Neyyah News

Happy new year, Neyyah adventurers!

This year has seen some amazing developments in the upcoming world of Neyyah! In May, one of the highlights was having Neyyah announced by Microprose! I look forward to the journey ahead, with many awesome highlists already scheduled for the coming year of 2023!



The start of the year saw the finalisation of a lot of Neyyah's interior locations:

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Further work involved the development of other exterior locations, including character backdrops for the upcoming live action character sequences. It was wonderful jumping into other areas of Neyyah's world that still needed to be brought over to Blender!

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For a majority of the last quarter of 2022, I have been busy at work in building up the world of Neyyah within Visionaire Studio 5 - linking more of the prerendered graphics together, setting up various animations and 'journey modes' within the game / rendering these out, or alternatively, building out open gl 'fill-in' animations from Blender to get the animations constructed and ready to go in the game engine, plus creating a variety of interactive elements that push the puzzle elements further, and this includes the inventory system, game mechanics such as skipping animations, faster travel (renaming Quick Travel) and much, much more!

Check out a couple of this year's dev logs here:
Visionaire work:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Cornwall trip - adventures and inspirations!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Water animations in Neyyah:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Starting a new scene in Blender:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

I've also had some amazing opportunities to discuss Neyyah with other Youtubers!

My interview with Thomas Brush:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
My interview with Adventure Game Geek:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


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So what's in store for 2023? I want to keep a few things under wraps, but I can definitely say that 2023 is going to be a VERY busy year for the development of game.

Start of the year, I'll be planning a trip to Western Australia to work alongside my wife Nanci, her children and a crew of amazingly talented people to bring to life the characters of Neyyah through live action acting sessions! This is definitely a call back to those old 90s FMV games, but primarily a shout out to Myst and Riven, which incorporated real life actors in their games. This is going to be a magical moment in the game development, where BTS material will be shot, recorded and shared throughout the year.

In February, I'll be focussing on sound design and starting to piece together tracks / ideas for Neyyah's musical score! This is going to be breath of fresh air for me as a developer. It's delving into a completely different field of design, and this aspect of Neyyah's pipeline will be so important in bringing this world to life in so many ways. I look forward to sharing this progress more along the way.

Sound design has already been touched upon in test build footage, such as the ones below, but February's work will be a lot more focussed on getting finalised sounds into the game.

Test build 2021 :
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Test build 2019 :
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

I'm really excited to start progressing further with music for Neyyah too! I am going to be using a Yamaha Keyboard as my main instrument to produce Neyyah's sound, but will definitely delve further into this process, as well as touching upon my background as a performing musician and music production experience, too! Keep an out here and also my youtube channel: www.youtube.com/AaronGwynaireGameDev.

Over the last while leading up to the end of the year, I have also been working alongside my wife Nanci with the scripts for the characters, but this has lead to some really insightful and productive sessions, which have enhanced not only the scripts themselves, but also the characters and ultimately the game's narrative too. It's been a huge learning curve, and I very much look forward to working with Nanci a lot more in the future. Nanci will also be putting together the costumes for the characters too, going off concept art I have created, while she will also be tweaking things to best suit the world of Neyyah!

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So, yeah! Let's get on board with 2023! Neyyah has a lot of work ahead, with some amazing things to share along the way, and I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you for following the game here on Steam, and having wishlisted Neyyah! I look forward to sharing its mysterious and complex world with you :D

Happy New Year!

- Aaron Gwynaire / Defy Reality Entertainment


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Hello Neyyah adventurers!

It's been a little while since I last updated you all on the further developments in Neyyah's ever-changing world. Currently, there is a lot of working taking place within Visionaire Studio 5, with animations being added left, right and centre, ranging from button presses through to full-length Journey Mode animations!


Animations / interactions being brought to life in Visionaire Studio 5

Other developments include mechanics, which I want to go through on a later post, along with a commentary which delves into the differences between a 2020 test build, and how the current build stands!


2020 - Watch Tower Mini Build Showcase

Current build state


2020 - Watch Tower mini build showcase

current build state

Feel free to watch my 2020 Watch Tower test build / commentary here -> [previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


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I have also decided to bring a whole interior set into the engine as a series of OPEN GL / untextured draft renders from Blender. I do this with every animation I create in Blender, as I can render it out in seconds and throw it into Visionaire, program it and get it going within the game, to see what needs to be changed - speed, camera angles, etc.


Open GL / fill-in within Visionaire Studio 5

This enables me to get everything in the engine, working and flowing, while the renders take place and I can just replace these open gl images with the full renders when they're ready. It definitely speeds the game build development forward a lot faster! I also can't wait to see this area in full Neyyah-colour glory!


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As well as everything else, I have also been touching upon portal transition ideas and how they will look within the game. This has already been touched upon earlier in the year, as seen in my dev log here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The idea is to be able to allow the player to see through the portal at the place they'll transport to, before actually travelling through it. Again, this was an idea I came up with earlier in the year, and I am now at a point where I can start actually pushing further along with getting these into the game itself. It will be a case of looking at the VFX which will really make the portals burst to life, and enable the player to feel as though they are being whisked away into the portal and through into the other side!


closed / neutral state

open state - ready to jump into!

The overall effect is achieved via a process of effects, which I go through in the above dev log, but also documented, and have altered here and there to best suit the particular scene I'm working with. The main result is pretty much the same, however.

Here are some examples of the stages I go through in order to achieve this 'open portal' effect by incorporating another scene from the game:


- The first step is to grab the rendered scene which I want shown within the portal. I then scale this down enough so that the area in which I want shown in the portal will be exposed! I don't need the rest of the image.

- I then experiment with a variety of effects in Photoshop, such as darken, hard light, and using a variety of eraser settings. The main goal is to blend the portal destination scene into the portal, so that the look and feel of the portal is retained, while the scene before the player feels real enough to touch ... But I don't want it to look exactly the same as it will when you arrive there. This is where the colour blend comes into the mix, while a full colour layer is slowly brought in to give it that extra colour in areas.

- the end result is about the edges of the portal too - how much of the original portal look should fade away into the image, so it feels as though it could close back up at any point. This energy burst / electrical fizz effect is something still in development, but will definitely bring life to this overall open portal effect! And, of course, the effect created when the player clicks onto the portal to enter it!

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Hope you enjoyed this post, Neyyah adventurers! There's so much happening at the moment in Neyyah's development. Outside of the main interior implementation, animation, interactions within Visionaire, I am also making sure the skip animations are all working correctly. An extra addition to this is the disabling of interfaces while an animation is playing - so the player can't open upon the menu. Of course, through the 'skip cursor' at a click of the left mouse button, the animation skips and menu access is restored!

There are a lot of animations in Neyyah!

Looking forward to touching base again with a more in depth comparison spread on the Watch Tower scenes within Neyyah from 2020 and now, and then looking further into certain new mechanics being introduced within Neyyah ... I'm sure many a player will find useful!

Til then!

- Aaron Gwynaire / Defy Reality Entertainment

Hello Neyyah adventurers!

It's been a while since I've stepped foot into the Neyyah Steam dev update realm ... So much has been taking place in the development world of Neyyah. So much. A lot of work, particularly, in the Visionaire Studio 5 engine - which is progressing very nicely, and faster than expected!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

As well as retouches taking place in the world of Neyyah, I have also been able to incorporate more interior scenes, which is always fun to see come together within the Neyyah world. And ... linking animations between these locations: doorways, opening and closing, strange levers and buttons being pressed ... and inventory too!

The game menu opened at the top of the screen (with a click of ESC) with the inventory item activated upon cursor entering the stone slab icon

Inventory opened - a transparent background enabling player to see their items (enlarging when cursor goes across the item) while also feeling present and connected to the scene they're currently within, keeping the sense of immersion within the game world

Neyyah brings more inventory fun to its gameplay. While being inspired by Riven, my love for other point n clickers such as Broken Sword, The Longest Journey, and Dragon Lore II definitely shines through a lot in this element of the game. I find being able to pick up items and using them in the game world enriches the immersion factor a lot, as you're actually interacting with the environment. You learn about the world of Neyyah. In the process, you get to use the items from Neyyah, too, and work out why and where they should be used :)

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There has been a recent feature added to the game. While skipping animations is nothing new in the world of Neyyah - executed with a right click anywhere on the screen when you see an animation (be it anything from a door opening or a full journey mode animation, such as climbing up a ladder or down some stairs) and now a more refined skip for smaller animations, particularly button presses - you can now skip animations with the notification of a cursor change.

Full size raw render of Skip cursor:

Scaled edited in game Skip cursor:

Early skip animation cursor design - using the default neutral cursor design:

Originally it was just the game's default cursor which would appear while an animation played, but I thought it would be more useful to have some sort of visual key to let the player know you can skip any animation that occurs within the game.

The great thing about the Skip cursor is that while it does indicate to the player that you can skip an animation, the player has control over it as a cursor. The player can drag it away to the side of the screen if they feel it will distract them to much from the animation playing - it isn't a static button which appears on the screen once an animation plays, and is very quick to skip animations upon a right click, too.

In this dev log, I explore the implementation of animations using conditions within Visionaire, from closing to opening a 'mysterious case' within the game, plus introducing the skip animation upon another scene (from 9mins 22seconds onwards ...)

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Another great example of the skip cursor being used to skip animations is the following scene: opening and closing a door in another scene. It shows the animation in action, and then upon skipping the animations, shows how instantaneous the skip is. (Meanwhile, journey mode animations have a nice fade effect, which creates the feeling that you have still traversed through the scene).

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Here are a couple or so screenshots I've taken from the Visionaire Studio 5 game engine, which demonstrates the process of implementing the skip feature:

1. Upon opening the door, the 'animation playing for door open' condition is made true, and this brings up a hotspot across the entire scene which has the skip cursor set, and a left click action which then hides the animation playing (in this case: door opening). I have also set one up for close door animation too.



The main reason behind this particular hotspot being true, and covering the entire screen is that it also cancels out every other interactive hotspot in the scene, such as turning right or left, etc.

2. The way most animations play within Neyyah through the system I have generated in Visionaire, is there's an ending 'opened' or 'activated' image (for instance, the door being open, which is basically the last frame of the animation) and upon opening the door, while also playing the animation, it sets the open door image condition to true, showing the door being opened. However, upon the skip animation, the animation skips, but if it doesn't run straight to the open door image it skips back to the underlying original door closed state, then flicks to the open state, so I had to get straight to that true condition after the animation skips:



3. Here is the open door image, which has its own condition (made true upon the open door action, becoming true after the animation is played OR upon the skip action, after the animation is hidden). This is the scene which the skip animation ends on, which the skip cursor creates upon that right click when you don't want to watch that door animation again. The reverse happens for the close animation!


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Hope you enjoyed this update, adventurers! I will be looking at delving more into another Neyyah gameplay mechanic soon called Faster Travel, which is an option the player can enable or disable at any point in the game - a zip mode, to get around faster within the game world! This will also require a new cursor, too, so stay tuned!

Have a great rest of the week, everyone!

- Aaron Gwynaire / Defy Reality Entertainment

Hello Neyyah adventurers!

Excited to share a wonderful chat I had with Adventure Game Geek recently, where I was able to discuss the developments of Neyyah - its origin story, and how other amazing adventure titles have helped shape the game! These games include Riven, Myst, Dragon Lore II, Schizm and many more.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

One of the topics touched upon during the interview was how I generated such a similar aesthetic to that seen in Riven (which is a big influence). There are a number of considerations involved, although the main effect would be desaturation, and slightly taking away the yellow saturation from sunlit areas. I have a devlog which delves more into my Photoshop work, and highlights certain aspects of bringing life to Neyyah's artwork and nailing the look of the game world ...

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Be sure to check out Adventure Game Geek's other awesome work, including reviews on games such as Riven, Myst, Dark Fall, The Lost Crown, Barrow Hill and Schizm, all of which have played big roles in the influence behind Neyyah!

Here's an example - Adventure Game Geek's 'Riven' review:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Til next time!
- Aaron Gwynaire / Defy Reality Entertainment

Hello Neyyah adventurers, far and wide!
Today is a cool day! I've been over on Patreon, spewing out the gossip on Neyyah's recent developments, and delving a bit further into the magical world of Cornwall and my adventures there last month! Over on Patreon, I also have a 4th Year Neyyah Dev Special happening, with a draw prize taking place on Tuesday 13th September (more details further down in this post).

You can watch my dev log here, exploring places such as Looe (where I stayed), Tintagel Castle, The Rocky Valley and Polperro! A mix of scenes were documented, alongside texture references, and I also recorded some great sounds too!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

I've decided to separate my updates today, so I can focus on Cornwall, plus updates on where the game is heading currently!

I am going to share some shots from my trip, which have inspired me and have pushed certain areas of the game further (mainly at conception stage to the eventual Blender developments - and some of those will be taking place in the next couple of weeks, which is very exciting) plus, these are some of my personal favourites, too! I see this as an extention of personal connection and developer insight, in connection with the dev log.


Here I am with Matt Clark and Jonathan Boakes, creators of the Barrow Hill, Dark Fall and The Lost Crown games. These really inspired me as a teenager, when I started out, finding an interest and pursuing game development / 3D modelling further! It was wonderful hanging out with these talented game designers, talking game dev, and I also thank them for their continued support with Neyyah!
Find out more about their games down below in this post!


The beautiful Cornish town of Looe where I stayed for my visit! Fantastic area to get a taste of Cornwall! Definitely coming back here next year, too!


The rock formations astounded me ... There are some amazing purple slate and rock areas, which have definitely pushed certain terrains in Neyyah forward in their concept stages, and I really look forward to getting stuck into moulding these said environments in Blender! The 3D canvas beckons ...

This is a closer shot of the purple rock, oozing with its metalic alien like presence ... Closer shots like this have been taken of various rock and other materials, as seen in the dev log, in the hope of being able to redesign some great texture maps in Photoshop for other areas of Neyyah! This process will be something I'd like to document and share at a later point, too!

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Other areas of Cornwall also provided me with a realm of ancient Cornish rocky terrain. This photo was taken at Rocky Valley, just outside of Boscastle near Tintagel Castle. The metalic wet layered look of the terrain is something I'd love to look at recreating for areas in Neyyah, even if it's used sparsely for greater effect (and making sense with the environment change, too!) As mentioned in the dev log, I also loved how similar it looked to terrain I captured back on a road trip in Western Australia, 2014, at Karijini Gorges ...


Pathways and other areas of my various trips enabled me to help visualise certain areas I have yet to bring to Blender, but have already created concept art for! These shots enable me to focus on the more detailed placement of certain materials with the natural environment, and as mentioned in the dev log, some of the natural flora already reminds of certain areas in Neyyah, where I have incorporated natural elements to the coastal areas, fusing even man made structures with flora too! This helps build a more old ancient world!


I love how the plants grow on the rocks! This is something I've definitely infused into the world of Neyyah!


I was lucky to capture this at low tide - this area can be completely submerged at Looe's harbour, but on my 5 mile trek back from Polperro, I slanted down to the barnacle infested blanket of Cornish rock and managed to take some great shots, including this rocky pathway towards the castle ruin tower ... This reminded me of a scene I have instore for Neyyah, so it was a perfect capture!

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In terms of what already exists in the game, or the concepts I have for areas yet to be modelled / rendered out, I am always keeping my eye (and ears - for sounds) out for anything which can help inspire or develop the ideas further along.

Cornwall didn't disappoint!

Here is a final art piece I created for Patreon a while back, depicting a scene which has undergone some work due to getting backdrops ready for actors / filming FMV sequences in January next year (and this in itself has helped push the design and environment art further further too!)


The building structure has gone through various designs (on paper and in my head), influenced by local architecture I have seen on my outtings, but also in Cornwall too! This coastal watch building will help influence the tower building, due to the shape and materials used!

... It's also very Myst!

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Tintagel Castle was an amazing location to visit in Cornwall, already bound in myth and legend, a place offering plenty of opportunities for inspiring Neyyah's designs further! There was definitely the hustle and bustle of tourists abound, and the weather throughout the day I went began with rain and fog (the drive feeling as though I was riding the dragon's breath to the castle, which did feel very cool, as though I was time travelling) through to being soaked in August sunshine, lost in the magical splendour of Merlin's Cave area, below the forboding bridge leading to the castle ruins beyond.


Tintagel Castle ruins ... Wih Neyyah being in its own state of ruin, it was great drawing influences from the history of this wonderful place, and also the style of architecture which had been used too!


I thought I wouldn't be able to get down to Merlins' Cave ... It had been advertised as being closed, due to reasons specified on their website, but instead, everyone was flocking down to this gorgeous beach, and being the adventurer I am, and in the name of Neyyah, I had to check it out! The steps lead down to the bright shores, basking in the afternoon sun, which the waters poured in through the rugged coastline, the tide being out just enough for explorations of Merlin's Cave to take place ...

A scene from Neyyah (which has also undergone some cool Journey Mode animation renders, too)
Neyyah showcases a bunch of glorious sunny open air scenes, but it also has its cavernous, darker, enclosed spaces, and this can definitely shift the atmosphere and feel of a particular location!


The beauty of creating the transition from enclosed to open is infusing various environmental elements together ... This takes place already in various areas of Neyyah. You'll really feel the hit of being out again in open sunlight, after wandering dark cold underground chambers!


A scene from Neyyah - the use of volumetric light really emphasising the derelict feel of the rubbel ahead (dust particles will be added to such scenes too!)

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I'm going to have to cap this update off there for now ... I could go on forever about Cornwall. It's definitely provides a huge cauldron of inspiration for Neyyah. I will definitely be returning next year, and I look forward to implementing my finds into Neyyah - in all various forms, which will be duelly noted as I share the progress of the different areas of development! My next update which I'm aiming to have out by the middle of the week will delve into current developments on the game, including updates on backdrops for FMV acting sessions (taking place in January next year in Western Australia) and the engine work coming up!

Thanks for reading! And massive thanks for continuing to support the developments of Neyyah!

- Aaron Gwynaire / Defy Reality Entertainment

Join up on Patreon to be part of the 4th Year Neyyah Dev Anniversary - Patreon Special! Draw prizes being announced on the 13th September! Follow Neyyah's dev on Patreon for a more exclusive behind the scenes experience! All patrons will have their name on credits of the game as a Patreon supporter! Enter the portal at www.patreon.com/defyrealityentertainment


Matt Clark and Jonathan Boakes (Links:)
http://www.shadowtor.com/store - all games available here!
http://www.darklingroom.co.uk - Jonathan's website
http://www.shadowtor.com - Matt's archaeological work / Time Team etc!