Saving/Loading

Saving and loading is up and running!  All that is left is an option menu, the enemy, and the audio recordings.

Pause Menu/Inventory

I've been working on the pause screen (inventory/saving/options) for a while.  I think it's really coming together.  Inventory was finished up yesterday, and saving/loading is next.  I think the game will autosave when you reach a new section and you will be able to load to those sections from the main menu or within a game from the pause menu.  Any thoughts on that?

Here's what the pause screen looks like right now:

Control Tweak

I'm tweaking the control scheme - q will now switch the active item and e will activate an inventory type screen where you can see how many glowsticks and matches you have.

So short I could almost post it on Twitter.

Minor Changes

Today I tweaked a lot of the minor gameplay mechanics.  The lantern will no longer run out of fuel in the first area (still debating this - it might be better if it did) and you can run for a longer duration and with less of an interval.

The arm is now textured and in 3D.  It looks really nice in my opinion.

Any Maize-related questions?

Saving / Vacation

After a lot of consideration, I've decided to go with a save system, possibly without a "quick mode".  I think that will ensure everyone has a similar enjoyable (and terrifying) experience.

I've also been working on modeling a 3D arm.  That's going really well and should be done pretty soon.

Unfortunately, I'm leaving for vacation soon and there won't be any updates for a while.  Sorry.  I'll have some screenshots and maybe a beta build for you guys when I return, though, so look forward to that.  (There won't be any spoilers in the beta.)

Versions of Maze

I've been thinking recently about the length of the maze and the time needed to complete it.  As of now, the maze is huge and takes 30-40+ min to complete even for the person who designed it (me)!  I fear that it may be too much for the attention span of the average player.

What do you think of a shortened version of the maze accessible in an alternate game mode?  Here's what I think it might look like:

This "quick play" mode would feature the same core gameplay elements with a shortened maze.  I definitely think it would increase the playability of Maize overall.  Thoughts on this?

First update of the summer

Summer has finally started, and that will definitely mean Maize will progress much faster.  Barring misfortune, I expect Maize to be released this summer, possibly within a month or so.
Here's a screenshot of the in-game story objects:

I've settled on a draft for the story and the voice recording should take place pretty soon.

I've also done a lot of optimization; the game should tun a lot faster now.

All in all, progress is good.