Hey everyone, I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted but today’s a big day for The Novelist!
First off, the game is currently on sale for 40% off to celebrate Valentine’s Day. You can buy it right on the front page of the site, at the Humble Store, or as part of the Valentine’s Day Sale over on Steam. The sale will run from today, February 14th, at 10am PST until Sunday February 16th at 10am PST, so take advantage of the discount this weekend and tell your friends to do the same!
But the sale isn’t the only news; today there’s also a big update to the game that adds two features players have been asking for: customizable controls and a Linux version. There are also a number of bug fixes in the build. Here are the full patch notes:
Major Changes
- Added Linux support
- Added customizable controls
- Upgraded to Unity 4.3, which brings performance and memory improvements
Minor Changes
- Improved rendering of thoughts above character heads to reduce popping
- Added animation to the loading screen
- Disabled the ability to flicker lights during sleeping sequences
- Improved audio handling of character interactions
- Fixed a bug where menu option descriptions would incorrectly show
- Fixed a bug where resolutions below 800×600 could be selected
- Fixed a bug where “The Story So Far” text would be misaligned on Retina displays
- Fixed a rare bug where players would not be able to view objectives if they quit during a specific point in the intro
- Fixed a bug where some UI elements would scale incorrectly in high resolutions
- Fixed a typo in the objective screen
- Fixed a black outline on the loading screen in some resolutions
- Fixed a bad lighting seam in the art studio
- Fixed a typo in a playtester’s name (sorry, Aaron!)
The patch brings the game to version 1.1. The new build will download automatically on Steam, and if you bought the game through the website or the Humble store you can visit your Humble account to download the latest version. You can also follow the link you got in your original purchase email. It was fun bringing the game up to this latest release, and I’m very happy with the polish and performance it adds.
And there are a few other bits of Novelist news. First, I’ll have the game at the SXSW Gaming Expo, where it’s been nominated for the Gamer’s Voice Award. The show runs from March 7th to 9th, so if you’re in Austin stop by the expo floor and say hi. It’s free!
And lastly, I’ll be talking about the dynamic narrative systems in The Novelist at GDC. If you’re attending the show and you want to know how the underlying story systems in the game work, I’ll be explaining them in detail. It’s going to be a busy month and a half, so I’m looking forward to some downtime once GDC wraps up.
That’s all I’ve got for now. As for what’s next, I’m toying with a few ideas. New platforms for The Novelist? Novelist-related apps? Kicking off a new game altogether? I’m not quite sure yet, but it’s an exciting time. Thanks, as always, to everyone who’s supported the game or shared a kind word. I hope you enjoy the new update!