6 months of work on my cave diving game

[@Upwiththecure]

gbh I am not too sure about health. I'd really love to see enemies puncture ur airtank so u run out of air faster or enemies just suck out ur air in some way. I think making oxygen not only function as a timer but also the "health" opens up more interesting situations where u can make decisions on if its worth going past an enemie and risking less oxygen or not. With basic health it would just be:"I go past it and maybe I die, maybe I dont" wich is less interesting imo. Then again, I am no designer in any way and I trust the game will turn out great! The Demo was a blast to play!

[@Clinkety]

That does sound interesting! It sounds like a nicer design as it solves multiple design problems and really highlights oxygen management as one of the core mechanics. However, it might have unforeseen consequences but that is something that Luke has to judge for himself. I hope he reads this and considers your suggestion. If I were to design a game like this, I'd probably go all in on this mechanic and make the game more of a survival-horror. Combine that with Spelunky-esque exploration and systemic design (like picking up a rock to trigger an attack of an enemy so you can go past it) and you got yourself a nice little game.

[@cyberfinity8754]

Another option I like the idea of would be that it actually wounds you and slows you down, possibly forcing you to drop treasure in order to be able to get back up

[@fundaez1250]

This is what makes Dave the diver cool for me! I love oxygen is synonymous with health

[@lukemuscat]

Yep totally fair! It's been an interesting design problem to try and solve for. There are enemies later in the game that specifically only reduce air, but the main issue is that the "air refill" is this unlimited resource, so it's difficult to give consequences that extend beyond a single dive. And I'm glad you enjoyed the demo!!

[@lukemuscat]

Yep I 100% read and consider pretty much all suggestions! Where the game turned out and how I thought it was going to initially be has definitely shifted around a little as time has gone on. It's always been a "this is the kinda vibe but how we do it I'm not sure" title, where as some of my smaller games have been laser focussed. Hopefully next game after this will be a bit smaller and more contained, haha.

[@kjelly5317]

I have a weapon suggestion: A harpoon. You can drag back enemies to the surface and collect bounties for rewards. I think this fits more with the diving theme. It also highlights the game mechanism of dragging objects

[@marzipan6902]

That would be really cool! Maybe the monsters could also break free from the harpoon sometimes so you can't just drag it back super easy. It'd add a lot more risk i think

[@aGoshDarnTravesty]

Something that might be worth trying on the "spider" monsters: The way they move implies that they are clinging to the walls of the cave, but the rendering makes them look like they are floating. Adding a gradating mask along the tentacles that adds the same water distortion as the background and a bit of blurring/shading might help to make them look like they recede into background to touch the walls.

[@yamasaa]

9:57 I recommend adding a visual feedback system that tells you that the spider is about to lunge at you, and there could be a way to teach the player about enemy behaviors through some sort of tutorial.

[@imadudewithissues]

kinda makes the game less scary but i aprove of it being at the tutorial

[@e_buffturtle]

You should add dark scale particles that fly off of enemies when you destroy their armor so the player can see exactly what happens more clearly

[@lukemuscat]

Yep good call. There is a particle effect in there right now but it is super hard to see and placeholder, haha. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@duckman3597]

I don't know if anyone else has suggested it or if you're planning on adding it, but an enemy who drags the player deeper into the water could be really cool I think! I think it could be really scary if you barely have any air left and you suddenly get dragged further down. The game looks good so far!

[@hunterh1175]

I think the problem with this is that it can be a guaranteed death... The cool thing with the disorientaion thing is that if you find your way quickly (which is hard), and if you had enough air to go back up without getting attacked, you can survive anyway.

[@Flamsleburger]

All of this stuff is super cool so far! Here's an idea for an enemy I had: An enemy similar to an anglerfish, where it has what looks like a piece of gold attached to this long antennae type thing, and if you go too close to it or try to grab it, it lunges toward you and takes one of your health.

[@AustinWeeks]

I played the demo! Here's some feedback: - Overall I really enjoyed it, can't wait for the full release! - I had some issues with controller support: I was using a Nintendo Switch controller so the A/B & X/Y buttons were swapped & remapping didn't fix this. - I personally found the first level to be a lot more difficult than I would've expected. It took me quite a while to find the entrance to the second region, and when I did I think I basically died immediately. I think a smaller tutorial/starter level would've really helped me get used to the controls and be more successful in the first level. Happy developing!

[@lucbloom]

On difficulty: - experienced players will not quit your game because the first 3 levels are too easy. - inexperienced players will definitely quit your game if it’s a tad hard or don’t exactly know what to do. - same goes for onboarding that you as a dev encounter 100000 times during testing; don’t start assuming others will find it annoying too or that it’s too much “handholding”. The gold standard is non-blocking tutorials that use iconography. Male gamers will not read any tutorial texts to save their life.

[@lukemuscat]

Thanks for the feedback! The controller implementation is still getting some things worked out (especially streamlining how you select and drop items you are towing), but I was yet to try it with the Switch (only tested XBOX and Playstation). I'll look into this for full release! Definitely hearing that the first level is maybe a bit tough form a few people, so thank you for sharing!

[@Eschen_]

@@lucbloom "- experienced players will not quit your game because the first 3 levels are too easy." I definitely have quit games after an hour or so because I found them too easy. If there isn't enough challenge to give me a reason to engage with your deeper/more unique game mechanics, the game will probably get boring. Difficulty settings can help, or if there is a way to progress faster by taking on more of a challenge, that works well too.

[@marzipan6902]

​@@lucbloomwth does this have to do with gender??

[@lucbloom]

@@marzipan6902 real world observed difference. One gender is not better than the other but to denounce any innate difference is not constructive.

[@lemontwisty]

I’m not smart enough to have any gameplay suggestions but I just wanted to say I love these dev logs and your editing, humor, and pacing are all really entertaining. Thanks for the insight into the process and I hope we get to see more!

[@yonghong4832]

i have an enemy suggestion - maybe an enemy visually simar to the spider or squid with minor differences, but completely harmless. attacking them however will cause them to release ink and reduce vision for a while

[@unqualified_nobody]

“Nah don’t worry that’s one of the harmless ones. I can just swim past it. Oh… Uh… Uh oh…”

[@misguidedsaint3693]

Gotta say, I do love his editing style for videos.

[@lukemuscat]

Thanks! It's something I have been working on improving (slowly) so it's very nice to hear that it is clicking with people :)

[@TheQxY]

I have an idea for an expedition. You wear an old timey metal diving suite that is connected to the base by a tether. This gives you unlimited oxygen. However, you have to manage the tether as it can get stuck. Also, the suite is very heavy, so it sinks to the bottom, and you basically walk around. You can relieve the pressure though to slowly float back up, but you can not swim around freely.

[@BalloonSC]

The fish being able to clip through the wall, kind of removes some immersion, as it makes it feel open and less claustrophobic.

[@RonaldMcDonald-nf9jj]

that spider enemy is absolutely evil.

[@Chorutowo]

Just played the demo, some feedback: - Overall I had a blast, you did a great job with the atmosphere and sound design, and the gameplay was super fun! - My only note/gripe would probably be with the pacing & tension, more specifically that theres not really any pay off or differing intensity in the game play. The enemies and environment do a great job of building tension and unease, but theres never really anything to pay that off (Other than the ending stinger, which was great). The gameplay loses are tension once you experience the enemies a few times, the first time I went under and saw the tentacles it was legitimately super frightening, but after I realized what they did it kinda dissipated. In fact, the sitting enemies because almost just a wall, I can safely avoid them most of the time and kill them when I needed to progress past them. I have no idea how to fix this really, if I had to guess I't be more areas and enemies but im sure you have that covered - Following that, maybe an eel/oarfish like enemy would be interesting. If you venture too deep into an area covered by it, it would make itself apparent and slowly start circling around the player, make it super long and uneasy. If the player makes too much of a sudden movement or any sort of noise it will alert the eel and it will start dashing in and out trying to hit them, when the player has to decide between booking it and having to maybe drop all their items, or try to fight it and risk damage. Would create a real risk reward dilema and re introduce some tension and diversity in the gameplay. Good luck with the rest of the game! Im sure it will be great

[@painandsuffering-x4y]

Love the hold right click aiming mechanic, it gives me serious project zomboid aiming vibes.

[@depressoforsale]

Hey! Just played the demo and I LOVED IT! Have a lot of thoughts :) So, first of all - I think you NAILED the exact feel that you were going for - it is surprisingly addictive even with only one level (I am not the kind of person that generally enjoys aimless wandering in games but I found myself just wanting to fully explore the caves on the second or third run-through after I've completed the challenges!) Also, the atmosphere is really nice - it isn't too scary to deter players like me, who get too nervous to play scary games, but still scary enough to give me a little jump every time I carelessly turned a corner to just immediately faceplant into a monster :D the music!!! is!!! GORGEOUS!!! I loved how you used it to indicate the depth, so it brought about a soothing feeling every time I started to hear it after coming up from the deeper parts of the level in a unknown area also, I was really pleasantly surprised by the fact that every time you descend you get a new dialogue! fully got ready to skip the cutscene but didn't have to! love the writing too - it's already incredibly engaging, tho the premise is still quite simple so, now to the criticisms - I felt like the difficulty of the level was a bit too... well.. different? depending on the generation. one time i got the entrance to the deep generated way to close to the entrance so it made the run very trivial also, the disorientation mechanic stopped working for me at some point very early in my playthrough and lack of the screen spinning carried on through to different runs, not sure why? and the last - at one point my oxygen meter bugged and stopped going down, it probably has something to do with the arcade, as it happened when I was grinding (totally not) jetpack joyride and got a pretty high score before i noticed that my oxygen wasn't depleting) however this issue got fixed after I upgraded the tank, but not when i got out of the water! so, to summarise: loved the demo! it totally convinced me to buy the game when it's out! can't wait now :)

[@lvm6464]

I just completed the entire demo and really enjoyed it. Will definitely play the game when it is released. Here is some feedback though: - When you bring a letter to the surface, it should be saved in a journal or somewhere similar. It felt a bit underwhelming to bring it to the surface without any reward. - I agree with the top comment about health. It would be more logical and engaging if taking damage decreased your oxygen instead of health. This could add more depth to the gameplay. - If you keep the health system: Currently, your health is limited to three, which is fair, but you can still use a health bubble even when at full health. I accidentally used a health bubble while trying to open a powerup. Maybe disable the option to use a health bubble when at max health to prevent wasting it. - The sound effect when getting hit by an enemy is quite loud, especially as it is quite a chill game. Consider adding a setting to reduce the volume (one scare option, one chill option). It startled me every time. Hope this feedback helps :)

[@lukemuscat]

Thanks for all the feedback! This is genuinely so helpful. Bringing the journal entry to the surface 100% needs to save it, strongly agree.

[@alangregoryvitek]

Wow incredible progress! Also, I LOVED Fish out of Water. One of my favorite mobile games and the water was a big part of the appeal haha. Love your design sensibilities and the arcade machine running doom had me snorting! Endless creativity here

[@TheXientist]

after playing the demo, first of all it feels like a great start, excited to see what more is in store. that being said, i did run into a bug that you probably already know about, being that if you dive quickly after surfacing before your air is refilled completely, air will stop depleting underwater giving you an infinite supply.

[@lukemuscat]

Thanks for playing! Someone else managed to get that bug to happen too, but I cannot for the life of me reproduce it. Will keep digging.

[@TheXientist]

@@lukemuscat i was able to recreate and exploit it a few times already, it seems to be fairly consistent, if only a little tight on the timing. the less oxygen remaining the longer the animation takes giving you more time to dive before its full. i can record a video later if you're still having trouble reproducing it. it is possible on both the shop surface and in air pockets, though i feel like it is more consistent in air pockets because the actual water surface is closer to the visual water surface.

[@lukemuscat]

@@TheXientist Ah yes thank you for that! I was able to reproduce right away with that info. Fixing now and will try and get a new build out soon :)

[@Snichehog]

The diver is BENDY.

[@helmiplayerone]

downloaded the demo and just gonna edit this everytime I noticed smth -I opened it and the game was in german cause thats the language my steam is in, but because I like playing in english more I switched, and controlls and some other stuff got translated, and some didnt. For example "tauchen; space" or "equipment; begrenzter laden" or that the hints were still in german -if you get the light upgrade you can clearly see the outline of where its brighter and where its darker, itd be nice if there would be a subtle transition or smth -after I left the place where you go through the hole in the nackground only one of my 6 orbs went with me, and i had to reenter and leave again so that i could get all 6

[@lukemuscat]

Oh very odd with the language and the orbs! Thanks for the bug reports, added to my bug list :)

[@ModBros8434]

I tried the demo, and I'm hooked! Great work so far, and I'm excited to see what comes next.

[@windylibra]

As a junior developer myself, i had quite a heart attack viewing your quantity of git commits. Good luck with finishing the game

[@blazen6750]

I got a recommendation, Starfish blades (or starfish buddies that spin around the diver temporarily)and squid throwing knifes, or squid bombs which create a smokescreen which slows down the chaser type enemies, and certain areas where snails or other aquatic life sticks to you slowing or weighing you down, And some Boss areas (we need unique aquatic themed weapons too)

[@fundaez1250]

I feel so excited to be a part of early play testing in this game! I love what you’re doing!

[@fifigaming8787]

11:22 This gradient trick is awesome.

[@cyberfinity8754]

Normally I don't get scared of games, but this gives me the nerves. Well done. One thing I would love to see is information as to what the two bars in the bottom right are.

[@alexcode2956]

Since this game seems to be playing into the whole "eldritch horror" thing a lot, i would recommend adding sanity as a mechanic that you have to keep track of. I'm sure most human beings won't just look at shadow monsters with tentacles and red eyes and just shrug them off. The longer the diver looks at the monsters, the more the sanity decreases. If the sanity is too low lights get dimmer, sounds distorted, and most importantly hallucinations start appearing. Hallucinations are just objects that you can't touch, but you see or hear, they might be fake gold pieces scattered around, or fake monsters that after some time attack you, and instead of decreasing your health they decrease your sanity. It could also be more similar to a dredge-like sanity system, where things actually start manifesting in response to your sanity decrease

[@ragingstorm_15]

Tried the demo, exceeded expectations! I don’t really know where to bug report, but i’ll do it here: I noticed that when i switched to german the loading screen tip was still in english. i also noticed that when i switched back, the objectives (key for chum) were still in german, but not the actual word “objectives”. i also had a strange bug where an enemy appeared as i unlocked a chest which caused my inputs to no longer affect the character. the light worked fine but i couldn’t do anything else. despite the bugs the game was amazing and i can’t wait to see the full release!

[@lukemuscat]

Ah I had not done a lot of testing with the languages yet, thanks for the info!

[@vinescarlan]

I played the demo and here's my feedback: 1. The air pockets that the player can access in the bottom is a great idea. I suggest, to make many of them but make them exhaustible. Meaning, the air space in that pocket runs out as player uses it. 2. The gun can be changed into hook gun, or maybe both of them can exist. And they may have different uses, like pulling yourself into a target location or damaging enemies. 3. Instead of Health being a fixed amount like "3". Make it a percentage, like 0 to 100%. Players starts with full health, but when they get caught by monsters, their health reduces quickly, but the game should offer a way to get out of being tangled by the octomonsters. Player get's "bleeding" status, and there should be items to help player heal or repair suit damages. If player health goes to 0, they permanently die and they have to start again. Although this is kinda counter intuitive, it makes the game more challenging and rewarding. 4. The glowing light sticks count are not enough, but increasing them would feel a little weird. So, my suggestion is to add a minimap or radar, where player can unlock areas based on what they have explored. Specific areas will only show on the minimap when player goes past it and recorded on their radar. 5. Add certain hidden areas where some stones can be destroyed to find easter eggs. 6. I don't know if this would be fun for others, but I believe a feature like being "trapped" in certain areas, like a ceiling collapsed and rocks fall down in the entrance, will make players be more cautious of their actions, which adds to the thrill of the game. 7. It would be great if the ecosystem is more like Rainworld. Where the Octomonsters eat smaller octomonsters, and smaller ones can eat fish. That way, it offers some meta of luring monsters out of your way, aside from just shooting them. Players will then have a sense of puzzle or creativity involve when exploring the areas. Other creatures can be friendly, and might help the player avoid aggressive creatures, or even guide them to the right path. I think jellyfishes can be great addition, to add "lighting" to the dark parts of the sea.

[@mauriceallaert6588]

What I like about subnautiqa is that if you play it and you go deeper there are suddenly these gaint spaces with huge scary monster.

[@tritonis54]

The visuals are way cooler now, but I think that maybe it lacks a bit of grit, it’s look so clean and nice, like one of these corporate motion design, that I think from the demo that it can lower the « fear factor ». Maybe a slight photo grain that could increase in some situations, or something ? I am not sure.

[@spinosaurusiii7027]

Let's go the demo was so fun! Very excited for this, Luke

[@KevinsTimeWasters]

Can't believe how no one else has mentioned how this concept is so alike to what could be found in I Dig It Expeditions! (not that that's a bad thing, that game was awesome)

[@lukemuscat]

Hadn't heard of that one before, but looks similar to Motherload (2004 flash game) which I THINK was the original of the genre? Certainly Dome Keeper, which was my direct inspiration for Feed the Deep, could trace some part of its roots back there :)

[@realdlps]

It's hard to believe it's been over a year since your started development on feed the deep, it feels like it has been maybe 6 months. Time really does fly

[@GoodGamer3000]

The way spiders move is so unnatural and creepy. I imagine you could be jump scared by those really easily lol

[@starkiller332]

I have 2 ideas for a really dangerous "endgame" enemy, 1: A bigger or stronger version of the spider that is extremely sensitive to movement and as soon as the player enters its line of sight, the way to counter this is to have the eyes be visible in the dark even without a flash light and the player is forced to carefully move around the map so that it stays out of sight, you could also probably throw an item to distract it as it's sensitive to any movement. 2: a monster that acts like a angler fish but the light looks like tourch or abandoned flash light. Function a bit like mimics in dark souls or drop wigs in rainworld. A small thing you could also add is to have the gun lightup the path it shoots kinda like the flares in the game Endoparasitic.

[@Lionel_Ding]

19:38 the French translation are funny, « back » was translated to « dos » which means the back as in the body part, not the action of going back. Then « resume » was translated to « CV » which means Curriculum Vitae, as in a resume if you want to get a job. Back should be « retour » and « resume » could be translated to « reprendre » or « continuer »

[@lukemuscat]

Oh thank you for this. I am using a localisation company for translations that I have never used before, and it seems like the quality has been a bit up and down. Someone told me the Portuguese translation is excellent, but sounds like the french one maybe needs a bunch of revision.

[@AviusL]

The spider enemy movement is super cool!

[@gageschleser6307]

Leaving a comment to give Barkley a treat!

[@AetherXIV]

11:12 your random colors based off of gradient is brilliant. definitely not going to steal that :D ty for the tip!

[@seann.b]

Yes!! Another devlog

[@Gideon-l1x]

Enemy idea: A creature that shows up as a piece if material on the scanner, so you can't trust it 100%

[@TurtleBoyoIsCool]

THIS LOOKS SO COOOOLLL

[@greenfrog9702]

I enjoyed the demo. I got totally stuck at one point due to a rock falling on top of me in a thin tunnel but my cargo was behind the rock, couldn't move, drowned, and I couldn't drop all my cargo because they were too close to click each one to drop, need a drop all hotkey to dump everything

[@GloomRng]

YES, your videos are awesome, you are generally just very engaging to watch ! thanks for the content my friend .

[@boi8214]

I played the demo, its super fun

[@efirir]

Those terminals are a really fun idea, they look like Dreamcast VMUs 😊 And as always, it's nice to see your progress, keep it up

[@evanmarcus5975]

The lighting looks amazing with the new background

[@unqualified_nobody]

Great to see Barkley ❤

[@nousername8162]

wasn't that interested when I first saw the game, but the addition of an actual story and other stuff like that really got me interested ngl

[@Cats-TM]

Found a bug: So, uhh, I somehow managed to get to a completely empty map. I was just playing the game as normal then I had the pause menu bug where I could still interact with the game (which I can now confidently say does have something to do with alt+tabbing back into the game…can still not recreate it intentionally though) and I opened the shop (which you can do in the pause menu by the way and it closes the pause menu), but the pause menu did not close, then I pressed space again and it put me back to the main menu (because it pressed the "save and exit" button), then when I went back in I was stuck in an endless void (presumibly outside the map and I did not go the right direction to get back to it). Wait, I managed to do it again. I think you have to save and exit the game while in the shop. So, if you quickly press exit while opening the shop (which you can do in the pause menu, to reiterate) then go back in you will spawn in a void. Save and exiting does not help so I have now killed this save file. Though, if you have an oxygen teleporter you do teleport to the home base. Okay, yep, after searching around a bunch you do just get shoved really far out the map. I found the MFJP while swimming around. I can provide screenshots of this adventure if you need. Interestingly enough I can not get back to the abyss area. Annoyingly, I can not figure out what I did the second time if it was not opening the shop and exiting at the same time. (You can probably tell, I enjoy trying to break games.)

[@42Randomise]

Woo Barkely! Had on wishlist for a while now. algorythim things...

[@tryorse8340]

You could make it so that if someone meets a condition on one of the arcade machines, they can play it on the surface. They could build an arcade

[@blueberrybutton-bn6cw]

I don't care much for game development, but your videos are always a delight ^^

[@VanillaSpooks]

You should consider adding a peaceful mode level, I like the monsters but sometimes if you just wanna chill I think it’d be very nice! I’m gonna try the demo this weekend!

[@zMarsIsCool]

Adding an octupus that will cover your screen in blank ink for a few seconds would be pretty cool!

[@potatotech8383]

I think I might ask for some bits of help on my solo game after hearing what you said! Thank you luke!

[@YaM8Kraken]

Hey Luke! Congratulations with the progress! You did great, even with the demo. I especially liked the idea of certain level-based stations (especially the arcade). Hope all that you've mentioned will make it to the final product without a problem. There's just one thing I noticed that kept me down when using flares to kill creatures and that is them constantly reappearing near the spawn where I already commited squid genocide...which is good for the challenge but wasting flares is just not cool for rushing, so how about creatures that can steal the minerals? That would make it worth turning them into sushi.

[@FacelessGoon-i8r]

Just completed the demo of the game. It was freaking fantastic! Here’s some feedback: - The ammo for the flare gun is too plentiful. I never found myself having to conserve it. - The silt obstacles are too uncommon, and not enough of an inconvenience. Maybe make them spawn more regularly. Other than that, I enjoyed every moment of it. Looking forward to the full release!

[@ProntosHere]

Would love a video on fish out of water! I remember playing that a long time ago!!

[@lukemuscat]

I have a super old device with a playable version of Fish Out Of Water before there was even any fish stashed away somewhere, haha. One day!

[@thepersonofhuman]

Really nice devlog! A few ideas, the health system being stuck to just a number kind of spoils that fear element, so something like "x hits in x time you die" could work a bit better. Alternatively, any way of displaying the health that's just free from numbers (like how the oxygen works). One thing I think would be interesting is a LiDAR type scanner, I think the aesthetic could mesh really well with this game.

[@BarneyCodes]

Great video as always mate! The game is looking so good!

[@VanillaSpooks]

Idk why your videos aren’t showing up in my sub feed, but luckily I found it anyway. Very excited for this game, never been interested in 2d games except the ones you make…

[@lukemuscat]

Oh thats odd that it didn't show up. Might explain why the views are a bit lower than usual! :D

[@maxmarshburn2342]

item ideas: gamble potato - you gamble big tank - you have more air in your air tank also the more stuff you carry the slower you should go

[@Sebboebbo]

Da gamedev king is back baby he neva miss we're eating good today y'all

[@Snakerats4fun]

When you said spiders I was thinking of an enemy like the tentacle enemy, but it would walk on the walls of the cave, similar to a different game.

[@Driedfish]

Using the environment and item descriptions to imply some 'deep' and mysterious lore would be nice for the vibe of the game (maybe a inscipted message somewhere in the background of a cave)

[@GrahamOfLegend]

Dope video Luke! Lol I typed up a bunch of comments and then the page refreshed and I lost all of em 🤣 so I'll just say, keep doing dopeness 🔥

[@propnotch3466]

Played the demo! Got some feedback for ya: - How on earth did you collaborate with the AU government to make this game? Did not expect that. - Game seems well-balanced overall. - Not sure how I feel about the health system. Could take it or leave it, though I agree that there do need to be lasting consequences for monster attacks. Perhaps a monster attack would disturb silt in a certain radius? If the health system does stay, I feel it should be easier to acquire a health pack, especially on harder levels. I got down to one heart on a run and felt pretty helpless because there were several wallers on a narrow passage to The Deep, and I had bought as many random-chance things as I could with no luck. I didn't make it. - I like the weapon system. I would extend the range of the flashlight even a bit more in aim mode though, at this point it feels more like it just narrows rather than extending much. - Other people are mentioning a tutorial level of some sort, but I don't feel like it's necessary. You catch on pretty quickly and get the hang of the controls after a few mins. The first level is easy enough as it is, no need to baby us. - I like the notes, but I missed the presence of a journal such as is found in other games. If there was something like that the notes could be added to and then viewed at my leisure on the surface would be great. I do hope that in more difficult levels there are similar hint notes explaining the basic principles or something. - The gold doesn't seem gold enough, they just look like yellow triangles. Perhaps it could be in a more nugget-y shape? Or perhaps shinier? - 1 bug, the main menu disappears if you click on another screen w/ multiple monitors. All-in-all I really loved it, can't wait for a full release! It was that sort of chill scary that I love, and just addicting enough that I'll play it but also be able to complete things I need to complete.

[@lukemuscat]

The Australian and Queensland government have recently started massively expanding their funding programs for games, after a long era of supporting local film and TV production. It is actually mindblowing to have their support and frankly makes this possible! And thank you for all the feedback above, it is super helpful!

[@propnotch3466]

@@lukemuscat Very cool! glad to hear it. One more piece of feedback: I didn't really understand the orbs at first, and unless it's explained later, they don't seem to fit with the rest of the game very well, they're an odd outlier in the ocean theme. Perhaps they could become pearls or something instead? That would make more sense.

[@raudkuul]

Love the demo of the game can't wait for the full release of the game.

[@CurtisJensenGames]

Just saw the thumbnail, gonna watch later, but this looks hilarious and beautiful

[@the0neskater]

Amazing progress!

[@galdoug8918]

Awesome !!! Arcade games looks so cool.

[@TimHarris-w5q]

skipping the spider bit not because i am scared of spiders but because i want to experience them as a complete surprise when the game comes out! ps - loved the demo

[@anthonymichaels7358]

Demo was super fun!

[@boi8214]

You should add a fishing spear gun, as like a powerful one hit weapon You should also add an arcade mode, which is procedurally generated, with no saves

[@FantaLaTone]

I am looking forward to this game🔥 I played the demo and here are some of my thoughts: - a bigger starter area would be better to store your items - atmosphere and visuals are great but shadows behind walls are too sharp a smoothing would make them really good - sometimes environment feels so empty adding few little plants and fishes would be better maybe planktons to fill the enviroment or something like that (i know this is a horror game but you can still make them fit the theme ) And if you need help on Turkish translation I would like to help

[@LucumLuftra]

Its one of those mice that are better for your wrist, also genuinely didn't make an among us comparison. I liked the simplistic design

[@lukemuscat]

Yeah after 20 years of game dev I started to get quite bad wrist pain (especially combined with bouldering 4 times a week). New mouse basically made it go away after just 4 weeks.

[@Eschen_]

I tried the demo, and I liked it a lot! Exploring in almost total darkness, not knowing what awaits me just out of sight is terrifying, and makes for a great horror atmosphere. But then in other parts, it didn't feel like the game was going for that at all, like the lootboxes. That felt a bit strange, more like a casual roguelite mechanic. The ending unfortunately felt like more of a prank/joke than scary. There were too many hints for it to be unexpected. I tried to avoid it by pushing the blob onto the mouth without going over it myself, so when I got sucked in anyway, I guess I felt kind of cheated. Like a trap, but you're forced to walk into it in order to progress. Actually, I think the ending would have been more unexpected if the game had told me from the start that I needed to feed the Deep that blob. With everyone acting so full of dread, I was left to wonder what horrifying meaning that ominous "Feed the Deep" objective could have, so having to feed myself to it was the most natural answer. I think it would be much more interesting and surprising if the game straight up lied to me about the objective there, and it's justified because my character would presumably also have been lied to. But that's all assuming the game is meant to be scary in the first place. If it's meant to be more of a casual fun experience, I think it should really give you a larger light cone.

[@BrenZart]

my mouse is the same and tbh it looks weird but i love it, most comfortable mouse ive ever used tbh

[@hamizannaruto]

A vertical mouse is something I should try. Look very comfortable

[@AdamFunderburk]

BARKELY!

[@mrfrog0913]

Hey, I think instsad of health you could have oxygen, you don't lose oxygen on hit. But the enemys could have different ways of disorientating the player, one could make the player drop their flashlight and make them pick it up so they get lost chasing the flashlight, the flashlight should leave a trail of bubbles or somthing too. So it isn't tedious to swim in the dark. You could add some oxygen upgrades for the players who want to go slow. *Or another idea:* instead of oxygen you have power which drains as the player swims so you can move slowly, without getting deaded from extreme oxygen deprivation related brain damage.

[@stellanovaluna]

OMG DOGGY I LOVE DOGGIES ❤❤❤❤❤

[@pierregarcia4752]

Maybe you could add phosphorescent plancton that lights up when fishes/player moves. While decreasing the flashlight efficiency or smthg. spiders would be killers in those waters

[@smoney0]

FINALLY I ALWAYS CHECK FOR A NEW VID FINALY

[@rogueabyss]

a roguelike with journal entries? so original! (but actually, excited about the game lol)

[@traktor321]

Mashup of dave the diver and that mining game when u collect mats to surface, the dome something

[@dedededamanam4919]

I love this game I have played through meat completing it in 3 minutes I really want to play more of it. I haven't watched the entire video because I don't want to get the gameplay spoiled for the next two levels I hope I will get to play them soon.

[@Dartify]

this was my first wishlist on stele EVER!

[@captainnoyaux]

Wow, the game looks and feel amazing ! you did a great work, it's amazing to see what one (talented) gamedev can do compared to a non game dev (my games don't "feel" nice at all because I don't have those skills (yet ? 🤣)

[@ReverseFlash.]

Amazing progress

[@gabehembling1088]

add a kind of infinite mode where instead of having goals you just try to get as high of a score as possible and doing certin things gets you score like when you go deeper getting money getting items killing enemeys or even finding arcade machines

[@XxdoctoerbugatackxX]

I think the mouse will make it harder to port it to consoles or gamepads…. Maybe add both controllers?

[@blue-cloud-studios]

He could probably make it so the right stick is the "mouse" and automatically locks on

[@Cats-TM]

I was thinking about this a few days ago and I think it could very easily be ported to a controller. Have the left stick be the diver control and the right stick be the mouse and it like locks onto things. And then use the top buttons to pick things up and attack. Well, actually, picking things up would probably be better as buttons. Then of course dashing a button as well. Just a pretty basic form of control I thought might work but also have no idea as I am not a game developer and just kind of made a ramble in a comment.

[@lukemuscat]

@blue-cloud-studios & @Cats-TM describe basically how it works now! I am currently working on using the DPad to also give you more control over selecting items that are bunched together, such as when you are towing, as that kind of very precises selection is tough, so right now the mouse is indeed better than the controller. But I'm confident that with a bit more work the controller will be a great way to play too :)

[@HaydenHelin]

Thanks for the videos!

[@LingsKazemiro]

that is the most 90s mouse i've seen since.....well..... the 90s!

[@hendersonsigma1822]

yeah i played the demo really enjoyed it but one thing that feels kinda off is the gui. in my opinion having the health and oxygen integrated with the diver would be mutch more intersting. As for the gold and orbs they could fade like the music making the player feel eerie as he dives deeper. But even without it the games great, keep going!

[@lukemuscat]

Thanks for the feedback and for playing!

[@AG-tl8oq]

Maybe you could add a crab to the game?🦀🥺

[@lukemuscat]

Holy heck I literally didn't think of this the whole time and I have no idea why it didn't occur to me, hahaha. To be clear this is not sarcasm, it literally just escaped my mind this whole time. Will try and squeeze it in!

[@JJ-xt2dq]

This is the best suggestion ive seen 🦀

[@BantheDan]

What about a hermit crab. You could have some cone shaped shells that are lore and you can drag them up, but some have a crab hidden under and they pop out and attack you.

[@AG-tl8oq]

That makes sense!​@@BantheDan

[@AG-tl8oq]

​@@lukemuscatyippee!🥳🤩

[@Game.w]

Loved the demo! Feedback: I noticed that the wall creatures would respond to items but didn't quite get what it meant other than playing tug of war with the items, so maybe adding a question mark when it grabs something can clarify that it's confused and distracted?