Possibly a damsel-in-distress involved even, or at least that’s what Joel of Skookum Arts seemed to imply in his OUGU of yesteryear.
As the years changed so has the narrative, with the Ohio-based trio now visibly pleased at the plot that will come bundled with The Pedestrian later this year. Greenlit and stretch-funded circa February 2017.
In the search for simplicity with what is to be its flagship, Skookum, claims to have found clarity in the public sign system that makes up your daily commute. Sure this makes for a certain ease in rendering assets but a textless clutter-free experience is what The Pedestrian is really fantasizing.
A 2.5D, build-your-own solution puzzle platformer in heart, the game’s old 10-minute demo is an equally neat little proof-of-ingenuity.
From the three-dimensional office lobby all the way down to its maintenance shafts and warehouse, the ‘tutorial level’ has one rearrange the network of public signs placed before them in two-dimensional space to form a node-based, seamless conduit from one area to the next.
The only forms of communication being, of course, the protagonist’s question-mark enquiry of his next move, old-school televisions that tell of basic mechanics and a coffeehouse-like soundscape meant to keep you relaxed through the brain-tickling.
Call me a certified electrician! We're still working on how the visuals for the connections will look, but the wiring system is running like a dream :). #screenshotsaturday #indiedev #indiegames #gamedev #madewithunity pic.twitter.com/VuZAFvYHkS
— Skookum Arts (@SkookumArts) February 24, 2018
The full-experience will apparently span subways, art galleries, downtown traffic and even the murky realms of sewers.
I also had a craving for a more picturesque ambience through the demo, I’ll be honest, but the ongoing dev-log is promising a plethora of revisions and polish.
Not just to the technicalities of camera controls, environments and puzzle difficulty in general, that is, but to the overall fluidity of mechanics devoid of cutscenes/loading times.
It’s worth noting that Valentine’s made playable the female playable protagonist, with the overarching narrative said to contain a minimum of at least three acts. Plus, wish-list ready on Steam.
