As executive producer I am making the bold announcement that we are releasing an early access version of our game on 4/30/2019! The team's reaction was as expected; it's a tight deadline! But I'm confident in my team. We're actually doing a pre-early access, which really will just look like a spruced up prototype.
With that in mind, I want to share some of our character modeling progress.
Meet Rex, he's who you'll be playing as in the early access release, a kooky inventor gone video game store owner. With this model, you can see the aesthetic direction of the game of a whole. Rex has the honor of being our first completed model. He's so proud. And his animations are coming along as well.
Now to meet the misfits you'll be defending your store against: the bandits (aka: them dirty bandits)!
The melee bandit! Careful or he'll hit you with his wrench. The melee bandit is the lowest level bandit. It shouldn't take too much to gun him down, if you can... he's so cute. This guy was actually animated before texturing, and we learned that's not the way to do it (thoughts?).
Next is the pistol bandit. He fits more into the stereotypical 'bandit' mold. This guy has some strategy. He will hide behind your shelves and try to pick off your turret; he'll only be able to be hit when he peeks, but still this bandit is nothing for our shopkeeper to be worried about.
Now, we introduce a specialty bandit. She looks so innocent. She won't, though, after she equips her solder gun! To make matters trickier, she's not gunning for the store owner; she's after your games! This little lady will go straight for your most profitable game and try to desolder it. What a jerk! Make sure you take time to aim at this one, or you'll lose your profits.
And we wouldn't want to forget the unsung hero of every game: the assets that fill a room. This particular asset will be front and center and will be up-gradable. This thing doesn't just need to hold games, but keep those bandits at bay! The player will be able to upgrade both armor and storage capacity.
Do you want to see more bandits? Do you want to be featured as one? We are actually holding a costume contest on our Facebook page this month. The winner will be modeled as a bandit in the game! We thought it was something we'd all like to do, so maybe our community would as well.
Make sure you keep a close watch on our studio, Hwy 21. We want to be held to a high standard, and timely releases. We want advice, suggestions, ideas, improvements and anything else you want to throw at us. If you're on our indieDB page jump on the forums and start lighting them up! Looking forward to hearing from you and building an awesome early access build!
