Welcome, everyone, to the month of frights and delights! Don't worry; we're not the undead rising out of the grave of our inactivity! In fact, we have been quite actively working on our project, and we have some huge news for you all! Let's get right into it!
Our first digital proof of concept for Ethereal Metropolis is scheduled to release for November 23rd, 2020!
Now don't get your hopes too high on this proof of concept regarding visual fidelity and polish. It will be very rudimentary in how it functions and plays with a single level to demonstrate the core gameplay loop with some very rudimentary graphics and even with temporary assets. This isn't meant to be a visual presentation with polish, but more like a proof of concept to get a basic idea of the game we are releasing.
The reason why we're releasing a proof of concept so early on is that we want to get YOUR feedback on the core gameplay loop and the unique features that will be implemented into our game! We want to make a game that is as much as what we want and as much as you want it to be! Thus, we're being the early owl (bird) on this and getting your feedback to create a highly engaging and fun game (we make intellectually challenging games after all!).
As the month goes on and we approach closer to the proof of concept, we will be posting important information about how to play our proof of concept and where to access the files. So make sure to follow our Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date about the latest information about our proof of concept!
What our game looks like right now:
Take a look at what we are creating right now! Please take a look at it! We have a long way to go, but some of the most simple mechanics have been put in! (Disclaimer: there is no audio and is not reflective of the final product)
This is what the proof of concept will look like largely aside from a handmade, custom level created testing out various mechanics of the game, and some other awesome features that we are going to be implementing here soon over the month!
Speaking of our Current Situation, let's get right into the summary of this month:
Highlights:
We are edging closer and closer towards a proof of concept that you will be playing in the future!
We have revamped Ethereal Metropolis' cover art, including the skull and the background. The previous one was a sketch that we used for well over a year.
This month has been perhaps some of the most productive months for our Art team and music team, with 39 and 16 drafts submitted, respectively! This is nearly double the amount of any of the other months!
Lowlights:
There are no meaningful highlights or lowlights this month because we have been so focused on creating our proof of concept that will be launched later this year.
Consequently, we have begun retreating into what some would call "The Vacuum," where we retreat into doing our own thing and don't make contact with the "outside" world.
In summary, this month has been relatively uneventful and quiet compared to other months, where we made remarkable strides in the development of our game. In a way, this month has been excellent, where we have made great strides in bringing into reality our concept compared to previous months. In fact, though, this is expected within the games industry to make steady progress on the current project.
Other News:
Not many of you may not know this, but we have a Patreon page! But it has been inactive over the last month because we have begun planning to reduce the number of tiers available from five tiers to only three tiers. We are removing the Bellator and the Ignimouit tier from the available tiers due to many reasons. The first is to make our Patreon page more accessible. The first reason you all will enjoy the most, we will be making multiple Patron rewards available to the public! These rewards include the podcast (which is being rebranded) and some of the speedpaint videos to allow you greater insight into what happens here at Far Owl Studios!
Here is a small teaser of what is planned for the podcast:
Along with these tiers being removed, we will also be reworking some of the other Patron rewards to be more exciting! We will notify current Patrons will be notified of the changes that are coming to their Patronage.
Discord Server:
Our Discord Server is also going to be revamped this month to include several quality of life changes. These changes include a reduced number of channels for a streamlined experience, more bots to have a better quality of life, and more to come over the month. If you want to join our Discord server and talk with the team members directly, come on over! We would love to have you around!
Want to help us out?
Want to help us out? There are many ways that you can help us all out here at Far Owl Studios! Here are just a couple of them!
Are you a seasoned crowdsourcer? We are currently looking for some crowdsourcing help and advising with our crowdsourcing strategy and more! Get in touch with us via our email at farowlstudios@gmail.com!
Want to join a burgeoning project with fellow passionate creatives and gamers? Come and apply to be a part of our team! https://www.farowlstudios.com/interested-in-joining.
That's it for this newsletter, everyone! Thank you all so much for reading and we hope that you all have a wonderful month! We can not wait until November to deliver our proof of concept to you all!