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Hello and happy halloween to all, from autumnal Brooklyn, New York in the Clinton Hill neighborhood.

The ideas for the next game are concrete and coming together. Here’s the story:

The Norwood Suite

Right now I’m working on the next game. It’s called The Norwood Suite. It’s set in a hotel deep in the woods in the same universe as Off-Peak. It’s called Norwood Suite because the hotel is named the Norwood Hotel, formerly a mansion belonging to the owner, P. Norwood, a great piano player in his day. The suite is, in fact, his old bedroom. And, there was an infamous suite of music written for him as well, and that plays into the game’s story.

A lot of the facets of what made Off-Peak what it is will be in Norwood Suite, in full-force. Probably to a larger degree due the fact that this is intended to be a game with a larger scope. But in terms of atmosphere, characters, dialog, stuff to do, nooks and crannies to check out, and of course music and sound design, it’s all going to be in effect.

Some new inspirations…

What am I playing right now that’s influencing me on this? Soma, Stasis, Beginner’s Guide, Last Express…

Besides games, there are plenty of great hotel-set movies, including 2046, Mystery Trian, Barton Fink, Grand Budapest In the Mood for Love and beyond…

Spatially, I’m inspired by local architectural gems like the Cloisters, Grace Farms and Prospect Park. The Mohonk near New Paltz is a structural guide, but brooklyn interior life influences the interiors, along with trying to feel the zeitgeist of New York in general.

As for the narrative and the music… I don’t want to give too much away there. I look forward to having you discover those things. All I can say there is that there will be a lap steel guitar involved again. Haha.

Norwood Suite General Ideas

In terms of what I hope to achieve with this game, I’ve learned a lot from my experience releasing “Off-Peak,” but I’m still intentionally exploring uncharted territory as far as releasing this work. I’m stretching beyond my comfort zone yet still.

The main thing about releasing this game that is that since its set in a hotel, I can use the setting as a starting point for many overlapping stories. Guests will come and go, then return. There will be ‘regulars.’ See: Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon. In this way, I’ll be able to treat the setting as canvas for which I can paint a lot of different stories and adventures. New areas will certainly be added and explored, but it will usually come back to the Norwood Hotel. This way, I aim for the game to unfolding like a graphic novel, released over time in different phases. I won’t go so far as to say it’s going to be a “episodic game,” because that implies that I have an arc in mind.

The truth is, I want to make this game like how I make music: I have a starting point in mind, with a vague destination, but how I get there will be dependent on the way the play session unfolds. I just want to been the groove of the journey, reacting to the characters, the situations, the interactions, growing the tale organically, letting myself (and players) become immersed and familiar with these characters and with this place, so I can tell their stories. That way, I can expand the game outward, upward, downward. Especially downward!

How this lends itself to packaging the experience for release remains to be seen. I will be testing early iterations of the Norwood Suite locally by the end of the year and aim to have more to show as we transition into the new year. I’ll be releasing more screenshots, audio clips, all sorts stuff of that nature along the way.

Thanks for checking this out and for your continued fandom and support!

-cosmo D

Vote for Off-Peak on Steam Greenlight!