Rethinking the Narrative Spine: Why We Scrapped Act I
In our pursuit of authentic storytelling, we realized that our original Act I pacing felt mechanical. It lacked the "Xalivivq soul"—that specific blend of autumnal atmosphere and tension we strive for. Last month, our design team chose to rebuild the introductory sequence from the ground up.
The focus shifted from tutorialized hand-holding to environmental discovery. By removing three major dialogue gates, we’ve allowed the player to feel the weight of the environment in Bukit Bintang-inspired dystopias without unnecessary interruptions. It was a difficult choice, involving the archiving of over 4,000 lines of recorded audio, but the resulting flow is undeniably superior.
Fig A: The prototype for the new lobby sequence, emphasizing scale and mood over UI clusters.
The Physics of Impact: Fine-Tuning Momentum
Input lag is the silent killer of immersion. Our technical director recently implemented a new predictive logic system for our character controllers. This update ensures that the weight of every jump and the impact of every collision feels grounded in the physics of the world, rather than appearing as simple sprite translations.
- Refined recovery animations to reduce "stickiness" after landing.
- Dynamic friction calculations based on surface textures.
