CLOCKBOUND EP Dev Diary #2 — “Diane, 7:30 am, February twenty-fourth. Entering the town of Twin Peaks.”

It’s been a while! But, as we start talking more and more about the game, we want to give you a look into its creation. At least for the first few entries, I’m going to take the reigns and focus on the design of in-game systems.

For this second entry, I’ll be focusing on exploration. Read the first entry, which talked a bit about the battle system, here.

Twin Peaks ostensibly centers around a single mystery. “Who Killed Laura Palmer?” is the question that drives the show (one might say that’s the case even after that question is actually answered). In trying to figure this out, FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper has to investigate the denizens of Twin Peaks and acquire more info, learning important tidbits along the way.

I mention this as it’s a big part of CLOCKBOUND EP as well. Moving the story forward, as well as learning new skills and finding some handy equipment, is based on exploration.

Let’s start with how players track story objectives, as well as sidequests. Their journal! Below is a (work-in-progress) preview of the journal window — note that I’ve blurred out two quest names (something, something spoilers). Players can see their current quests, completed quests, failed quests (we’ll talk about this in a bit), and all quests from here. Currently, I’m looking at a quest where I had to help someone find their dog.

The current quest journal. Gotta find dem doggos.

There are a variety of quests available, and some quests are only available based on decisions the player makes in the game. Help someone out one day, and maybe word will spread? Ditch your friends Cole or Lizzie? You might lose out on an opportunity. Players also have to balance things like curfew with quest solving — you are kids after all.

Wait… curfew!? Get home too late and you may find yourself starting the next day a bit later — this makes time management key to success.

While exploring the town of Arbordale, players have access to some key info at all times — the date, the time, and where they are. The UI for this is still being iterated on, and the location is a new addition to make that info more readily available to players. Let’s look at how it’s evolved, so far.

Version 1 — A simple square with the day, date, and time. Version 2 (not pictured) removes the background window.

Version 3— Things are spread out a bit more, there’s a gradient overlay. Your location is now shown — but it’s uh… taking up a bit of space.

Version 5 — A few tweaks later and we’ve got a return to boxes, less space taken up, and shorter area names. We’re getting closer. Version 4 (not pictured) introduced a 2 box design but still took up too much space.

This info’s important because time dictates your every move in the game. If someone needs something by 8 pm, you better get to it by 8 pm. You can fail quests if you don’t manage your time well.

Talking to people on different days (and at different times of any given day) can also yield new information and quests. Sometimes, it’s just different flavor text — adding to the character of the world. Other times, it’s key info that can further your goals. One example of the former is an elderly gentleman who sits on a bench in town. At first, he’ll muse about how he likes to simply sit there in the evenings and watch time pass. But a few days in, he may something different. You’ll have to play the game to see what that says, but it’s a fun little nod to one of our many sources of inspiration in crafting the world of Arbordale.

That’s all for now. For full transparency — it may be a while before another development diary shows up. But please stay tuned to our Twitter account and Facebook page to keep up to date on how the game’s progressing, and be on the lookout for some exciting, new avenues to learn about our progress.

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