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Gamedec - Definitive Edition News

Gamedec books available in English!

The moment many have been waiting for has arrived. The first two volumes of the Gamedec saga are available in English on Amazon!



Grab then now:
[h2]Edge of Reality[/h2] 👉 amazon.com/dp/B09F6D7MD4
[h2]Locomotive Salesmen[/h2] 👉 amazon.com/dp/B09F6FBWLY

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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.



Stay safe!

Dev-Diary: The Music of Gamedec

Press play and listen to the sounds of Gamedec. In this developer diary, we'll look at how four composers and an orchestra collaborated to create an out-of-the-box soundtrack.

Check out our newest dev-diary about creating the music in the game! For the first time you can hear the design approach from our composers, including Marcin Przybyłowicz (Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3), Maciej Dobrowolski, Piotr Musiał (Frostpunk) and Magdalena Urbańska. Let us know what do you think!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]ADD GAMEDEC TO WISHLIST[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/917720/Gamedec/
[h2]Credits: [/h2]

🔈 Lead Sound Design
Karolina Jachna

🔈 Sound Design
Jakub Adamek
Maciej Balcer
Agnieszka Rumińska

🔈 Additional Sound Design
Jurgen Cialon
Michał Korniewicz

🔈 Music Direction & Composing
Marcin Przybyłowicz

🔈 Music
Maciej Dobrowolski
Piotr Musiał
Marcin Przybyłowicz
Magdalena Urbańska

🔈 Orchestration/Conductor
Nikola Kołodziejczyk

🔈 Recording Engineer:
Błażej Domański
Kamil Biedrzycki

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WEBSITE
â–º https://gamedec.com

TWITTER
â–º https://twitter.com/GamedecTheGame

FACEBOOK
â–º https://www.facebook.com/gamedecthegame/

Pre-Orders are now available on Humble Store, GOG.com and Epic Games Store

Hello!

We've started rolling the pre-orders on Humble Store, Epic Games Store, and GOG.com, let your friends know if they missed the Kickstarter Campaign and want to jump on the hype train :)




We didn't forget about you, dear backers, so each and every one of you will get the Torkil Aymore DLC for free. Enjoy and spread the word!

>>> Humble Store: https://humblebundle.com/store/gamedec
>>> GOG.com: https://www.gog.com/game/gamedec
>>> Epic Games Store: https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/gamedec

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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.



Stay safe!

Into the GamedecVerse: Military & Out-Rangers

When talking about sci-fi and post-cyberpunk scenarios, many people are asking about the military and how it evolved with the passage of time. GamedecVerse has a lot to say about this matter, so be prepared for a solid dosage of knowledge!



In the GamedecVerse, there are only four countries in the world: The Free States of the Americas (FSA), Free Europe (FE), the African Federation (AF), and the Pacific and Indian Ocean Federation (PIOF). Some of these countries have separate districts. E.g., FSA has South and North America, PIOF has Mother Russia, Middle Kingdom, Australia, etc.

[h2]Armies[/h2]

Each of these four countries has its own professional armies, whose numbers, like technological advancement, vary greatly.

[h2]Free States of Americas [FSA][/h2]

The FSA army has two million soldiers and four million drones. It relies on modern equipment, unmanned warfare, and special forces. The best airships, the best submarines, the best spacecraft, the best-trained pilots, and commandos. And the most expensive equipment.

[h2]African Federation [AF][/h2]

This is the poorest and second-largest army. It consists of five million soldiers divided into armies according to tribal affiliation and one hundred thousand drones. Inadequate equipment and poor training, not the best motivation. FE is essentially a fictional country torn apart by corporations.



[h2]Pacific and Indian Ocean Federation [PIOF][/h2]

Without a doubt the most powerful army globally, with forty million soldiers and ten million drones. Everything looks fantastic. Technology, however, does not catch up with that of the FSA, and experts have no doubt that in the event of a clash, the FSA would win.

[h2]Free Europe [FE][/h2]

Experts still cannot determine which army would be more effective: the one belonging to the PIOF or the one at the disposal of the FE. The European army consists of three million soldiers and three million drones. Still, it has reliable equipment and well-trained personnel. Like the FSE, it has airborne battleships, great aircraft, submarines, and because of its location, numerous special forces.



[h2]Who carries the weapons?[/h2]

In Free Europe, weapons are carried by:
  • Professional soldiers
  • Veterans
  • Police officers
  • Out-Rangers

[h2]Soldiers & Out-Rangers[/h2]


Mechanized armies at the end of the 22nd century are great sandboxes for the big boys: modern flying, riding, or swimming equipment and a bunch of knock-offs. The point is that an army is also a powerful conditioning machine that forces a soldier to shoot another human being and take his life on command. If you choose the profession of a soldier, remember that you have been brainwashed. You have been turned into a killing machine. The fuse that makes it difficult to carry out a terrible order has been "removed," and then before you leave the ranks, it has been "installed" again.

You most likely did not kill anyone during your career. However, you were, there is no doubt about it, taught how to take a life. In addition to this challenging knowledge, you carry pounds of valuable skills in your memory. You know how to repair equipment, how to drive heavy and light combat vehicles (remember, even tanks fly in the Gamedecverse). You are well versed in weapons, quick medical aid and know how your mind and body react under extreme exhaustion. - this gives you a significant advantage in all war games and situations of extreme fatigue.

Games simulating military clashes are to you what a remote-controlled pneumobil model is to a professional pilot.



[h2]Armed Conflicts[/h2]

In the Gamedecverse, the media is in the hands of corporations, and corporations don't want the public to know what they're really doing. And what do they do? When a former country, let's say Chile, wants to get a little autonomy in the FSA, immediately the jackals from the secret service appear and pacify the provocateurs. What happens in the news? The world gets the message that a dozen "terrorists" were neutralized.

When a company begins to advance dangerously, masked "terrorists" attack its factories and destroy them.

When engineers discover large deposits of precious minerals in some districts of some country, they will show up to install their man as mayor of the district. No matter where the corporation that wants to get its hands on them is headquartered. If there is trouble with other corporations, there will be "armed gang fights."



The general rule is that when inter-corporate fighting occurs, the media talk about ethnic conflicts, liberation movements, separatist movements. They cover everything to maintain the illusion of states and their intra-state troubles. In fact, states exist so that there are different currencies, financial markets and so that you can still have financial instruments. If it weren't for that, there would probably have been a single state for a long time, over which corporations would extend their tentacles as they fight for power.

Armed conflicts go on all the time, but they are called "interventions", "missions", "reconnaissances", "negotiations", etc. The soldiers serving in FE are most often sent to Africa, less often to South America. They rarely guess that diamond, uranium, gold, or copper deposits are really involved. However, if they glanced at the mineral maps, they should guess.

[h2]The attitude towards the military[/h2]

The doctrine of war introduced in the middle of the 20th century said that a soldier should inspire fear by his appearance. At this time, fearsome face masks and gruesome designs of weapons and armaments were introduced to the general public. Not much has changed since then. This is why soldiers inspire a mixture of fear and awe, especially those who have chosen to have any of their lost limbs replaced with combat-grade, mechanical prosthetics. (The Old Yet may have such a prosthesis).



Depending on whom a veteran of conflicts in Africa or South America comes across, their perception will vary.

Informed person - Informed people have attended training at least once on how to treat veterans. These ones know that they should not be judged that it is okay to ask them about "what it was like," but accept that they will not tell you everything. Veterans have been forced to kill, and this part of their experience accounts for PTSD. An informed person will approach a veteran with respect, calm, and a listening attitude.

"Pacifist" - an aggressive anti-corporate militant. If a veteran comes across as a "pacifist," they may be met with hostility, accusations, spitting in the face, and terms like "corporate minion," "terrorist," and "murderer."

Uninformed person - people who are unaware of the great vulnerability of veterans but who are not hostile to them like "pacifists." They are often afraid of veterans, which only arouses the loneliness syndrome in them.

And that concludes our today's update! How do you find this detailed report on the state of the military in the 22nd century? Would you enlist or rather spend your time in the virtualias?

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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.



Stay safe!

Dev-Diary: About UI with Iza Mazur

One of the most common but, often unnoticeable aspects of video games is their User Interface. It is hard to design a system in which the player almost immediately knows what to do and everything is clear and easy to use.

Meet Iza Mazur, who tries to bring these factors together, and design a coherent UI to Gamedec – a game of many worlds and genres.


All of the images might be from different stages of game development, please don’t mind the occasional Polish words since this is still a work-in-progress state. :)



[h2]GENERAL QUESTIONS[/h2]

If you'd have to describe what you do in your job to a 10-year-old, what would you say?

I invent and draw all the icons and pop-ups you see when playing the game, changing options, or using your character's abilities. The number of bullets, the inventory, and icons representing items you've gained, simple things like a life bar or a mini-map. Even the screen where you save your progress in the game. This is what I do daily.

When did you decide to become a UI designer?

Spontaneously while working at my first company, when I was tasked with designing some skill icons. My first task was to work on storyboards. After some time, I was assigned to work on UI. It started with a few icons, ended with designing popups, and finally whole screens. As it turned out, most graphic designers hated working on UI, so as one of the few graphic designers who liked it, I was given more and more tasks related to it until I started to be interested in UX. And so it stayed.



Why is UI design so important?

It helps the player grasp the gameplay and understand the game mechanics. If it wasn't for the UI, it would be hard to introduce the player to new mechanics or show how to navigate the game world at all.



What UX information do you need to have before you start designing?

Any that would be useful 😛 But seriously, I need to know what kind of game mechanics the design envisions to determine what screens are required and what would be on them. Screens such as options or the main menu are usually not very problematic. For most gamers, The most demanding screens relate to the development of characters, where there are many elements. Everything depends on what the designers come up with and those unique to a particular game and hard to find references in other games.

[h2]GAMEDEC [/h2]

What were your inspirations for Gamedec's UI?

There were different games at different stages, but mainly the AC series. After so many titles were released in the series, their UI is evident and straightforward. There was also inspiration from Dishonored and Deus Ex.



How would you describe UI design in Gamedec? What was your design process, and how did you validate your decisions?

I started with a box-based sketch to show the placement of elements on the screen and determine if the flow was appropriate. Then I looked for the right style, based on what was done by 3D and Level Designers and the project's overall vision. Once the tone was clear, I made final mockups, which were then approved by the Art Director and given to the developers for review.

How challenging is designing a UI for an isometric game?

It depends on the size of the game and the complexity of the mechanics involved. The challenge is to create a clear UI when there is a lot of data to consider, and with RPGs, there is usually a lot of it. FPP games provide more opportunities for experimentation, at least in my opinion.

But that doesn’t mean that other genres have nothing to offer. To this day, I'm still fascinated by the minimal UI in Dead Space and how it was implemented and "written" into the gameplay.



Was it hard to shuffle the UIs because of how many different environments Gamedec has?

Considering that each world has a dedicated HUD, it was a fun and stress-relieving task. It allowed me to break from creating the main UI and look at everything from a new perspective. I also enjoyed playing with the styles. I moved away from our theme and designed something completely new to fit a particular world.



What element of UI are you most proud to work on?

From in-game UI and codex, They seem the clearest to me, and I hope people will appreciate the intuition of both.

What system needed a general overhaul, and how did it make to a way better design? What was your role in it?

The deduction was definitely the most challenging. It went through the most iterations. Because of the multitude of choices, it was hard to design everything to understand what they should do and why. The concept kept changing. From ordered folders through, somewhat chaotic neural connection, to screens à la Detroit: Become Human. Currently, the screen is a mixture of all the previous ideas. From each, we take the most exciting elements, creating a coherent and readable whole.



How does the feedback from beta-testers and players influence the UI changes in the game?

They help me detect elements that are not intuitive for players. They show what they pay more attention to, what is ignored, and what should be visible. In general, I appreciate the comments of testers and players. It's from them that the most constructive and helpful feedback comes.

What part of the UI do you think people will appreciate the most?

I vote for Deduction because it was the most challenging to make it clear, easy to use.

[h2]PERSONAL [/h2]

What are your design principles? On what do you focus the most? 

The most important thing for me is to have a simple and intuitive approach and maintain consistency on the screens. If a player starts to feel lost during the game and doesn't know where to find the information they need at the moment, it means that the UX needs improvement.



Do you often experiment? Do you make any risky moves or just follow the safe path?

During the mockup phase, I usually give several suggestions from 3 categories:
  • safe and proven approaches,
  • ideas that were thrown during the brainstorm with the team
  • a completely new and unconventional approach


Generally, creating the UI is about experimenting with different elements and choosing what will best fit the vision created by the rest of the team. The safe version is the one that already works in many games; the players are familiar with it, so they will certainly not feel lost. The ideas proposed by the team are usually a mixture of the first and third groups.

Experimenting is the most fun, but ideas are sometimes hard to implement in the game so that the player does not feel overwhelmed by too many new mechanics. Sometimes, however, there's no need to reinvent the wheel. If certain things exist and are universally recognized, then there is no need to change them. The "X" button is always in the top right corner of the popup, and that's where players will look for it, so placing it anywhere else will cause unnecessary confusion.

What software do you use when designing UI?

A sheet of paper and pencil for quick sketches based on boxes, PS for final mockups, and programs that automatically create textures from cut parts.



How do you keep up with design trends?

I play the latest titles or at least watch streams of them. It's the best way to keep up with trends that change pretty quickly. I'm often helped by player comments or reviews. I then point out elements of the UI that the recipients liked and which they found unnecessary or confusing.

What You Love Most About UI Design?

I have a weakness in drawing icons of all kinds.



What would you do if not UI?

I would draw tarot cards all day :)

[h2]How did you like this article? [/h2]

Do you have your favorite UI from a game similar to Gamedec? Let us know in the comments below!

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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.



Stay safe!