ‘Cursed Words’ that are linked to puzzles in the game. The ‘Note Menu’ grants quick and easy access to riddles so that the player does not have to keep returning to the original note location.

Player Journal

The Player Journal now includes four main chapters: Inventory, Characters, Bestiary and Controls. Once the player accesses the journal [J] they will be met with strange symbols that will only reveal itself once a particular note is read. I plan to include objectives into the journal, once the full game releases.

Tutorials

To better understand how the game functions, there are many text-based explanations slapped around the game itself. For instance, there are controls listed in the Player Journal, and tips written in the Note Menu and on loading screens.

Player Death

The Player Death Screen has been updated, along with the dying animation. Players can now expect to see the screen dip to black rather than breaking dancing on the floor. Death messages will appear, offering subtle hints about the main story. The buttons are now vertically placed, along with the font size being reduced and the colour scheme being updated. 💀

Visuals

The Forsaken Ruins 1.6.4 Early Access Build includes new loading screen art, story covers and journal drawings. In addition, I have polished in-game prompts, crosshairs, and animations. Items now have the appropriate highlight depending on whether they are puzzle or story related. Moreover, font and shape size has been reduced to make the screens more appealing to the eye.

Bug Report

I have done my best to iron out any bugs from The Forsaken Ruins 1.5.3 Early Access Build (Last Update). For more detailed information, look out for the bug report when the new update drops. Unfortunately, I cannot find them all! For example, it took me four updates to realise the death screen was always active… this meant invisible buttons could be trigged, causing the game to either restart, quit or load the main menu (this has now been resolved 😅). 

Future Plans

Hello there! Apologies for being absent on Tumblr, but know that I am still working on this game! Myself and some peers have been busy re-writing all 19 notes, plus adding new ones. This will include a main story, side stories, and hints. I plan to write a lot more in future updates. I am extremely thankful for their help 😅

Flashing notes will be scattered across the prison revealing new past horrors. I am currently working on a “Note Collecting” system that will allow the player to make sense of all the notes they collect. In addition, the player will be able to read the last note they acquired without the need to go back in search of said note.

Furthermore, with new notes comes a new story! I have completely re-written the main story of the game and I hope the note system will allow players to ease themselves into the world of The Forsaken Ruins. There will be new characters to learn about and plenty of riddles to solve! 

2nd October 2020 💉

The second content update has arrived! V1.5.2 includes blood decals, menu/screen polish, animation refinement and monster optimisation (full list below). The decals do not tie into the current story (as of yet). In addition, the monsters will require further refinement, however as it stands, I feel at the very least, they are optimised.

If you happen to chance upon any bugs within the game or, even have suggestions of your own, please don't hesitate to get in contact with me via the Steam or Tumblr page.

I am now switching my attention towards notes/books within the game and I intend to share more details soon! Expect more updates in the future, as I attempt to iron out bugs and settle upon a strong foundation for the game. Thanks!

Patch Notes:

[New] Message

[New] Old messages now present

[New] Loading & Setting animation

[New] Pause screen

[New] Blood decals (Level 1)

[New] Monster inheritance

[New] Monster blend-trees

[New] Lantern flicker toggle

[New] Monster types

[Updated] Button colours

[Updated] Lantern flicker

[Updated] Message board reduced in size

[Updated] Font size reduced (Menus)

[Updated] Monster insta-kill (Level 5)

[Updated] Gremlin hunt reduced by 20%

[Updated] Splashscreen optimised and lasts longer

[Fixed] Issue when attempting to pick up heavy skull on full health and transparent skulls remained active

[Quality Control] Lighting baked

[Quality Control] Scripts polished and refined

[Quality Control] Project cleaned and organised

Ahoy hoy! The second content update for The Forsaken Ruins will soon arrive! I have been working on optimizing monsters, animations and much more. They may still behave the same, but the code is far better! 😁 In addition, this update will include blood decals (Level 1) and menu re-designs. Below are some screenshots of what players can expect to see for V1.5.2.

Spike Alter (Image 1)

Blood Messages (Image 2)

Pause Screen Re-design (Image 3)

The full list of fixes/updates will be released as soon as the update goes live. As of right now, the blood decals are only placed in Level 1 and do not tie into the story, as of yet. More blood will slowly trickle in with future updates.

Hello! This week I have been improving upon the functionality of each monster type. By using inheritance! Before, each of the monsters had their own individual collision and patrol scripts (don’t judge me). But now, each monster derives from two parent scripts, making it much easier to add or remove monster types! 

To make each monster unique, I can override particular parent functions within their respective monster script. 

Long story short, I reduced the number of C# scripts (and code), whilst optimising the monsters and possessing the ability to add more. 

I plan to implement blend-trees next (making the animation transitions that much smoother) -- so stay tuned for that!

By no means am I a wizard when it comes to programming, but after watching a couple of tutorials on inheritance and overriding functions, I feel the monsters are in a much better state.

Stay tuned as I plan to divulge more information about the monster update in the coming days!  Cheers! 😎

30th August 2020 💀

The first content update has finally arrived! This update involves refinement and polish. However there are new elements also added (full list below). If you happen to chance upon any bugs within the game or, even have suggestions of your own, please don't hesitate to get in contact with me via the Steam or Tumblr page.

I am now focusing on refining the monster AI and adding much needed horror elements...

Patch Notes:

[New] Sneak system allows the player to identify whether he/she is being chased by a monster

[New] Crosshairs (sneak and detection)

[New] Main menu design

[New] Message board design and message

[New] Desktop icon

[New] Splash-screen

[New] Sprinting animation

[New] Lantern flickering

[New] Player can now snap skulls onto alters

[Updated] Footstep sounds now match movement speed

[Updated] More consistent colour scheme

[Updated] Font size reduced

[Updated] Level selection scene

[Fixed] Player can no longer fall out the level (level 1)

[Fixed] Camera no longer tracks out of bounds (main menu, settings, level selection)

[Quality Control] Scripts polished and refined

[Quality Control] Project cleaned and organised

Hello! For the past few weeks I have been busy (well sorta...) polishing scripts and optimising TFR! Sadly there will be no Vlog in this post, however I will attempt to discuss everything I’ve done thus far and what I plan for future development!

To begin with I have been working on game-play mechanics such as ‘Skull snapping’, which essentially means the player is now able to snap quest items onto alters/shrines. 

Going further into mechanics, I have added a sprinting animation, with appropriate footstep sounds and a sneaking system (heavily inspired by Skyrim... designs are not yet concrete), which allows the player to know if they are indeed being chased by a monster.

Furthermore, I have updated menus and their designs. They now appear to be less ‘busy’ with more of a consistent colour scheme throughout. The message panel now bangs. Enough said about that. 

Fixes include the player being unable to fall out the map in level 1. 😁

I hope to being adding and refining more up until the end of this month, when I plan to release said update (August 30th). 

I do have a long road-map in mind and I will probably end up posting it here sometime. But essentially, I will be working on the monsters, the overall story and puzzles. In addition, I will be adding alot more props, books and altering the level layout for more confined spaces.

Alot of work ahead, but I do believe this has the potential to deliver a great 2-3 hour long story! Inspired by games like Amnesia and Outlast! Yes, perhaps too ambitious! Please feel free to drop any suggestions/bugs/ideas via DMs. I’ll be sure to give credit.

Ahoy hoy! The Forsaken Ruins is back! I’ve officially started development yet again and I hope to bring you more content and bug fixes soon! 🙌

I’ll be posting more development logs as time goes on, with more information regarding development plans! Keep checking in as this is the best way to keep tabs on the game.

The Forsaken Ruins was indeed graded and I am glad to say I passed! 🎉 Thanks to everyone who supported the development and kept me sane.

What started in January is finally here! The Forsaken Ruins (Early Access) is now available on Steam! (PC) 😎

What a milestone this is! Thank you for everyone who supported me along the way! This is only the beginning! 💀 

“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the sea comes the end of our fellowship” - Not quite! One more week remains! During week 18 I did a significant amount of testing and polishing! I couldn’t help it! Unfortunately there are still some minor bugs, however nothing game breaking (hopefully).

The Forsaken Ruins is an a stable enough state for release! I hope people understand that the game is really a tech-demonstration, showing off my ability to program AI and certain puzzle mechanics with the inclusion of sound and level design. 

This has been one hell of a ride and after I submit the project I plan to take a little break and then continue with development! I’ll be absorbing all the feedback that comes my way and worst case, I’ll be dishing out hot fixes if any game breaking bugs do occur! 

Sadly, there is no Development Vlog this week as it was mainly bug fixing. I am grateful for all of the support I have received during this process. Thank you to all my peers (you know who you are), friends, family and supervisors! Next week I will be writing a report alongside submitting The Forsaken Ruins as an FMP.

Thank you for sticking around and here’s to the future! BTW you can download The Forsaken Ruins here when it releases on May 27th! 🎉🎊

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1311670/The_Forsaken_Ruins/

2 weeks remain! Hello! I feel like I went overboard this week, perhaps polishing things I didn’t really need to! However, having said that, I do believe the game is indeed in a better state than before. Only 2 weeks remaining now, so I will be focusing on my report mostly. 

This week, I created a settings scene, altered the AI and added more custom art and overall polish! For more details please watch this weeks Development Vlog - Week 17! (Sorry if the game audio is quiet) - Get the cups of tea ready, as it’s a long one!

Also the Steam page and build have both been approved! 😁 I will be uploading the most recent build on the 20th of May and the early access build will be available to purchase as of the 27th of May! The game will be £2.09 as I think that fairly reflects the playtime and content! Plus it helps pay for the abundance of meal deals I devoured for the past 4 months 😃.

The settings scene took along time to implement, however I am very happy with how it turned out. Although, there is no way to access the settings from the pause menu as of yet. Furthermore, I have updated the menu and pause screen!

The pause screen now resembles the death screen and includes buttons to access the main menu.

I have changed the way the Gremlin AI functions. It will now ‘hunt’ the player at random points (be sure to run away!) and once it gets you, it will chuckle and run off, only dealing minor damage. 

I decided to re-work the AI, because it felt as if the player was walking around the monsters, and there was no real threat, unless you happened to walk into them. I hope to re-work The Unsighted and The Warden in the future (After FMP). 

In the coming days, I intend to do some final testing and repairs and finally add more notes and props to the scenes. I believe the game is in an good state for release. It’s hard to believe there is just over 2 weeks remaining on this project. It’s been one hell of a ride and so... much... work...

Hi! I can’t believe the FMP is nearing its end. 3 weeks remaining! 🎇 I feel I accomplished a lot this week, however I did shift my attention towards my other unit as that nears its own end! 

This week I started to program the Player Objectives, and at this current state, the player has 7 objectives to complete within the game itself. I believe this to aid player progression by making the game appear more linear. In addition, I created a custom cursor, modelled keys in 3DS Max, created a credits scene and got to work on all round polishing/bug fixing. More details can be viewed in the Week 16 - Development Vlog video below! 

Jumping back into 3DS Max was very refreshing to say the least. I have not done many assets myself in The Forsaken Ruins, so it feels good to incorporate what I can. I have however, done a lot of art and sprites I feel! More than I can count for the Steam Store page!

Getting into Steam now though. I was pumping the hours into the store page this week. This meant getting a hefty amount of images, writing descriptions and specifications. Overall it took a long while! As of this current stage, the store page is in review, so hopefully everything will meet Valve’s expectation! 

I have also made a game-play trailer and will upload that as a separate blog post moments after I upload this one. I am very happy with how the trailer turned out! and I feel it meets the requirements for publishing. I intend to make more trailers in the future, although that might have to be after university. 

Below I will show some of the art I was working on for the Steam page and also the Steam page itself! (Subject to change)

It’s crazy to think about how far this game has gone. Looking back at my second blog post, it just puts everything into perspective.

I am exited to show everyone the trailer and the game. The FMP has been hard-work from day one and I just hope I can be proud of myself looking back. My peers have all worked exceedingly hard on their own individual projects and I wish them good luck as they continue.