Mondrian - Plastic Reality News

Mondrian - Plastic Reality has been updated to Version 1.0.3 with a major focus on Adventure Mode stability and controller compatibility. On top of making doubly sure the story will progress beyond Level 1, we've added more functionality to text boxes. Enter/A-button will skip to the end of a line of dialogue, and Space/Y-button will skip the story entirely and progress to the game. Text boxes have also been sped up very slightly.

There is also a new Option available, under Gameplay. You can now choose a Controller UI. We tried to automate this, and there's just too many variables and different controller names to condense them all into a few UI layouts. So, this is the compromise, and it still works pretty well. The default is an Xbox/Steam Controller UI, but you can also choose Dualshock 4, Dualshock 5, or Switch Pro Controller. Head to the Gameplay options menu to set yours appropriately.

(Also, if a control on your end is different than what the Pause menu map or the button prompts say, please let us know and we'll fix it asap!)

[h3]Features[/h3]

• Text boxes will now fill in the full line before skipping
  
• Added button for skipping story entirely in text boxes (Space or Y button)
  
• Added deeper Controller functionality in Museum. You can now open paintings, start levels, and close lightboxes with a Controller, meaning you can now play through all levels in Adventure Mode just with a Controller (controller functionality for customizing the museum be coming in 1.0.4 with more museum customization fixes)
  
• Added Keyboard & Controller button prompts in the Museum to allow you to select paintings and start levels
  
• Added button prompts in text boxes for skipping to the end of a dialogue line, or skipping a dialogue segment entirely
  
• Added Controller UI selection under Options\Gameplay. You can choose between Xbox, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Switch button layouts. Keyboard & Mouse UI will automatically switch on if any key or mouse button is pressed.
  

[h3]Changes[/h3]

• The build has been updated into the latest stable version of Clickteam Fusion 2.5+, 292.29
  
• You can now leave the Museum while Story is being typed out by clicking the Honeycomb icon in the upper left hand corner
  
• The player’s data file has been changed to player_1.mondriandata to hopefully avoid further file issues
  
• Replaced the Player array in global events with up-to-date version
  
• Updated Pause screen control map to use Courier New
  
• Pause screen controller will now match the one you’ve selected in the Options menu
  
• Sped up story text typing just a smidge
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed text boxes not disappearing if they were skipped through too quickly
  
• Fixed a typo in Adventure Mode
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented a Story level from starting unless you moved Piet after the teleport animation played
  
• Fixed a bug in Adventure Mode that prevented the selected difficulty from being properly set
  
• Fixed Level 3 of Adventure Mode not loading the proper story
  
• Fixed Level 3 of Adventure Mode not having the right ball
  
• Fixed the game starting in Adventure Mode while the story was still typing out
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
It's launch day and The Adventure Begins right now!!! Welcome to Mondrian - Plastic Reality, the sequel to Abstraction in Beauty, which coincidentally launched on Steam five years ago today. We're very excited to be here, and now it's time to let you know what's in store:

• The original three Quick Play modes from Abstraction in Beauty have returned! Endless is a super casual, no punishment way to play the game and stock up on Gems. Gem Hunt lets you gamble with the Gems you've found, going Double or Nothing in between each level. Arcade is a twenty round challenge with three lives and Leaderboard glory awaiting.
  
• One hundred levels are included with the base package. This is a massive jump from Abstraction in Beauty's twelve levels, and includes recreations of Renaissance, Dutch Master, and other classic paintings.
  
• Mondrian Maker is an integrated, easy-to-use toolset that lets you create and share your own Mondrian levels. Upload them instantly to Steam Workshop to share them with the world!
  
• New Gameplay modes let you experience Mondrian and your creations in all new ways. Testing mode is accessible from Mondrian Maker, and gives you a no-powerups-no-thrills version of your level to see how you like it. Gallery mode is also accessible from Mondrian Maker, and lets you view your level in a print-ready fashion. We already have a Gallery Mode Guide available on the Steam Community, so make sure to read that to get the most out of your creations! Finally, Adventure mode is Mondrian's first ever Story mode. We'll talk about that more in a second.
  
• Five playable characters, all with their own minor variations in control schemes, thanks to the inclusion of Top Speed, Acceleration, and Braking stats. Each character has their own nuances, so be sure to learn them to maximize your scores!
  

Alright so. That's all cool, but let's talk about Adventure Mode. This is Mondrian's first ever story mode, and we're going big. This mode drops you into an abandoned Art Museum, and it's up to you to rebuild it with the Gems you find inside the Plastic Reality. Right now there are four different elements to customize:

1. Walls. The game is launching with twelve wall textures, ranging from Drywall to Mid Century Wooden Paneling. Collect gems to put your Museum under (very brief) construction and change them up! Don't worry, nothing here about "Pay 500 gems to speed up construction." The lights go down, the sound effects play, and your new wall is right there on fade up.
   
2. Floors. The game is also launching with twelve floor textures, and whether you're feeling wood floors, tiles, bricks, carpet, or metal, there's something here for you. Your character's footsteps also match the material! Attention to detail is important. Same deal here as with Walls, no waiting for construction to end or paying to speed it up. It's just fast.
   
3. Spotlights. These areas hold furniture, and at launch, we're starting with Pedestals. A Museum room has eight spotlights, and there are eighteen different pedestals you can pick from. Each one can hold a single...
   
4. Spotlight Artworks. This is where the real customization comes in. At launch, there are also eighteen different artworks you can place on Pedestals, in two different packs: Plastic and Chessboard.
   

This means that there are over 400,000 possible Museums to be built at launch! Once a month we will be adding new packs to the Museum, as well as expanding it out to let you build more rooms as the Story grows episodically. Some packs will be added into the game for free, others will be available as premium DLC. Right now, the Museum is basically a dollhouse, so no matter how you decorate it, it's purely aesthetic. We have some cool plans for it for the future, but no matter what, you will not need to purchase DLC to "win" the Museum. It will always stay true to its dollhouse roots.

Speaking of the story, the game is launching with 10 story levels that explore Piet Mondrian's early days. You can access these levels from the Museum as their paintings appear on the wall. This first episode will also act as a Tutorial of sorts, letting you get to know the game one core mechanic at a time. Our goal is to launch a new story once a month, with Season 1 spanning 10 episodes. While most episodic games take a serial approach, we're treating our episodes as a series. We'll be jumping in and out and back and forth of all kinds of stories, so you'll be able to play them in any kind of order you want and not really miss out on overarching plot points.

Also a quick note: Story Mode especially is bound to receive bug fixes and optimizations in the first couple of weeks after launch, so please be patient as we wrangle it into shape for Episodes 2 and beyond.

Also also: if you happen to have any Razer Chroma RGB powered devices, the game will absolutely light up your world! We've been working alongside Razer to bring you Chroma compatibility in Mondrian - Plastic Reality. Whether you have a keyboard, mouse, headset, or even Philips Hue lightbulbs, your lights will match the current level's color scheme!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We're incredibly excited to have you here with us today and can't wait to see what you think! Please be sure to leave any Bug Reports on the Steam Forums rather than as a Steam review as we are much more likely to see it there.

So what are you doing? Hop to it! The Canvas is Waiting.
- Danny

Hey everybody! We have set the demo to live, so if you'd like to check the game out, now's the time! Go download the demo and #makeAMondrian right meow.

- Danny

Grab your brushes, and don't get dizzy, because we're taking you for a spin. Mondrian - Plastic Reality is a time-tripping, brickbreaking adventure through art history, our followup to 2015's Mondrian - Abstraction in Beauty, and we hope we can blow your expectations out of the cadmium yellow jar.



When we started Plastic Reality, we honestly thought we were just going to make an expansion pack for AiB. Three or four months into production we began to realize that what we had on our hands was a lot more than that. We had multiple playable characters who really changed the feel of the game; we had vastly improved graphics and new block shapes; and we had our first ever level editor with VERY easily shareable content. What we had was so much more than an expansion pack. It was honestly more than a sequel. It was a whole new beginning.

AiB was a turning point for us as a studio. We built something that, to this day, we're pretty proud of. But for a game about art to not include any way to CREATE art felt... disingenuous. We wanted to take the game above and beyond our own capabilities as a studio and stop playing it safe.



Our mission statement has always been to give students entering the game industry their first chance to build fun products, and with Mondrian - Plastic Reality, we had the unique opportunity to give them a game they could watch grow as they worked, rather than after. Our level designers could test their Mondrian Maker creations immediately and push the game to its limits (forcing us to completely reinvent our level file format halfway through production). Our animators could watch their characters and special effects come to life. Our artists could quickly export their works to be game-ready with the included Photoshop template. It's a game that's a truly dynamic product, one that grows the more we play it.

Now you have a chance to help grow this game too. For our first annual Summer Gala, we're celebrating our community by giving you Mondrian - Plastic Reality in full. The only limitations are what we haven't built in yet, and that it will disappear when the Steam Games Festival ends. Short of that, you have full access to the game, 100 levels, 5 playable characters, and the Mondrian Maker level editor, with its exclusive Testing and Gallery modes. We want this to be a big celebration of art and creativity! Even if you're more of a Player than a Creator, we're challenging you to check out Mondrian Maker and share one creation to Steam Workshop. Anything you build in the demo will be waiting for you at launch as well, so make sure to add the game to your Wishlist so you don't miss out!



Of course, this being a celebration of the community and YOUR works, make sure to follow our brand new Mondrian Makers Instagram where we'll be sharing daily Gallery Mode captures of our favorite Mondrian Maker creations.

Please leave any feedback you have in the game's Community as we'll be keeping a particularly close eye on it for these next few days! We hope you have an awesome Summer Festival and we can't wait to see what you create for the Gala.

Thank you for playing.
- Danny

We'll be in our community chatroom here on Steam from 3pm-4pm Eastern every day. Come ask your questions and we'll answer what we can!

Join the Chat Here:
https://s.team/chat/BA2UiC7S