Beyond Sunset News

Have you ever entertained the thought that a game never ends up exactly as planned? Design and development are iterative processes, and this means that ideas change.

I have an example for you. It’s a small change that significantly impacts the way you perceive your ‘gaming experience’.

Here’s an SCPD (Sunset City Police Department) officer, one of your enemies, as we initially designed him. He has a white-and-blue uniform and generally isn’t that far from a riot police officer you might see in real life.



And here he is after a couple of tweaks



He also comes in two flavors, the second one being this:



We changed his colors to what we think feels more cyberpunky and less contemporary. His shoulder pads are massive, and in his larger iteration, his melee animation has a trail to make it more punchy. This new takes some inspiration from the music video for Billy Idol’s song Shock to the System, check it out!

All of the above results in a look that’s more futuristic and aggressive. Despite the fact that this enemy’s behavior hasn’t changed, you’ll (hopefully) THINK that he’s more dangerous. And that will translate to more exciting encounters.

Keep this in mind if you played the demo. The full game will bring a lot of surprises!

{
Print(s:"It’s been a while since we last updated you about our progress. Let’s make up for it, shall we?");
}

[h2]Episode 2 is almost done! What’s Episode 2, you ask?[/h2]

If you know old shooters, you know a lot of them have an episodic structure within a single game. Like Doom started with Knee-Deep in the Dead, and Duke Nukem 3D with L.A. Meltdown, remember?

This is what you’ll see when you start our game

Beyond Sunset is similar in this regard: we also have episodes that share the setting. The difference is that we actually tell a story through them, instead of simply presenting differently-themed map packs. Basically, in Beyond Sunset, episodes work like acts.

[h2]Each episode tells a segment of the story in a new location and introduces a twist to the gameplay.[/h2]

E2 takes place in a technological megastructure that’s designed to function almost as a living organism. This makes it less cozy and familiar than the streets of Sunset City, but we feel that it adds nice variety and a break after exploring the dirty, Yakuza-infested avenues.

[h2]Despite the environment being more abstract, it was designed with a purpose and backstory.[/h2]

In every level we make, we try to justify why the things you see are there in the first place. We feel that any game is more immersive if the surroundings have an actual purpose in their designer’s mind.

For example, we have a part that’s based on the real-life Hadron Collider. But for us, this is the system that powers the entire place.



Apart from it, a lot of what you’ll see in E2 is meant to resemble Ancient Egyptian architecture. Additionally, the three main sections of the building use their own color pattern and an individual motif based on a geometrical shape. This adds a unique look to each of the sections and lets us guide you through them easily without any objective markers.

[h2]The different visual elements blend nicely and create an eerie, cold, alien environment that’s in stark contrast to the city streets. [/h2]

E2 also shakes up the way you play the game as the space gets wider and allows us to throw more enemies at you. Or faster enemies. Or tougher enemies. Or all at the same time!

Here’s one acquaintance you’ll make

As for the gameplay, I mentioned that we want each Episode to introduce a twist. This is something that should make Beyond Sunset stand out among other retro shooters. But it’s a huge topic to cover, so let’s talk about it some other time.

Thanks for reading! If you made it this far, consider adding our game to your wishlist.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1665260/Beyond_Sunset/

#include "zcommon.acs"

int newyear = 1;
int wishes = 1;

script "HappyNewYear20XX" ENTER
{
MorphActor(0, "Metacorp", "PartyHard", -1, 0, "", "");
Print(s:"Happy New Year 20XX!");
Delay(10);
PlaySound(0,"AuldLangSyne",CHAN_NOPAUSE);
Delay(90);
Print(s:"All the best in the brand new year 20XX from the Beyond Sunset team! May all your resolutions come true!");
GiveInventory("Hug",999);
ACS_NamedExecute("FliesAway",0);
}

conversation
{
actor = "Santa";
class = "XmasConversationMenu";
page
{
name = "CYBER SANTA";
pagename = "HoHoHo";
dialog = "\c[XmasFont]Ho! Ho! Ho! Meeeeerry CyberXmas! Best wishes from our entire team, and from Movie Games as well! May your dreams come true, and may this time be filled with joy! Now tell me, did you behave this year?";
choice
{
text = "Yes, I did, Santa!";
giveitem = "AllThePresents";
yesmessage = "Good, that's what Santa wants to hear! Ho! Ho! Ho!";
}
choice
{
text = "Uhh... Not really, Santa.";
giveitem = "AllThePresents";
yesmessage = "Well, that's not what Santa expects to hear, but your sincerity is admirable! Merry Xmas! Ho! Ho! Ho!";
}
}
}

Digital games are great but sometimes we wish we could touch them… So we made a Beyond Sunset diorama, and one that YOU can make too!



Watch how Rox assembled it:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Do you want to try your hand at putting it together yourself? Click the link below, print out the picture and have fun! (Don’t forget to show us the results)

Download it here

We’d also like to remind you that the team is gonna attend the Denver Indie Games expo on November 26 at Black Sky Brewery in Denver, Colorado. Do drop by and say hi!