DevLog Pic Update: Braden Studying and Outside First Look (Patreon)

Hey all,

So for those on the Discord, I've been a bit quiet the last week as I finally, after 2 years of avoiding it, got covid and it kicked my ass. I've been down since last Monday with not much progress made. That being said, I'm stepping back into the role and trying to make up lost time now so bear with me.

Initial feedback for the Revamp Demo seems to be very positive so I wanted to jump back into that and give you a taste of the next update which will focus on the first day of class and as well as some of the familiar interactions we were used to seeing in the old version that took place after class.

Because I'm still playing catchup from being sick, this teaser is going to randomly focus on some of the things I already had done before the demo dropped.

So here we go with Braden studying and a first look at one of the outside campus shots:

Pic 1: This shows the original pic of Braden studying after the first day of class. Obviously, these old pics are still super grainy but it's just a basic shot really. Nothing special and the eye position is horrible.

Pic 2: This shot is from the remake. Braden is going to start out in the same basic position, but the camera angles are going to be more dynamic and hopefully that will translate into them being more interesting. A lot of you made comments regarding the improved facial expressions from the demo and we're going to continue to see that moving forward. Braden's face in this shot shows a lot more worry and trepidation about class and the overwhelming bundle of assignments he got on the first day.

Pic 3: This is a shot from the original. The classic pose of Zack leaning on the wall while talking to Braden at the desk. While the posing here isn't that great, I did want to keep some of these original shots in the remake because they're nostalgic to me and while I'm reshooting every shot in the game so far, I don't want to wipe everything. I think it's important to keep some of that stuff from the original and it's just fun to see with a fresh coat of paint.

Pic 4: This is the remake replacement image for Pic 3. Same setup but using Depth of Field and a few tweaks to Braden's position and I kicked the camera to the side a bit, makes the conversation feel more alive imo. 

Pic 5 and 6: However, we're still going to see new shots during these conversations including different camera angles as they interact and to show more mannerisms of Braden, who has adopted my habit of sitting backwards in chairs sometimes. 

Pic 7: Here's the shot from the original game of Zack walking to class. These outside shots are honestly some of the worst pictures in the entire game. In these original shots, there's actually no environment here besides that bench and tree. It's just a background. Unfortunately, the way that I was using backgrounds back then made them a copy/paste job in every shot. The same tree never moved regardless of where Zack was walking. There's also obviously no depth of field to give the shot any literal depth. It's just flat and boring (Plus, Zack walks like Robocop).

Pic 8: Now bear with me... these outside shots are tough but here's my replacement proposal. I've added students to the campus and modified Zack's position a bit to make him look less like a cyborg. The campus is actually created using exterior assets so those can be moved and changed depending on angles. I'm also just using the sun as a spotlight now instead of like 15 spotlights which really fucked with the lighting direction in Pic 7. And: best part... I left the bench and that tree in there for those that still want that sting of nostalgia. 

Hope you enjoy and stay tuned for more teasers when I get caught up.