About TOXICity:
It rolled in slowly. In a town in its off-season, no one noticed when the city streets grew empty. No one thought twice about it when people called in sick. And then, while at work, John and his coworker, Kallie, witness an unusual fog surrounding their office. Cellphone service stopped. Phone lines went dead. Almost immediately, they lost contact with the outside world. When they went out to investigate, the fog burned their exposed skin and made them sick. Stranded, they have to find out what’s happening and how they might be rescued.
TOXICity is a character-focused, narrative-driven experience, smaller in scope that our previous efforts. After having to juggle a sizable cast for TID, we decided to go back to a handful of characters. This, hopefully, will produce a more intimate experience where you grow to learn about your fellow survivors throughout the story. Unlike N&T, these won’t be people you already have a pre-established relationships with who are more prone to like you from day one. Sure, Laura and Kallie are coworkers and you know them as such, but you’ll have to talk with them and consider their perspectives when making choices. You’ll have to earn their trust because they have lives to return to if they survive their situation.
One of the main elements of TOXICity is a concept we call “micro-choices” where you can respond to conversations without it making huge changes to the scene. Instead of your comment triggering an alternative path, what you say will just be heard (and maybe briefly responded to). But, what you say will alter how your fellow survivors view you through one of five stats.
Love – A measure of the romantic feelings a character has for the Main Character. Raised by performing activities that involve intimacy or affection. Do you show kindness or care in a moment when they’re struggling? Or, do you blow them off?
Friend – A measure of your friendship with the other characters. Improving this will alter conversations and potentially unlock variations in scenes that might allow for romantic events.
Desire – Represents the sexual tension between characters. Even if they are not romantically involved, this stat might open up moments you normally wouldn’t see.
Trust – Does the character trust the Main Character’s decision-making ability? Can they be relied on to follow his lead? This is a modifying stat that can alter conversations and scenes.
Anxiety – Is the character stressed by the events that go on around them? Can the Main Character convince them that it’s all going to work out or they are safe in the meantime? This is a modifying stat that can alter conversations and scenes.
In terms of graphics engine for renders/animations, we are now using Honey Select 2 Studio. While I won’t say we were experts with HS1, we were good enough to knock out 8-900 renders and 30+ animations in a month with it, so making the jump to a new program is going to take some time to learn. Sure they share a similar UI, but there’s a fair number of plugins and mods that are different or don’t exist in the new Studio, so we’ve had to figure out how to make the same experience through a different means. A bit of on-the-job training.
