The Year After

Devlog

• Evolution of the Story
  April 30, 2022 by Hadrian Lin

  5

  #story, #game design

  *** Spoilers ahead. Play The Year here first. *** The original story for The Year After was complicated: it was one part Day of the Tentacle by LucasArts and one part Passage by Jason Roher. It was ab... Continue reading

  
• Move Me
  December 23, 2021 by Hadrian Lin

  2

  How do we feel when we struggle through a narrow path? How do we feel when we stroll through a wide corridor of trees or an open field? Freedom of movement—or lack of it—can amplify feelings of gr... Continue reading

  
• Taipei Indie Game Award​ Finalist for Narration
  December 15, 2021 by Hadrian Lin

  1

  The Year After is a finalist in the Taipei Game Show 2022 Indie Game Award for Best Narration! More devlog posts Get a collector's edition cart: incube8games.com Play the game online... Continue reading

  
• A Love Letter to GB Studio and Rapid Iteration
  September 18, 2021 by Hadrian Lin

  11

  The Year After was made with GB Studio , described as “a quick and easy to use drag and drop retro game creator for your favourite handheld video game system.” The interface is so simple and intui... Continue reading

  
• Say it with Objects
  September 13, 2021 by Hadrian Lin

  1

  #characters, #environmental storytelling

  Compelling characters grow and change. How do we show their interiority? Dialog is the obvious way. Another way is through the use and exchange of objects. In The Year After , instead of the father or... Continue reading

  
• Collector's Edition Published by Incube8 Games
  September 10, 2021 by Hadrian Lin#gameboy

  A physical collector's edition is available for pre-order, published by Incube8 Games ! Thank you to everyone who has played the game so far... Continue reading

  
• Showcased at G-STAR 2020
  November 26, 2020 by Hadrian Lin

  Last week, The Year After was featured at G-Star Global Game Exhibition as part of their Indie Game Selection! Thanks to G-STAR for giving it a mention! No idea what they said, but there it is: @6:10... Continue reading

  
• Kintsugi Pottery: Let the Game Design Itself
  October 01, 2020 by Hadrian Lin

  5

  Light spoiler warning for The Year After It felt unfair and broken. It was an important point in the game but players didn’t know they were making a major decision. How would I fix this problem? I c... Continue reading

  
• Igor, the voice actor
  September 25, 2020 by Hadrian Lin

  4

  The owners gave me this picture of Igor, who did the bark sounds for the dog in The Year After . He was loved very much. I've changed the name of the dog in my game to Igor now. Igor 1995-2007 PLAY T... Continue reading

  
• Cut With the Grain
  September 23, 2020 by Hadrian Lin

  1

  #creative limitation, #gb-studio

  Compared to consoles of today, the PlayStation 2 had draw distance limits and how much it could show on screen at once. Some games used fog or bloom effects to mask the lack of detail in far off objec... Continue reading
• How to Make NPC's Feel Alive
  September 06, 2020 by Hadrian Lin

  3

  #storytelling, #characters, #non-player characters

  Game Design / Storytelling Principle: How to make non-player characters feel alive Do not have non-player characters stand around, waiting for the player to interact with them. Have them move and purs... Continue reading
• Why go 8-bit low-res?
  September 04, 2020 by Hadrian Lin

  7

  Artist's Statement | Why do low-res 8-bit in 2021? Creative limitation helps us explore thematically rich, story-driven games. Less is more. With low-res, people's imaginations fill in the detail. The... Continue reading