New map for part 1 of the final chapter!

This week I was working on the map that connects all the rooms in the final episode of the game (at least in part 1, since parts 2 and 3 don't use a map). Although I always consider this task to be fundamental at the beginning of development, as I try to get into the writing of the narrative and dialogs, this time most of the rooms were already finished and placed in the game when I started thinking about their geographical location. The reason for this decision is that I was still unclear to me  how the characters would travel between the southern part of the city (chapters 1 and 2) and the northern part (chapter 3), or if they would do so more than once throughout the game.

After the (recently made) decision not to make this story another one that ends up being a hoax, dream, drug-induced coma, etc., and this way return to its beginnings as an entirely science fiction story with touches of humor, these doubts disappeared.

There will be no travel between zones for the charcaters!

This new decision led to certain changes in the general map of the city, moving the docks to the northern part (update for maps in chapters 1 and 2 still pending) in order to give our heroes a reason to actually go there in the first place and also exaggerating the distances between both parts so that trip back is unthinkable. 

This way, I can refresh the setting and give the player a much-needed sense of progress.

Speaking of the map, it should be noted that, as I mentioned earlier in X, all of these places that the player has visited in chapters 1 and 2 and will visit during the first part of chapter 3 actually exist or have existed in my hometown (with the exception of the comic book store where it all begins) and have only been slightly modified in terms of their geographical location and layout (some are or were much larger or smaller in size and/or number of rooms than the originals) to facilitate the development of the story. 

This last point makes it extremely difficult to put together the layout of a map, and if I had to start over, I would do it 100% top-down (Thimbleweed Park style) instead of the slight tilt it currently has.

Although I think it turned out pretty well! 😎

And returning to the subject of the story, going back to the origins allows me to think again about interesting puzzles that return to the dynamic of discovering a great conspiracy (as in chapter 1). I always thought of this story as a mix between Armada (a book by Ernest Cline) and Space Balls (a 1987 movie), or what Space Quest would be like if it were made by LucasFilms Games instead of Sierra On-line.

Anyway, the map is ready and the rooms are starting to connect with each other...

Til next post!

Tiba