Devlog 2: New Lighting

Hey y'all, time for a quick update on Anomaly Archive! If you don't know, Anomaly Archive is a PS1 aesthetic horror game in which you find and listen to cassette tapes that describe spooky anomaly encounters. It's inspired primarily by The Magnus Archives podcast and the Anatomy game by Kitty Horrorshow.

Dropping the game jam!
First of all, I ended up dropping out of the Improve My Game Jam. I realized I wasn’t going to have anything resembling a playable build within the timeframe. Since I wouldn’t have much to share for feedback and I was going to keep working on the game anyway, it didn’t really make sense to stress myself out just to meet an arbitrary deadline.

Struggling with models & lighting
The biggest thing I’ve been wrestling with lately is modeling. I’ve been trying really hard to make vertex shading work because I genuinely love the way it looks. It added a ton of atmosphere and creepiness and it also stands out against other PS1 style games since not many folks seem to use it. 

You can see my old vertex shading in motion. I love how jagged the light edges are, really adding something uncomfy.

The problem is that it only really works when models are constructed specifically for it. A lot of low-poly asset pack models, while attractive, just aren’t built with vertex shading in mind, which meant I was spending way too much time modifying meshes to make them work.

A few days ago I finally accepted that I’m just not comfortable enough in Blender to get the look I want at the speed I’d need to have this game testable in any reasonable timeframe. So I made the disappointing decision to drop vertex lighting. 😭

In the extremely unlikely scenario where this takes off and a publisher throws enough money at it for me to hire a modeler, I'll switch back asap, but for the sake of moving forward, I have to switch tactics.

The new lighting
So I’ve switched over to per-pixel lighting. It’s a different effect than what I originally envisioned and I’m bummed about that, but I still think I can hit the atmosphere I’m shooting for. This change lets me use whatever models I want with the textures I've been making so I can make forward progress instead of modifying models indefinitely.

The new per pixel lighting doesn't have the jagged look I love but saves me a ton of time.

This shift also led me to switch from individual texture files to a single texture atlas and I’ve been reworking the walls to be simple single planes instead of more complex geometry. This will contribute to the PS1 aesthetic and decorating the house should go way faster now, which means we're getting closer to a playtest!

On the left is a single flat plane rather than a wall with extruding planks and trim. The texture atlas is on the right.

If all goes well, next update I’ll be able to show off an interior walkthrough and share some cassette anomaly audio with y’all. That  said, I do love to split my time between too many projects and I started a new YouTube channel that is JUST for recommending lesser known horror demos and games in 60 seconds or less. If that interests you, check it out! 

That said, because I apparently love splitting my time between too many projects, I also started a new YouTube channel JUST for recommending lesser known indie horror demos and games in 60 seconds or less. If that sounds like your thing, check it out! 💀 Play More Horror 

And if you want to join the first playtest, you can sign up right here! 👉 https://anomalyarchive.carrd.co