Little Quests

Now that Pier Solar is moving toward that illustrious homestretch, we've been considering additional content to make the game even better. Side quests and other bonuses will await those of you who brave the majority of the game. Some will be standard side quest fare while others... not so much.

One of the challenges in creating any game (let alone an indie project of this magnitude) is the issue of "crunch time". That moment in a project when the deadline suddenly emerges from the mystic realm of Later and becomes a cold hard fact. We've reached that moment.

And we're so very, very tired.

But strangely, truly debilitating fatigue has yet to set in. We're still coming up with cool additions for you, still polishing things that don't look quite right, and still smoothing out dialogue. Frankly, we still enjoy making this game. This, of course, means that you'll get a better product and - most importantly - that those of us at WaterMelon will refrain from murdering each other. At least, for a time.

In case you missed the announcement on the boards, another publication has pinned us down and had words with us. You can read the resultant chaos here and here.

Until next week, ladies and gents.

-WM

Screenshot... of JUSTICE

Most of the weekly treats we've presented in these updates have been in the form of assets. Be they random monsters, map shots, or concept sketches, each and every glimpse of the game thus far has been somewhat intangible and we're certain we've left many of you wondering if these disparate elements will ever coalesce to form an actual product.

Well wonder no more! Feast your eyes on the following in-game shot of Pier Solar in action.

Enjoy!



Ok, so it's not much, but what do you expect? We're busy. :)

-WM

Praise be to the Fonz

Fonz our graphics designer that is, not THE Fonz. Then again, I suppose the illustrious Happy Days character deserves some praise - if only for the thousands of research hours he saved by collecting the rarest of STDs.

Um... where was I going with this?

Oh! Right! Our Fonz! The adorable Frenchman whom you will know from the credits as Gwénaël Godde. Why is he the titular character of this post? You shall be informed! You see, on top of slaving away on the actual game part of Pier Solar, Fonz is the man responsible for the glorious packaging we introduced to you weeks ago. Most of us, however, had only pictures to partake in, but lately we've been tossing the complete boxes back and forth - checking for sturdiness, style, and gently caressing them as we fall asleep. While the pictures are lovely, they really don't do the boxes justice. I was shocked at their quality and, not to put too fine a point on it, amazed at how much better they are than most professional game boxes. I estimate that when the product arrives in your hot little hands, you'll spend just as much time with the box as you will with the game. It's really damn, damn, DAMN sexy.

Now that the script is finished, our translators are diligently working away so those of you not blessed with speaking "da english" will be able to enjoy the finely crafted narrative within.

In the coding department Tulio has been chained to his desk for days, busily scripting the remainder of the game. Every time he slows down we have him whipped. Or, at least, we did until he started to like it. More info than you needed I'm sure, but it wigged us out too.

Finally, I know I said I'd try to get some in-game music for your listening pleasure but I just couldn't track down our composer in time to get the files. My bad.

I might need to be whipped.

*Cough*

-WM

And the winner is...

Ladies and gentlemen, our winning wallpaper courtesy of Jonathan J. Our budding artist will be receiving a free copy of Pier Solar and some serious kudos in the mail.

*Kudos may not be honored.

Back in our little cave of development he--aven, things have hit a BLISTERING pace. That's right, BLISTERING. In capital letters! The script is now finished entirely. A little bit of proofreading to correct minor grammatical errors and spelling mistakes will be on-going throughout the project but what's in it's pages will be what you'll be reading come launch. And for the record, the thing went through six separate drafts so if you don't like it you can just **** right off.

Smiles!

Composition of the game's delicious music tracks are going strong and hopefully we'll have some new samples for you guys to listen to soon. Trust us, even without the enhanced soundtrack, you're in for a treat. With the enhanced soundtrack your mind will be blown. Like in Pulp Fiction. Ker-SPLAT!

We've also got good news on the publicity front. German game mag extraordinaire, M! will be covering us in an upcoming issue. So if you speaks the lingo, go buy a few copies (or a hundred!) and lay upon them, basking in their warm previewiness. We plan on doing it, possibly nekkid.

Off in the distance the whips are a-crackin' so it's time to get back to work. Thanks again to all those who submitted wallpapers and congratulations to our winner! Cheers kids!

-WM