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TIE - A game about depression (Full Day)

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by TonyNowak, Sep 23, 2013.

  1. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    TIE - A game about depression

    TIE is a game about depression, and the daily grind that we are all forced to endure. You will live one week of this characters life. You will wake up everyday, get dressed, go to work, and repeat. The game is an experience that will put your character through a series of negative events that will eventually directly impact the ending...

    Playable Build v1.06

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13822695/TIE Test/TIE Test.html

    A, D - Movement

    E/LMB - Interact

    Z,X - Change Song

    Note: You must be dressed for work to go outside.

    TIE Official Soundtrack

    http://meatanalogue.bandcamp.com/album/tie-a-game-about-depression-official-soundtrack



    Screenshots













    TIE will be free to play via webplayer/standalone, the soundtrack is complete and available on Bandcamp (see link above) all tracks being composed by Meat Analogue, you can listen to some more of his work here:

    www.vegetarianmeat.bandcamp.ca

    www.vegetarianmeat.newgrounds.com

    If you want to follow TIE more closely, check out TIE's TIG Source forum topic here:

    http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=36108.0

    Or you can go straight to the website:

    http://agameaboutdepression.blogspot.com/
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2015
    RavenOfCode, VictorFR and WidmerNoel like this.
  2. MaxRoetzler

    MaxRoetzler

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    This sounds fun (hehehe).

    I like your approach to this, one week is a good time span to tell such a story. I'm personally not a big pixel art fan, but as it leaves much to the imagination it seems like a good choice. The first song is pretty cool as well, sets the right mood.

    Do you plan story branches or different outcomes based on the players actions?
     
  3. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    I want it to be for the most part fairly linear strictly in terms of start to finish (this isn't to say however, the interactions in game are linear) for the sake of the narrative. So for example, an NPC or object might not have the same dialogue or interactions on any given day, and any given day might not have the same events, it's randomized in that respect.
     
  4. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    So I spent the better part of the week between work and free time rewriting my interactions manager again. This time I'm using a completely different method of displaying text on screen, one which is very flexible, allowing me to apply basically any effect I could think of to it. Overall, interactions and narrative are much more pleasing to the eye aesthetically speaking.

    In the midst of rewriting anything, there is a certain bug that occasionally shows up, I call it the 'moonwalk bug'. It's quite amusing when it does happen and is a simple fix, I usually get a kick out of it and figured you guy's might as well, you can see the new display text in the video as well...



    We also have a new track for you guy's to check out as well...

    http://vegetarianmeat.ca/track/drifter

    Enjoy, more screenshots soon!​
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2013
  5. PixelHeadHD

    PixelHeadHD

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    I love the look of the game and the sound track is very nice :)
     
  6. hellraizerhhh

    hellraizerhhh

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    I think your concept and execution thus far are fantastic. I like the mood you have set, although I feel the music tracks have too many beats per minute and comes across a little more cheerful than anticipated. The subtle touches in the environment from the reflection in the mirror to the dust particles in the light shaft show a level of thought and depth not shown in most titles. They arent there just to be there, they are there for a purpose. The closer you feel to your character and the environment he lives in, the closer you will feel his struggle and depression.

    It would be interesting to have subtle cues depending on the state of depression. Maybe the reflection fades more towards alpha like hes vanishing/withering or fade to black.

    Im keeping tabs on this.
     
  7. carking1996

    carking1996

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    Game looks awesome. Good luck, sir. I'll be sure to give it a go!
     
  8. V0odo0

    V0odo0

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    Great soundtrack and interesting unusual idea for the game. Waiting for more details about gameplay.
     
  9. landon912

    landon912

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    Looks great!
     
  10. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    This week wasn't very productive due to work and some life events. Although, I have thought a lot about making the game's tone and feel more 'obvious' in some ways. So for example, walking into work, your boss awaits you, the closer you'd move towards him the more the music would start to fade out, being replaced by a static clash of different elements in the music and environment, the camera would shake subtly and the world's colors' around this person start to mute. I think it would be a little too jarring, and I'm certainly looking into others way of making the games tone and feel more obvious, but that's one of the many examples I had in mind.

    Now that all of that is out of the way, on the more technical side of things, I did add a new control, which is 'W', it simply makes you look up, as some maps are quite large. I am also looking to make the game mouse based at this point, feeling I have too many controls.
     
  11. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    Hey guy's, been awhile since I've updated this so bear with me. As I mentioned earlier I felt I had too many controls for such menial tasks. I implemented a nice little mouse cursor (allowing more precise interactions, like flicking lights on and off, etc.) that fades out when there is no mouse input. Asides from this I wrote a music manager that handles the games soundtrack in between levels, etc.

    Last but not least I have been experimenting with some pseudo "post processing" effects. Here's the result, the mouse cursor (white pixel) is also visible:

    $05V3djU.png

    And just for you a sneak peak at some office props I've been working on.

    $iTsmlDk.png
     
  12. tamaroq

    tamaroq

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    Love it. I really missed adult thematic/mechanics in game development (that 'adult games' expression means sex games is a symptom of something going wrong).

    I would suggest a mechanics I was thinking about a couple of weeks ago: to simulate the live-will (though what I was thinking was more a kind of survival), using different shaders. So, for example, more will involves more colourful and detailed environment. The more the will is vanishing, the more the environment is becoment 'uglier' and grey.
     
  13. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    That was the initial idea for the game, or the concept around it, but I took a more narrative approach.
     
  14. Deleted User

    Deleted User

    Guest

    Depressing game? I'm in! :D

    Although I'm not really into the whole pixel art fiasco, I have to admit that yours look pretty good especially the colors. I'm really digging the soundtrack as well. Can't wait to experience what you have in store for us...

    I have to say though, this reminds me a lot of another game called Everyday The Same Dream. Just curious, did that serve as an inspiration for TIE?
     
  15. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    I didn't actually know about it until development on TIE started, TIE was the result of depression in my own life. Had I known about it before, I would not have started TIE up, but it's a deeply personal game that I feel the need to finish.
     
  16. PixelHeadHD

    PixelHeadHD

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    Looking brilliant! Keep up the great work :D
     
  17. Chazede

    Chazede

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    Amazing, this needs to be finished. I'm glad to offer any help if you need it. I'd love to get involved with this.
     
  18. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    Well, I've been neglecting the Unity forum thread for this as I haven't seen too much activity, but I suppose I will update it! So I've been tinkering with the outdoor artwork and style a bit. This was my first attempt at making the outdoor environments.

    $XTK9ph2.png

    I felt there was a lot missing in terms of color and content, I tried again with an actual in-game environment and was much happier with the results.

    $hFV9wCg.png

    That said, here are my plans for it currently.

    $da8Utez.jpg

    If you want to follow TIE more closely, check out TIE's TIG Source forum topic here:

    http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=36108.0
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2013
  19. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    The look of this game is so amazing. Can't wait to play this :D
     
  20. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    Recently I've gotten a lot of questions about my art style and how I go about creating said art for my games. I decided this morning I'd put together a type of art asset overview. Enjoy!

    $Eyg32Md.png
     
  21. Sickuhtrix

    Sickuhtrix

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    Holy hell, I'm in love with this already. The concept, the artwork, the ideas, it's all so good and you're executing everything flawlessly.

    I can't wait to play this, and I'm positive a couple of my friends would enjoy this as well.

    Great work OP.
     
  22. gtzpower

    gtzpower

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    Depressing art is awesome! I cannot wait to play this one :)
     
  23. snowconesolid

    snowconesolid

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    Your game is to depressing to play.

    Haha kidding. Really interesting look. I really dig the art. Game looks really good, keep up the good work :)
     
  24. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    @Sickuhtrix Thank you very much, spread the word, I'll be doing some big updates here in the future.

    @gtzpower I can't wait to be done with it.

    @snowconesolid Will do. :)
     
  25. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    BIG NEWS!

    So, today I added in a main menu for TIE, and also wrote up some much needed transition effects in between level loading. I also have a new song from our soundtrack to share with you all.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FXJ0HxvJqk

    And the moment I dread...here's a build for all of you.​

    Windows: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1lbivhcy5s0zl0a/TIE v1.02.zip
    Mac: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p69xhuq1u0b6vaq/TIE v1.02 Mac.zip

    Yes I know there is no collision, yes I know the left mouse button does not work, and yes I know about the alpha issues, nobody has done more play testing than me. Only the house is really 'playable' due to no other art assets being done, however, the code is for the most part done, for the whole game...just gotta find some motivation to make the art.
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2013
  26. marcos

    marcos

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    Really nice work, man.

    Only thing I thought was that maybe the camera was overly active, maybe it could have a bit of a threshold before moving, which might complement the mood in a subtle way. Granted, you want to make sure each room is on screen when it appears, it just feels a bit odd when you make a slight movement and the camera still shifts a little bit, where it might not need to.

    This is just nitpicking though, as I say, this is looking awesome.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2013
  27. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    I appreciate the feedback marcos. So about the camera and pretty much everything else about TIE, I want things like movement to feel very smooth and polished to compliment the minimal pixel art. I've added this through transitions, camera movement, text fades, etc. I feel maybe the camera should move behind the character more when your moving, giving it a smooth feel when it catches back up and the character is idle. The next thing I want to work on is room transitions, I've gotten a lot of feedback and the general consensus seems to be with the rooms just popping in, it's a bit jarring to the player.

    More feedback is always welcome.
     
  28. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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  29. coingod

    coingod

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    Was this game inspired by "Everyday the Same Dream"?
     
  30. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    No, I don't know how many times I have to answer this question.
     
  31. SpaceMammoth

    SpaceMammoth

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    Wow, amazingly interesting game.
     
  32. Seth-McCumber

    Seth-McCumber

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    Any idea when the WebPlayer build will be out? I hope soon! *Waits patiently for reply ;)
     
  33. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    There are webplayer builds on this page Seth.
     
  34. Seth-McCumber

    Seth-McCumber

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    Dont see any links to a WebPlayer, just standalones... Unless you mean the standalones
     
  35. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    Sorry about that, yeah I meant the standalones. :/
     
  36. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    So I have some pretty big news to share with you guys and that news is that TIE now has a home! Check it out below.

    TIE - a game about depression

    The new screenshots (which debut on the blog) show off the new additive lighting system. The light "flares" change in both size and opacity when you approach them, and offset themselves based on the cameras offset when it move's behind the player. However, for your convenience, they are here too.

    $T58vaBu.png

    $Fbwxs9r.png

    There is also more new music coming very soon, keep an eye out and enjoy! Oh, and this might make a lot of people (who played the standalone) very happy. The additive lighting is not implemented in this screenshot as it is quite dated.

    $2l6ND8o.png



     
  37. gsokol

    gsokol

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    lookin' good dude. Keep at it!
     
  38. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    $aHDzNvK.png

    I did an atmosphere test for the morning when you first go outside. Let me know what you guys think. You can see his breath in Unity! I also tweaked the additive lights for the last time and am very happy with how they turned out.

    $ugr8h8I.png
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2013
  39. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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  40. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    Firstly, happy late new year! Let's hope it turns out to be a better year. Secondly, I wrote a new blog post about TIE and the various outdoor environments you'll find yourself in, as well as how I go about creating them. You can take a look here.

    http://agameaboutdepression.blogspot.com/

    And for you guys

    $J2ajGRV.png .​
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2014
  41. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    So I've added a few things to the morning scene, including a sun that rises and has animated flares, a bus stop booth with a glowing neon light that will occasionally flicker, and most notably, clouds. These were really hard to get down and I tried ton's of variants until I finally got one I was satisfied with. I experimented with some different effects and overlays because I feel that the clouds when they are sharp and pixelated, that it somehow clashes and garbles up the scene, I feel it's hard on that eyes. With some filtering and texture work I achieved a softer look, an almost faked depth of field. I'm conflicted on which to use, what do you guys think?

    Faked DOF:
    $5ZxXAL7.png

    Sharp:
    $F3MpLcE.png

    I also tried out this one here, where the clouds are clipping.

    $jGMJA46.png

    EDIT: For some reason my last image isn't showing, so here's the url:

    http://i.imgur.com/jGMJA46.png
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2014
  42. NomadKing

    NomadKing

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    The sun and clouds both look amazing, and I can definitely appreciate the issue your having with getting them to look "just right".

    For me, the clipping one just doesn't work, so it's between the first 2. Obviously the first one looks the smoothest, but the second one stays truer to the pixel art style with the harder edges and only really looks that sharp when over the sun itself (which doesn't feel out of place) - I think for that reason I'd choose the 2nd one. :)
     
  43. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    Thinking of actually having the clouds sharp in spots the sun touches, and the rest blurred.
     
  44. Seth-McCumber

    Seth-McCumber

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    @TonyNowak Any set release date for TIE? Been checking here and the blog everyday!
     
  45. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    TIE v1.04

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13822695/TIE v1.04/TIE v1.04.html

    $7ZeFgoj.png

    Controls:

    A, D: Left, Right

    W: Look Up

    E: Interact

    Mouse: Cursor movement (you can't current interact with objects with the mouse, but gives a good feel for the future)

    So this is a build starting from your home to the outside scene. You must be dressed for work in order to use the door interaction at the end of the house. It's a little rough around the edges (there being no wall collision the glaring issue due too my code and some of Unity's physics settings), but there is plenty to look at...

    I've made quite a few changes to the morning environment since I've last shown the game as well.

    Enjoy, feedback welcome!​
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2014
  46. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    Visibility bump.
     
  47. sphericPrawn

    sphericPrawn

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    Hmm, wanted to try it out but I can't seem to get past the title screen where it says to press space. When I press space a sound plays and the "press space" words fade out but nothing really happens.. if I continue to press space the sound plays again but nothing else. Not sure if it's just my computer or what.
     
  48. TonyNowak

    TonyNowak

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    Have you tried refreshing the page? I can't replicate that error in Unity or the web-player, and I've tried several times.
     
  49. Cheburek

    Cheburek

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    omg a game about my last job! Awesome brings depressing memories! xD
     
  50. NomadKing

    NomadKing

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    Wow, that outdoor scene is just so much prettier in action. The low rising sun works really well - the screenshot doesn't do it justice! I also loved the music as well, really adds to the atmosphere of the game. The reflection in the bathroom mirror was a great touch, perhaps a few other minor interactions inside the house might be cool - just small innocuous things like flushing the toilet, flicking light switches, drinking the cup of coffee etc.

    The doorways could perhaps use a little more definition to separate them from the wall visually, and I did notice the characters feet bleeding into the roof slightly (can screenshot it if you don't see the issue). Looked a bit like a texture wrapping problem. I felt a bit like the room transitons from the bedroom into the kitchen/bathroom happened a little too early, and vice versa from the bathroom/kitchen seemed a bit late - maybe your boundaries are off here a bit.

    But these are all just niggling little things, so far, this looks great :)