Post-Release thoughts + Update about everything + OST Release

Game

Ruin 2: Mimic Adventures

4 months ago

Post-Release thoughts + Update about everything + OST Release

Hi, It's certainly been a while since I released a bigger project. Do any of my currently released games count as bigger projects? Who knows.

Background

So let's talk a bit about how this even came to be. Around a year ago I made a little joke game based on Ruin, then shortly after the actual game released I decided "wouldn't it be funny to make a sequel to the little joke game i made", and that's how I wasted 11 months on this. It originally was supposed to come out before the end of 2023, then i was hoping to get it out VERY early 2024, but I only managed to get it out now. Oops. The scope didn't really grow that much, but the amount of effort I decided to put into it definitely did, and that's how I somehow made a game the size of a small indie game. I don't particularly regret making this but I really wish I didn't procrastinate as much as I have. I did learn a thing or two about my current engine of choice, as well as just working on bigger projects. Though one thing that did bite me back was deciding not to care about code quality early on in the project, since I assumed It'd help me get the game out faster while I was planning for it to only take a few months at worst...

The Present and Future of Ruin 2

Generally, while I had a LOT of growing pains making this game I am really happy with the end result, and it seems like most people who gave the game a genuine shot seem to really like it too. The game did end up being VERY difficult, which wasn't the original goal it just kind of happened naturally and my play testers were especially patient, so I didn't really have an incentive to make it that much easier. Plus, overtime the high difficulty for me became an integral part of the game's identity, so I didn't want to completely strip it away.

I do have a few ideas on what I could do with this further, specifically a small "DLC" expansion. Though the game has failed to gather much attention, so unless it suddenly gains a large surge in popularity I doubt I'll do anything further. While I am satisfied with the game's current state, I am still up to make small improvements and fixes if I find anything worthwhile.

Going Forward

Currently, I am quite unsure what the future holds. I would like to either work on a new project or better my art skills, and if I were to go with the former I am yet to figure out what I'd like to work on next, but i do have some ideas:

A more standard FNaF Fangame or remake. This is something I am probably not the best fit to do, as to be completely honest I am not all that into horror games, so I probably wouldn't be able to design a good one myself. Maybe a UCN-Esque game could work since these tend to be more goofy?
Revive Orb!.
Finally getting to work on an original project I've had on my mind since ~2020. This is something I'd love to finally get to doing but since this is something I deeply care about I am not sure if I'm skilled enough to bring my visions to life just yet.
A Sonic Fangame? I love the series, and it more aligns with the kinds of games I am into and would like to make someday, so this is a genuine option I am considering, albeit it would be leaving my comfort zone and be several time more complex than anything I have done thus far.
None of the above, I can always think of something better.

Still, I imagine it'll be a few months until you hear from me on anything new, currently taking a small rest from after Ruin 2's release, and I don't like to announce anything until the ball is already rolling (like, can you believe someone can announce a Fangame and get a thousand followers within hours without even having a game to show, or fund an entire gaming PC through an unrealistic promise? Crazy).

Soundtrack!

It's been a week after release, which means that the game's composer @KamilFirma has started to officially upload the game's massive soundtrack in daily batches on his YouTube channel. Listen to it here. The Soundtrack is absolutely incredible and you should listen through it if you couldn't get to hear the tracks in game (and listen through it if you heard the tracks in game as well because they are so good).