Research Story News

[h2]Calling all Researchers![/h2]

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be participating in the upcoming Steam NextFest on 21-28 Feb 2022! We’re extremely excited to share a Demo with everyone during the event 🎉



[h2]Should you play the Demo? YES! If you…[/h2]

• Wish to get an early experience of the game
  
• Are interested in learning its core mechanics
• Want to tame creatures, grow crops, and meet NPCs (including our beloved Kipp)!
  
• Want to provide suggestions & bug reports, and help shape the development of Research Story
  

[h2]In the Demo, you’ll be able to:[/h2]

• 📖 Play as a researcher while observing the plants and creatures that have been appearing around Shimmerbrook. Record your findings for 6 different plants and 5 different creatures!
  
• 🔶 Experience the start of the main questline - it's just the beginning!
  
• 💜 Meet some of our NPCs in the game - there are currently 5 confirmed NPCs that will be appearing in the Demo!
  
• 🌿 Build your farm the way you want to, while meeting the needs of your crops and creatures!
  
• ⭐️ Customise your researcher! A limited set of options will be available.
  

This is truly an important milestone for us, as we’ll be getting your feedback on what’s the most engaging parts of the game, what’s not so fun, and things like that! These are valuable insights that would help us make a game that players would enjoy.

Finally, as always, thank you for your kind and continued support! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us wherever you wish (Steam, email, socials). See you very soon for the January progress update!

- Mikixen

[h2]Happy Holidays![/h2]

As the year comes to an end, I’m wrapping up my progress with a few menu-related features - such as a main menu, save system, and player customisation! Of course, I also took the chance to work on some Winter assets this month!

[h2]Visual updates[/h2]

Player customisation! ✨

I started some of the foundational work behind customising the player character. For now, players would be able to select from several skin tone, hairstyle, and hair colour options. More customisation options will be added in the future!



Winter is here! ❄️

It’s December, and that means Winter in Shimmerbrook! Updated a few assets - here’s a preview for winter!



[h2]Behind-the-scenes progress[/h2]

I’ve also spent some time on things such as our Save System and Options Menu.

Save System: Autosaves & Manual Saves
Game files will autosave at the end of each day, and you can also manually save at most points in the game (aside from during cutscenes/events). I hope this gives players more flexibility in choosing when to pick up and put down the game.



Options
I’ve also implemented some basic options - most notably, rebindable keys!



With some of that done, I can focus more on the content and improving the mechanics in the game. And I’m super excited about that!

[h2]Wrapping up 2021[/h2]

It has been a little more than a year since I started developing Research Story full-time, and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has helped in the making of the game (and its related materials) up till now:
🎵 Composers: Tomás, Mickey, Tyd, Shevone, Bobby
🎨 Additional artists: @joojabirra, @kookab_, @empathique
💻 Additional programmer: cyberfirex

And of course, thank YOU for supporting us in one way or another thus far. It has been an exciting and heartwarming experience sharing our progress and interacting with people who are interested in our game 💖

We have a few things planned for RS in 2022, and will announce them when we're ready (and I'm really looking forward to it!) ✨ Hope you’re having a great holiday, and happy new year! See you next month!

- Mikixen

Hello Researchers! This month, I worked on building up the town of Shimmerbrook, giving each building its own unique details and character. And many of you seem to like it!

[h2]Town buildings 🏡[/h2]

Here’re some of the new buildings:



While some buildings are simply housing for the NPCs, most of them serve a purpose beyond that. Places like the Violet Archive and Blacksmith’s are important for progression, and many buildings are also shopfronts. I hope you enjoy the little details to each building as you explore the town!

[h2]NPC Routines and Dialogue 🚶💬[/h2]

It was a great time to work on NPC routines as the town gets built and each location gains more meaning. We started building the logic for NPCs’ daily routines: NPCs will walk about, do work, take breaks, and talk about different things at different times of the day. For example, here’s Kipp going to each of the postboxes in town:



Behind-the-scenes
I thought it’d be interesting to share a little behind-the-scenes of how the NPC routines are created and tracked. Each circle is a location marker where the NPC can path towards, turn, or stop at. They can also enter and leave different parts of the map:



[h2]Map UI 🗺[/h2]
We’ve also started implementing the map UI, so that it’s easier for players to check where they are. There’s more work to be done here, but this is how it’s looking:



[h2]Introducing Eira 📚[/h2]

With all this talk about maps, we now have our very own Librarian and Cartographer for the Violet Archive! Introducing Eira - you’ll often see her at the Archive, and on Vallee’s off-days, she’ll help manage the place!



That’s a wrap for this month! Next month, I plan to work on the main menu, settings, and the like. Hopefully, I'll get to share more interesting things as well!

Take care, everyone! ‘Til next time! 💖

- Mikixen

Happy fall, Researchers!

Another month has quickly passed, and I’m glad to say it’s been quite a productive one! Much progress has been made to liven up the world of Shimmerbrook, with a focus on NPCs!

[h2]Friendships 💕[/h2]

Relationships with NPCs are an important part of Research Story. By befriending townsfolk, you will learn more about their stories and lives in Shimmerbrook. Most of the content is still being worked on, but here’s a bit of a preview:

Track your relationships! Learn about the townsfolks' birthdays, loved gifts, days when they’re off work, and favourite creatures!



Shower NPCs with gifts! Like many other farming sims, players can gain friendship points by gifting and interacting with townsfolk. I plan to add more ways to gain friendship points in the future, and will share those mechanics when they are ready.



[h2]Quests 📝[/h2]

Research Story has a main storyline that players can follow. I can’t say much about it, but it’s something I’ve been actively working on as well. Here’s how quests are tracked in the game - you can differentiate between Main Quests and Side Quests at a glance. If the quest has a time limit, it will be tagged as well.



[h2]Shops 💰[/h2]

Last month, we set up the treehouse interior - and now players can buy items from Rhea! Get your creature supplies and crafting recipes from The Treehouse.



[h2]A new face in town 💎[/h2]

This update wouldn’t be complete without an NPC reveal! Meet Suo’e, a geologist at the Archive, studying the rocks, gems, and landscapes around Shimmerbrook. He’s quite the softie and unsurprisingly, a rock and gem enthusiast!



[h2]Happy Fall!🎃[/h2]

Lastly, I wanted to do something to celebrate Fall. There are now two new decor items: Leaf Piles and Jack-o’-lanterns. I also made seasonal updates to the environment, trying to make it feel as cozy as possible. I'm particularly happy about how the falling leaves turned out :D 🍁🍂



That’s all for this update - hope everyone’s having a spooky Halloween! 🎃

See you next month!

- Mikixen

Greetings, Researchers!

Last month, I shared a little about farming and plant characteristics. This month, I’d like to share some progress made on creature taming and management! 🐓

[h2]Taming Creatures[/h2]

To start off, wild creatures you find in the areas surrounding Shimmerbrook can be tamed. Observe them to find out their diet, and feed them to gain their trust! Creatures are either diurnal or nocturnal, which affects when they can appear. Here we have a Sproutkitten appearing in the day and a Raccoon enjoying a meal at night.



[h2]Creature needs and happiness[/h2]

After taming your creatures, you’ll need to meet their basic needs by giving them a home and feeding them daily. This is where Creature Pens come in, which are items that can be placed on your farm. Assign creatures to the pens, and add feed to the trough!





There are also pen upgrades that you can work towards to make management easier! Autofeeders store a stack of feed and add to the trough automatically. Music boxes help to keep creatures happy, so missing a day or two of interactions will not reduce their happiness significantly.



[h2]Creature perks[/h2]

Happy creatures bond with their owners more quickly, and after some time, these creatures unlock perks and become little companions to aid you with your daily exploration and farming! Activate these perks by having the creatures follow you.

Currently, we have a few variations of perks. For example, Chickens find additional seeds from foraging; and Sproutkittens magically grow seeds into sprouts when players water their plots!





[h2]Creature Research[/h2]

Going back to the theme of the game, the research process for a creature involves observing, taming, and raising them. Once those are done, you’ll complete a Creature Research Scroll, ready to be submitted to the Archive!



[h2]New interior: Rhea’s treehouse[/h2]

I’ve also started working on the interior of Rhea’s place - as a druid, she can guide you in creature taming and raising. I plan to have her sell items such as Feed and Creature Pens, and the shop has been set up in the top right corner in the treehouse. Here’s a first look at the interior:



[h2]That's a wrap![/h2]

Thank you for reading to the end! Recently, we've received a lot of support for the game, particularly due to Play with Josh’s video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwAi7lFZWxE
I’d just like to welcome new folks and thank you for the continued love and support! We reached over 1k wishlists on Steam in the past week, and I’m so happy that so many of you are interested in RS - it keeps me going strong!
In the meantime, check out our Twitter for more regular updates!

- Mikixen