The Life of Erich Zann | Yahtzee's Dev Diary

[@theescapist]

DOWNLOAD LINK FOR UPBEAT: distro.escapistmagazine.com/devdiary/upbeat/devdiary3a.zip

[@madmandrawings2922]

How about in the day time section there’s a work cycle that you can use to practised some of the notes and earn money to increase your violin.

[@demmybane]

Not gonna lie I really love the idea of Upbeat - I’ll have to check it out

[@Taolan8472]

This whole thing is just a schtick to get your other content creators some attention through yahtzee's popularity, isn't it? Not that I don't approve.

[@roger_combatevolved]

Yahtzee should read *the bleeding shadow* by joe r lansdale. It's a noir take on eric zahn. It also explains the mystery of zahns predicament.

[@wobblysauce]

I quite liked 3a.

[@nearlyepic4831]

In the window mockup you can see windows in the houses. Why not use those windows as a kinda of life meter? Start the night with 10 light up windows around the town, they turn off if you can't beat he monster. Also adds a nice meta of "Crazy man keeping everyone wake a night with violin".

[@harpoonlobotomy]

Like a rolling black-out. Nice one.

[@JonjRambonia]

That's a good idea!

[@comradecommissar1945]

Just have the things kill them as you start to fail. Then you could add all kinds of really spooky shit like them getting dragged out of their houses and strung up or eaten in the streets. That way during the day you have something interesting to watch as whoever's left attempts to clean up the dead. You could make all kinds of depressing stuff for that like they hold little funerals at first then maybe it becomes massive burn piles as more die.

[@Vher_]

Or it could be some sort of timer, where the more lights are closing, the least time there is until daytime, first because people are going to sleep, then at some point because it's morning, so they don't need light. That way you know about how long you need to hold on before the night is done

[@kaiserwigglesiii2369]

@@comradecommissar1945 for anything else, this would be great. But Lovecraft isn't about the spooky monsters, it's about the fear and perception of the poor mortal

[@ceej5690]

Honestly when your done with all of these you should minorly update them, package them. And then put them on steam and call it “Yahtzee’s 12 month self abuse game package”.

[@patch-fm]

And it costs free as a joke.

[@sarafontanini7051]

@Jill Stingray is Precious no it does add something to the game: a little sign in the menu that reads "YOU FUCKING IDIOT YOU FELL FOR IT YOU WANKER"

[@Thespacewhale]

Brilliant 😂

[@ivarkristinsson5510]

Has it already been 3 months? This is going to be over wayyy to soon.

[@hubblebublumbubwub5215]

True

[@mohammadwaled409]

It did

[@psdnmstr4609]

I'd make it that instead of each monster having something specific that counters them, maybe instead make the different techniques be *very good* in certain situations (i.e. something that affects a large number of monsters at once), but where no situation *needs* a specific technique. That way while it's not an instant game over if you don't research fast enough, it'll be one quickly if you don't start forgoing sleep for a while. I feel like that could add some interesting tension.

[@Mernom]

That could very quickly devolve to 'unlock all of the AOE skills and spam for days' kind of deal. Maybe one of the top end abilities, with limited uses per night? Or something like the bombs in Touhou?

[@psdnmstr4609]

@@Mernom Well I imagined the "AOE" doing a very small amount of "damage" to be used againts a specific enemy that has very very low "health" but shows up in large groups

[@HiddenDragon555]

Maybe there are like three or so techniques that work against each monster. One counters them, while the other two only slow it down a bit. If you don't know the right technique you still do something, but just not enought to be very effective.

[@darkkeybladers]

To be fair, following the lines of the inevitability of our poor short mortal lives. I think its fine to leave it as is with the research for a specific creature. Being as this game has no actual winstate. The game is kinda predicated with small amounts of resource management (time) and skill (mechanics)

[@Krahemeister]

Here's something to screw with your players: An entity type which finds the notes displeasing and requires the player to remain silent for a specific time. This could be thrown in there as a red herring in earlier levels, then be thrown in with other entities to be completely unfair later on.

[@Mernom]

Maybe it requires air riffs?

[@Dranlia]

Even without that. Have entities that react badly to playing the wrong thing or playing their preferred note for too long or too short. Perhaps even make it so they react to the music in a certain way that you have to take into account. I.E. something that makes you pay close attention to the horrifying aberration.

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

That sounds great.

[@yotamravid3159]

Wife?! Congrats for having kess accept living her life with a serial killer but good on you!

[@Funkin_Disher]

Now i’m just waiting for a lets play/drown out with Yahtz, Kess and guest appearance from Gabe

[@chadschmaltz9790]

I will be severely disappointed if Yahtzee doesn't nickname his first child Boggle.

[@mesektet5776]

Magnificent idea for the Erich Zann game play idea. The part about balancing sleep with research sounds particularly engaging as it involves player affecting the difficulty curve. If possible perhaps add an “Obsessive”, “Fatalist” badges/titles unlocked if the player gets/loses enough hours sleep for research. Having two possible points to work towards even without an end will ensure replay, without having to compromise on there being no definitive end to Erich’s struggles.

[@rarazalproductions519]

@@greenhowie Oooh, that's a lovely idea! Just stab the player right through the 4th wall!

[@Taolan8472]

@@greenhowie the hallucinations could be 'false positives'. Some subtle visual cue to tell you those are not in fact the eldritch horrors held at bay by the power of your music (like the false smash orb in smash brothers, the difference is subtle enough that you'll miss it in the heat of the moment or if the camera is too far away but it's there for the careful observer.

[@sefumax]

As a violinist, I have a few suggestions based on your sketches: the bow should start in the “upbow” (or already drawn) position, and the button press should have the bow move the other way. I’m guessing you’ll not want to do anything involving fingering notes, although I personally feel that could be interesting and fun. I really hope you have the notes played correspond to the actual notes being played on the digital violin. Not many gameplay suggestions, but i love the aesthetic potential for this. I look forward to seeing where this project goes, it’s sure to be unique.

[@alfredmason-fayle6075]

I have found that multiple wire cooling racks (without perpendicular supports) all hung from the same place can produce an interesting variety of echoey sounds.

[@Daemonworks]

sees "erich zann" in the title, ok, immediately top of my list of things to watch right now.

[@WinstonKillDeath]

I just reread that last night. Crazy coincidence.

[@roninabs]

The strange music of Erich Zann has been the story that has stayed with me the most, in some sense, of the HPL I have read. Glad to see a game inspired by it.

[@piperwalton]

I feel compelled to mention that Erich Zann played a VIOL, not a violin! But the game sounds amazing regardless, can't wait to see how it turns out.

[@pstrap1311]

Also, when the student narrator finally looked out the window in Zann's attic appartment he saw no sign of the buildings and streets of Paris.

[@Plunkcown]

if the gameplay is based around making harmony, maybe the ambient sounds that are there to simulate the horror can have a certain pitch, then the sound that gets made by the violin matches the pitch or is at a certain interval like a Perfect Fifth or tritone to harmonize. it might be a bit tricky if you don't want to spend too much time on essentially a soundtrack, but it could really bring the theme of harmony across. if you just keep it to an A minor scale or something it might even be doable while not making the game too difficult to program

[@leeoliver9322]

I like how you think! Maybe Yahtzee could ask if Mr Dorsch would be willing to help write a few simple melodies? That could be a nice touch to the gameplay

[@DKeithG]

I like the design of this months game. When the idea was brought up i was thinking the gameplay would be something like having to constantly flip through a book to find basic depictions of the things in the sky youre seeing to find the notes or strings you need to play in order to make it go away. Maybe the daylight cycle could be used to practice violining to make playing notes faster and maybe spent finding pages of this mythical book. I feel like itll make the second by second gaming a bit more stimulating and oppressive. Edit: maybe there could be an ending in order to fill that tertiary loop requirement. Maybe in addition to sleeping or practicing violin or finding pages of this musical book, you have to find or research or even create the last line of notes to play throughout a sort of boss stage. Where you have to complete notes quickly enough to keep the big baddie at bay long enough to finish the entire note sequence throughout the night. Maybe its more visually appealing by coming out of the book in magical waves of notes that cant be played once they go off screen. It would also be neat if you can choose when to do this boss battle by starting said notes and then the boss shows up, so you can choose to do it on a night youre most prepared.

[@LabrnMystic]

This next one sounds like an awesome and unique game idea. Looking forward to it!

[@Falcovsleon21]

5:33 You just HAD to make one of the buildings in your blueprint look like a knob, didn't you?

[@retrologic2869]

Not to mention it's sticking right out of ghost's crotch.

[@DaWrecka]

You say this as if you weren't expecting it.

[@headlesschicken6990]

And the idea light bulb... He's on his game, that Yahtzee...

[@tskmaster3837]

Weird... ok, I now fully expect this to morph into a Lovecraft cooking sim. The Colander Out of Place.

[@isprobablyjobhunting]

The greensandwich horror.

[@madlad2200]

The Spaghetti Over Innsmouth

[@wakko21222]

The ratatouille walls

[@AsselParty]

Pickman's pot roast

[@saucercrabzero]

At The Mountains of Mayonnaise

[@PewPew_McPewster]

Yahtz this sounds like a real gem you have on your hands. You've long critiqued the Lovecraftian horror genre of games and this sounds like a good synthesis of those critiques. A little concerned about how the "research" phase of your loop might get in the way of organic player progress and/or softlock your players but I sure you'll find the right path out.

[@zanderfick]

Very cool idea! You can also use the fact that you have 4 different strings on the violin that can be played on their own or in adjacent pairs, as well as different hand-positions(for the left hand) to add variety to the ways in which the player interacts with the violin!

[@Morgakabol]

Building off of this: This would actually work pretty smoothly with a mouse-and-keyboard setup: Mouse position controls bow angle, left and right click move it back and forth, and 4 keys (asdf, why not) control which strings you're holding. And space bar temporarily turns your violin into an electric violin and DOUBLES your COMBO MULTIPLIER. Fuck it, this is my idea now, I could make it way better than Yahtzee.

[@NoOne-fe3gc]

I love this diaries. They are like "Oh you've been wrestling with the idea of getting into game dev and put your ideas to paper for the past 3 years? Here, I made 1 game per month. git gud scrub"

[@alexbuhl1316]

"But is it better than what this critic made in a month? No? Better luck next time!"

[@Arto257]

I sincerely hope we get to hear Yahtzee banging saucepans together as a punishment for a failure to play pleasant music

[@ketrub]

is it me or does the intro/outro music keep getting louder in every single one of these

[@danger2236]

a tertiary loop could be to research not only a way to combat the monsters, but also a way to get rid of them in perpetuity, enhancing the risk/reward mchanic of short term and long term goals

[@alex_evstyugov]

You should totally have this game reviewed by TwoSetViolin.

[@MrDecat]

this is really brilliant, here's hoping this goes great

[@AlexDraganOmu]

My humble ideas: - research has to unlock techniques to make combos and/or make certain monsters go away faster, or level up somehow - multiple endings: if you sleep too much you go into nightmare mode and end up insane, if you research enough you find out something that unlocks some kind of ending etc. - daily newspaper in the morning which gives clues to help with figuring out how to defeat monsters more easily in the articles about people found dead around town - power-ups that help with energy and sanity regeneration and boost focus for research (they could be unlocked like in papers please, but instead of in-game currency you could use number of survivors that sort of help you)

[@dragon1130]

A lovecraft game that's not about Cthulu or shadows over Insmouth? Sounds great already...what's that? A horror game that doesn't rely on the typical trappings of conventional horror games? Yahtzee, are you trying to make us Orgasm a rainbow?

[@MrWilson812]

It's a shame that most horror games rely on the same tropes. The only game that I've played that I found able to actually inspire genuine stress was Let It Die. It's not even really a horror game, but the atmosphere it builds, combined with the extreme penalty for death and the ease that death can come if you're not careful can just bring fear on a level that most horror games can't hope to manage.

[@williamwhitehouse8741]

Honestly,when I think "horror" ,I think of subnautica

[@ikebirchum6591]

I want to make a lovecraft game thats an earthbound style rpg based on the dreamquest of unknown kadath

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

I really want a "hiking simulator" that starts normally and then has you climb Hatheg-Kla and Ngranek while trying to hide from the other gods, nightgaunts, byakhee, etc. There's no running, only trying to glimpse the abyss without it staring back, or in this case, the Gods of Earth.

[@zawar8225]

@@ikebirchum6591 or maybe something to do with hasturs book an open world kid of like skyrim that brings you on a set of choices that you don't have to make but once activated has overarching consequences like you could wake someone up and it gives you a game over because you just woke up azathoth or accindently becoming a hastur cult leader or even a new body of nyarlothotep the possibilities are endless

[@sinkler123]

these Yahtzee dev video just became my favorite thing on youtube

[@kittenmagician7416]

I've really been enjoying these Dev Diaries! I'm no expert, but I think it's really insightful for anyone looking to get into game development.

[@vitordan23]

I'll be downloading this one, I was exited when The Sinking City came out and got my dreams destroyed when ZP spoke out loud my most terrible fears for that game, so it will be fun to see how a Lovecraft game made by you can capture the aesthetic of the books and existential horror and all that crap.

[@RKan3]

Given the recurring themes of sanity and loss thereof in lovecraft's stories, perhaps the amount of sleep you get could play into a sort of sanity meter. Maybe if you spend too much time researching and don't get enough sleep your character could end up encountering more/weirder monsters that night or it could cause harder monsters to spawn earlier, while getting too much sleep could reduce overall monster count but you'd lack the research to efficiently drive them off as the nights go on and the monsters become increasingly more difficult.

[@grandobsidian]

I feel like Erich needs a 3rd daytime mechanic to manage his apartment building because I thought he was the landlord of the building in the story

[@levesteM]

He wasn't. He was just a tenant in an otherwise empty building. Also, at the end of the story, it turns out no one knows where the place is, nor is it on any maps(the main character can't find it anymore, either), implying some sort of dimension hopping.

[@grandobsidian]

@@levesteM Its been a minute since I read the story and I might also be confusing the story with his appearance in Strange Aeons for Pathfinder

[@grandobsidian]

@@greenhowie I mean, I like the idea of having to deal with some unseen cosmic horror while also maintaining a normal life like a crazy Lovecraftian rendition of Papers Please

[@pugdlife]

I am really enjoying these Dev diaries

[@johnbuckley1009]

I love the thorough thought that Yahtzee puts into these games. I didn't think about even having a day cycle, but his usage of it is smart and interesting while still remaining doable. Its honestly a game that could work just in the window but I imagine the player getting tired of just that if it gets too difficult.

[@Pi1203rate]

My only nitpick is that what seems to be what you called the “backdraw”, where the bow is “pulled” from base to tip, is actually the main draw for string instruments. You want to try to always “pulling” from the base at the start of a beat and at the start of a final note in a sequence. So if I’m playing my cello and I need to play one note to appease Cthulhu, I’ll go from base to tip instead of tip to base like the blueprint has. But I am a string instrument player and I realize that the small detail of bow direction isn’t the point

[@BMVfilms]

Wow this is a really exciting one. Awesome to see the community has a bit more involvement with these. Curious how much crazier the ideas might get.

[@SpockPlaysGuitar]

One thing that could add a bit more meat if you have time is adding bow position into the mix. By playing the bow closer or further away from the bridge you get different tones (sul ponticello close to the bridge, sul tasto close to the fingerboard). Maybe different monsters later on require not just different gestures but different timbres? Just a thought.

[@indicidian7179]

Ideas for stuff appearing in the background: there's the obvious route of having various lovecraftain monsters show up (i.e. Cthulu and his ilk). but on the more original side you could have things like eyes opening in the sky, or maybe an arm reaching down from above, various nondescript shapes, things crawling in/out of windows. just some ideas, love this concept!

[@PinothyJ]

I think we are moving into Nietschke imagery there…

[@derrickmelton5844]

Naw just make the city the monster and have it change to indicate what needs to be soothed, and make the changes something out of a Salvidor Dali painting.

[@retrologic2869]

What I love in these diaries is the moment when Yahtzee goes to the blueprints section and the music starts kicking up. Really gets you hyped for hearing the design details.

[@LabrnMystic]

I think a big part of rhythm games is also the natural reaction time.the game might not seem harder to you, a man who plays expert mode Guitar hero and rock band, but the average or casual gamer might see normal for you as difficult for them. I went to a friend's house and they had to desync the audio and visual for it to work. turns out we had been playing rhythm games so long that we were preemptively hitting the notes before the game even registered them, which threw us off.

[@karlgerg2626]

Yahtzee, a neat idea could be to design some ambient screams and chaos over the town if the player fails. As the cosmic horrors get displeased with the music, you hear the screams and cries of the distant townfolk as the monsters descend. Something that sounds really chilling that will let the player themselves imagine the panic and destruction?

[@OctopusGrift]

You could have some monsters have a daytime effect as well. One could inspire scholars who might then have useful information. One might cause it to rain fish that allow you to get food without needing money. IDK might be too silly, but the idea that leaving some of them around for a short period being good could add additional strategy.

[@delongjohnsilver7235]

There's a rendition of Erich Zann's song by a fellow named Alex Voytenko which could be rather good for the music. Additionally, another management aspect could be that managing rent as Erich was held up in a backwoods hotel during the short story, Finally, there could be a tertiary loop of keeping your neighbors asleep as you play during the night. Again, from what I remember of the short story, the music never sounded calming, so that may be another challenge to keep in mind to keep the plates spinning. That could be a bit too much management to put on the player, but it would also fit the Lovecraftian existentialism that external pressures never allowing us to remain sedentary and that it is ultimately the social environment that drives us to our breaking points

[@towrofterra]

Love it! Maybe 'practice' instead of 'research' though?

[@tailsfox45]

This sounds like an incredible idea. It's nice that you don't have time to overthink things, and I feel like near the middle of the 12 months we're going to seeing your best work. Everything so far has had a really neat concept, but it's a struggle getting a neat concept to be "fun". Horror games get their fun from making you feel creeped out, and I'm very excited to see what you make of it!

[@PainCausingSamurai]

Haven't read that short story, but it sounds like a pretty good metaphor for the relationship between artist and audience.

[@Quiltfish]

Fuckiness from the brain behind 6 Days A Sacrifice, my third favourite Lovecraft story as a base and intriguing gameplay concept? This is all kinds of my jam!

[@MaztRPwn]

Thank you for reminding me of Missile Command, one of my most favorite childhood games I played when my family had an old white desktop with barely enough power to run Doom at the proper frame rate.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

This is a damn fine idea, and I'm pretty psyched to see it come to fruition. Unless you're saving the best ideas for last, this'll probably be the breakout hit of the Dev Diary pack.

[@jamesphillips4009]

Honestly, I can't wait for this one! Music of Erich Zann was always my favorite LC story, it's panicky and terrifying, short yet full of energy even though the narrator is pinned in place most of the time.

[@waldwuffel1260]

There's a slightly phallic building in the skyline on the blueprint. Going for a cross of Lovecraft and Giger probably.

[@langhorneman]

Yahtzee this is my favourite thing you've done by far, and I like everything you do

[@joshybratwurst1398]

God, this is the first time in this series that I'm seriously pumped for the next update

[@tomprice4047]

Also Yahtz, I hope its set in your Chzo Mythos, a good Mythos needs variance and adding this game to the line up will give you more room to play around in with that variance

[@EdSigma]

Liking this idea a lot! The Music of Eric Zahn is definitely one of the best Lovecraft stories, and not just because there's no racism for a change. If you want something else following on from that tale, check out the Laundry novels by Charles Stross, where not only does that violin show up again, it becomes a major character.

[@vjsmyth]

For health status, you could use the lights of the houses outside as an indicator- the more lights on, the more people that are awake looking at the eldritch horrors and going insane.

[@NorskBN]

You might really be onto something with this one Yahtz. Good luck you legend!

[@commandertorres]

Yatzee: Makes multiple good casual games in only a handful of months Me: I sleep Yatzee: Makes a game about a lovecraft short Me: *_I HAVE AWAKENED FROM MY SLUMBER_*

[@Y.E.A-TR]

You can make something similiar to nemesis system small monsters can be fendoff with any combiantion and big ones requires specific combiantion and have strenght & weakness to some notes

[@BryanRollinsTV]

I like the idea that the player is making the tense, creepy soundscape

[@herp_derpingson]

Can you port Upbeat to smartphones? It will get millions of downloads.

[@Ash0512]

Herp Derpingson I think he may do the ports and expand on games after the 12 months, it is just my theory so I could be wrong

[@Krahemeister]

I'm just going to jump on this and say The Consuming Shadow would also benefit from the phone port treatment.

[@herp_derpingson]

If Yahtzee open sources the code, we can port it too.

[@burri06]

Rosalind Saville ooo yes! I’m now imagining what it’s be like to mod it so the driving sections are like Google Maps/Sat Nav screen..

[@Maragas11]

I would be disappointed if the final level isn't us playing violin to keep Azathoth asleep.

[@espio87]

The daytime phase reminds me a lot of the activities you can do in Cultist Simulator. ME GUSTA.

[@grapz2245]

If you're going to play with the idea of using angles and little differences in how you play the violin, I'd definitely try to simplify things a touch where possible. A very large frustration of mine in many games where you have to match angles is when things look okay but it's off by just a few degrees and that screws everything up. I'd probably recommend going with at most 27.5° between the required angles, or 8 different unique angles to play at. You could probably bump it up to 16 unique angles with a 13.75° difference if you plan on using mouse controls, but that's a bit more sprite work if you aren't using automated sprite rotation (please don't use automated sprite rotation.) Oh yeah that's another thing worth mentioning. if you're going to use keyboard controls this is going to be an absolute pain since you're matching angles. since you're only using the two buttons this seems like a game that would be perfect to play on either a mouse or with a controller. I probably would not recommend trying to make this game playable with a keyboard and ONLY a keyboard. As a side note I've been watching your stuff for years and this is the first video that I think I've ever seen your face in. You have a very nice beard.

[@OfNoImport]

Mad props to your theme composer. I could totally thrash to that.

[@CHAORAINALPHA]

I love the story of Erich Zann and I found a piece of music that I felt was just perfectly match to it. Something frantic and desperate that you just have to keep playing and you don’t have a choice. While not a violin piece I think it conveys the feeling perfectly. The song is “Fade to Black“ by Nox Arcana.

[@LemonyRanpo]

What was the game at 7:30? I think I remember a game like it and would love to play it again!

[@Endermensinspace]

If there is a finite amount of monsters, would it not create a problem after you have learnt all of the techniques? In that case, wouldn't it be more challenging to add a forgetting mechanic, where you forget a technique over time and must invest time in keeping it?

[@kylekelley2419]

I like the idea! Maybe add some additional complexity by making the different outside horrors react better to higher/lower notes? Add an additional button to switch strings (or have four keys to toggle strings) and Red/Spiky Monster reacts better to higher notes while Blue/Wispy Ghost responds better to higher ones? Super entertaining series, keep it up.

[@louther1213]

I'm excited for this one. I always loved your 5 days a fire series

[@norasyikinali6283]

At first, I thought the concept of 'play violin to stop aliens' plus 'daytime research' seems a bit too complicated, and then you compare the concept with Tetris. Which has existed for years already. It's... Actually quite feasible when you put it like that. This might be more interesting than UpBeat. I have never been good with rhythm games.

[@elishakim770]

I was looking forward to upbeat and really enjoyed it. One criticism I have is that a wall-jump pretty much throws you across half the screen. Difficulty settings are great as well, because hard-mode is suuuper unforgiving.

[@Videogamer96_]

These are very insightful and enjoyable to watch, makes me want to try my hand at making a game. Just need a good idea and gameplay loop first.

[@Knoxville315]

This seems like your best idea yet in my opinion.

[@bluewinterstorm]

As creepy sounds go, I used to work as a christmas temp at a postal sorting center (ages ago). Alltogether, the mass of machinery made a thunderous low at-the-edge-of-your-hearing drone that confused me if I tried to focus on it. I also noticed my temper shortening as the month went on, but I couldnt tell if that was the sound or the workload. Dont know if thats good for a horror game but there ya go.

[@OliverDixon]

Your blueprint: so glad you added windows to your buildings, because one of those "houses" looked VERY phallic!

[@dragnl0rd]

A button to apply the bow to a string, another button to control the action of the bow... I don't know why but this strikes me with a bit of a "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typin.... errr... Violin Technique" sort of vibe, and that oddly makes me want to play this even more. (Bonus points if some of the sounds at night are distorted versions of daytime ambience?)

[@DonGeritch]

this reminded me two games *Devil Daggers - an incredibly atmospheric but minimalistic endless arena shooter with a simillar horror idea *I sadly can't remember the tittle, but - you control a ballerina dancing in iron ballet shoesmade by her father on a glass scene, and under the glass there sleeps some chthonic horror, so you should make as little noise as possible, so that it doesn't awake, while also make a perfect performance, so that your father doesn't become too frustrated and scream at you, which will also wake the monster.

[@healthtrooper]

A new Lovecraftian game by Yahtzee and it is about one of my favourite Lovecraft stories, well thank you very much Yahtzee how did you know my birthday is at the end of August^^?

[@revzsaz9418]

I can't wait to see how this one turns out Yahtz! Cheers and thank you for trying to inject some originality into the world around you. 🍻

[@nonspiderweb]

Hey Yahtz! here's an idea. maybe in the menu or start screen you can have a book or something and if the player clicks on it they can access a "monster index" a collection of drawings of the different creatures you encounter in the game and a short lovecraftian description of it. but to fill the index out you have calm the creature down a certain number of times or be fully research it. until you do there's just a blank page.

[@BACCHUS777]

You could use a similar mechanic as Metal Gear Rising for lining up and executing the "note".

[@blubobo99]

If you are sick of the classic horror tropes, i can't recommend Darkwood enough as a horror game. That game knows how to spook with you just being a small circle on the screen

[@wugos26]

yes!

[@ffnendhgrgd]

Up Beat looks like lots of fun once you've mastered the controls. Unsolicited advice for the next one: channel Lovecraft by way of Kojima. Don't bother explaining the giant opening in the sky or why it's synced with the violin. There's just no time.

[@makeda6530]

_There's no time!_

[@grantskolos4128]

don't forget to add a store for spare bows for when they break, maybe even an upgraded violin as well so you can have work for funds / rest / research as your day time activity adding a sub game for each if you have time.

[@forrestwinstead4471]

If you're looking to save on time, you could have it so the research of techniques is just different ways to loop the bow, for example, you could have the player only have the violin play for half if the length of the bow to counter certain monsters, or three times but quickly. this way, they can do the research, or, if theyre really good or experimental, figure it out for themselves. cuts down on dev time (i would think) and encourages experimentation.

[@axios4702]

now I want to see Yathzee´s ZP cartoon form shooting down aliens with a magic violin

[@Formoka]

Yahtzee are you working on Differently Morphous 2? I need more!

[@grrandsinge]

This one looks great, can wait to play it! For the line thing in the window, maybe some gost creature, swooshing across the sky? Good luck on this game anyways!

[@CyberAngel573]

This game concept kinda reminds of Typing of the Dead or Epistory, except you're fighting with a violin instead of a keyboard. I wonder how your game would play WITH a Guitar Hero instrument

[@adancein]

Holy shit this game sound hella awsome! Maybe at some point, Azathoths flutes can join in for (dis-?)harmony?

[@FatNinjaWalrus]

definitely your most interesting idea so far! i'm super eager to see how it turns out

[@risototealasticoto6497]

I am super interested to see how the game play loop will turn out. If Yatz can pull off the movement he suggested, awesome; though i wonder if it will be that by the end.

[@BillyCrash100]

Very interesting idea, but couldn't the player spam 'research' during the first days while the game is still easy to get the required techniques, and effectively ignore 'sleeping' since it won't be as harsh a punishment as it would be later in the game? Maybe you could balance it by making 'research' be more effective if you are well rested or if you get a *perfect* string of inputs during the previous night (which in itself will be easier to accomplish if you are properly rested), or maybe something else entirely.

[@PoisoNico93]

The violin mechanic reminds me of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance but instead of a slashy sword action, we get some nice violin action.

[@DrEcho]

I like the research/sleep idea. One thing you can do to take it further is maybe having the player always *able* to combat any threat, but won't have any visual cues or instruction on how to do so without doing the necessary research. That can maybe an element of trial-and-error and the player needing to remember how to deal with threats they haven't researched to add a wrinkle to the risk/reward system, while also rewarding players with more opportunities to sleep if they can keep all the bowing techniques straight in their head. And then to stop players from trying to cheese unresearched threats, maybe add some kind of penalty for an incorrect technique (in addition to the time element) so that the player can't just throw everything and see what works to eliminate the threat in time. It could even be that threat responding negatively to specific techniques negatively instead of just anything-but-the-correct-one. I don't fancy myself a game designer at all, but dammit Yahtz I'd say you've inspired me. I hope you at least see this idea, even if you think it's bunk just so you know that my wheels are turning thanks to you.

[@KaiserAfini]

To pitch an idea of the consequences: the buildings and people become eldritch beings. For example the more it evolves, the more statues become like old ones, until the buildings come alive. The idea is that the Gulf of S'glhuo is swapping places with the real world. Because they exists in a sound based phase of existence, the music acts as a counterspell.

[@chadschmaltz9790]

I found it eerily fitting that you said you didn't want to make a game where the character fires music notes out of his violin. I'm currently playing the Violinist of Hameln, a puzzle/platformer by Enix (pre-Square) where you do exactly that.

[@monopoly2170]

Seems like it would be a much better fit for mouse control than buttons. X-axis for drawing across the strings, Y-axis for tilt, and a button to drop the bow to the strings. Doing it this way would allow for more complex paths than straight lines and wouldn't be restricted to always hitting the first string.