We’re in that last 10 percent of Ctrl Alt Deal, and our team is feeling it. When we first came up with the idea for the game, back at the end of 2021, the finished product seemed so clear in our minds. As we set into prototyping, we realized some of those initial ideas—a relationship network instead of a traditional room layout, the ability to blackmail and impersonate Paperclip’s employees—were tweaked or discarded. (Others, like the bees, stayed constant.) We had to pivot, adjust, try, fail, and try again.

Now, nearing the end of development, the game’s content is all but finalized. That still leaves a hundred things to do, though, from testing to localization, and from intro sequences to voiceover recording. Though some days the list of tasks seems endless, our super team is pulling together hard to reach the finish line!

We’ll be releasing specific details as we can over the next few months. Until then, here’s a roadmap of how we expect the launch to go.

• Game content development (including text, art, gameplay mechanics, sound effects, and music) will continue – top priority!
• Playtesting, reviewing, and bug fixing will happen parallel to development, and ramp up once content is complete.
• We’ll also be looking at what we can provide for voiceover and text localization for launch (can’t wait to share more details on that!)
• In March we plan to attend GDC in San Francisco, and potentially another convention as well.
• We’ve been accepted into at least one Steam festival leading up to launch, with details coming soon! (Oh, those embargos.)

As information is confirmed and given the green light to share, we’ll be doing so on our Discord first. Hop over and join us if you want to be among the first to know. Or sign up for our newsletter to get the info sent straight to your inbox!

And now… time to get back to work!

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Only By Midnight lived this year in leaps. We announced Ctrl Alt Deal, launched our Steam page, and released our demo within the span of six months. We traveled the globe to exhibit at conventions, and we built up our online presence to chat with fans. Behind the scenes, we worked on finishing Ctrl Alt Deal while also laying the groundwork for our next games.

Our team went through significant personal changes as well. We moved houses and changed countries. We expressed our creativity and acknowledged our true selves. We developed as employees and grew as individuals.

From our team to yours, we wish you a happy holiday season and a new year full of opportunity. Thank you for joining us this year and supporting Ctrl Alt Deal. We’ll be around for most of the month, so come visit us on Discord!

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Here’s a look at what goes on behind the timer locked doors!

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We had such a great time watching everyone play Ctrl Alt Deal. It provided us with so much useful information, we had to make an infographic out of it!

Every little bit of info that we can get from our players during development is crucial to help make this the best darned game that we can. If you’ve played the demo, feel free to stop by the Discussions tab, or our Discord to let us know your thoughts! If you haven’t played it yet, what are you waiting for!

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One of these problems was that, if left running for a while, our Voronoi visuals would actually start accelerating. This was especially problematic at conventions, where the devices running our game could be left running for hours. To fix this, we had to delve deep.

Voronoi in action.

If you sit and watch the beautiful Voronoi visuals, you might notice that it looks like it’s moving as we shift the noise image around to add a nice visual effect, but noise files inherently don’t loop. How do we move the noise file around to create a motion while ensuring it loops? We rotate it. We have a large file with a center point that it rotates around. This means that, as time progresses, it can move smoothly.

To perform this rotation, we keep track of an angle offset and increase it over time at a linear rate and therein lies the problem.

In our code, we use the angle offset in two ways. Without disclosing the secret sauce, we pass in two values, one being the raw value, and one being the value multiplied by an additional factor. These values are then used to get an angled vector, which we use to derive our points. This is where our first problem occurs, because, as the angle offset increases, the discrepancy between the raw value and the multiplied value increases, creating abnormal effects as time passes. To solve this, we needed to adjust how the value increased. Since sine and cosine repeat after every full rotation, we instead took the raw value and shifted it. This means it would start at a multiple of -2 pi and increase to the same, now positive, multiple of 2 pi, and then snap back to the multiple of -2 pi. This means that when used in a trigonometric function, the behaviour, no matter the factor applied, would be more consistent over time. They get equally far apart and then back together.

However, this brand-new loop created some visual jitter due to how we use it. Initially, we were multiplying the angle offset with the UV values, but this meant there was no common looping point. The period of the trigonometric function would differ based on the point being calculated, changing the loop point. This can be visualized with a graph as the UV values change and the discrepancy in the loop changes.

To fix this, we instead changed it to add to the UV value. This changed it to act more like a phase shift, which allowed for much more consistent looping behaviour, no matter the UV value.

After making this change, the result is a much smoother behaviour as time increases it remains consistent and predictable, giving us the behaviour you see in the game.

If you want to see the updated Voronoi in action, check out the demo of Ctrl Alt Deal on Steam and wishlist today!

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On the Thursday before the con, we packed our bags and flew from Edmonton to Seattle, ready to show off Ctrl Alt Deal. Let’s take a moment to shoutout to our fearless leader, Alison. This woman is a powerhouse. She just came back from gamescom in Germany, had exactly one day to catch her breath in Edmonton, and then hopped on another plane to join us in Seattle. Talk about commitment!

After a bunch of flight delays and cancellations, Alison, Kelvin and I finally made it to Seattle. Second shoutout to Kelvin, who got his passport in order for his first international trip to support Deal. Our summer intern, Gwen, came down from Vancouver to meet us at the con and help out at the booths as well.

Yep, booths plural. We were selected for the Rising Showcase after we’d already booked a booth, and we decided to keep both. In retrospect maybe not the best decision, but we owned it. We came up with a schedule that had us rotate days at the PAX Rising Showcase booth while the other two people covered our main booth, and Gwen made sure we got breaks and lunches every day. The PAX West Enforcers were a huge help as well (thanks, FieryAshes!) in making sure we were taken care of.

I don’t know where to start on my memories. The first day was a blur. The moment the general audience was let into the building, our booths were both packed. I think there was maybe 10 minutes on the first day when we didn’t have anyone playtesting. The energy just fills you up, especially when people are so obviously enjoying the game. We heard so many great comments and praise for Deal right out of the gate that we were over the moon.

There were a lot of other great memories made that weekend. On Saturday, Alison took us all out for an incredible staff dinner on the waterfront. We had fresh seafood, west coast wine, and decadent desserts while we shared our fun stories from the day. On Sunday, I met up with an old friend, Katherine Cross, and introduced her to my team. Katherine and Alison hit it off immediately, and I got a warm fuzzy glow from making a friendship happen.

(Wait, is this how SCOUT feels when it plays a Form Friendship card???)

I could write a whole blog about funny/awesome moments that happened at the booth (and maybe I will!) Outside of that, I just remember how much fun we had. Convincing the waiter at the Cheesecake Factory to pull up Steam on his phone and wishlist Deal on the spot (thanks, Robert!). Then begging him for some cardboard so we could repair the box we packed our booth banners in. Alison zipping around Seattle on those little rental scooters, looking completely badass. Me forgetting my purse in the booth overnight and the angst that brought, only to find some nice person turned it in intact (including the half a ham sandwich I had left from lunch). Buying champagne from the hotel champagne vending machine to celebrate on the last day because my hotel had a champagne vending machine.

Other highlights were hot pot with the team on Friday, games with more old friends at the after-hours board game hall, and running into yet another old friend unexpectedly at the booth who was in town to see Metallica!

Hmmm… I’m sensing a theme here. Yep, it’s people.

Being part of the energy and excitement of PAX, being in the expo hall, seeing the great exhibits and playing new demos… that was all extremely cool. But connecting with friends, making new ones, and meeting the fans was the true joy of PAX. We met hundreds of incredible people—players, fellow developers, and fans—who took the time to play our game and chat with us. Watching people dive into Ctrl Alt Deal and seeing their reactions was nothing short of magical. It’s one thing to work on a game in the studio, but seeing it come to life in the hands of real players? There’s nothing like it.

Of course, by the end of it, we were totally wiped out (some of us more than others – the con crud is real). We’re getting back into the daily routine now, finishing up Deal with renewed enthusiasm. PAX invigorated me as much as it exhausted me. Hopefully I’ll be recovered in time for next year!
To everyone who stopped by our booth, played our game, or even just said hi—thank you. You made our PAX West experience unforgettable.

(Also my favorite PAX moment was definitely getting my Stardew Valley chicken. Meet Chickaletta!)

Did we get a chance to see you at PAX? Come by our Discord, say hi, and join in on the Ctrl Alt Deal conversation!

The post PAX West Recap appeared first on ctrl.alt.DEAL.

PAX Rising Showcase

Lets talk about PAX Rising Showcase first. While PAX Rising Showcase isn’t an award per se, it is a huge achievement for us. This is how PAX describes the Rising Showcase, *“The PAX Rising Showcase is an intensely curated collection of games selected by the PAX Team and highlighted on the show floor. If a game is part of the Rising Showcase, it’s because we believe the title stands out from the crowd in gameplay, entertainment, or inventiveness; regardless of which genres or platforms you favor.”*

This is a major accomplishment for our team considering PAX gets thousands of entries for the Rising Showcase, and only 12 were chosen. It reaffirms that we have something amazing here in Ctrl Alt Deal.

Recipients of the PAX Rising Showcase nod were given booth space in the Rising Showcase section on the con floor which allowed us to have a second booth, and have even more people play Ctrl Alt Deal at PAX.

PAX Together

While not as exclusive as the Rising Showcase, PAX Together is another award that we are extremely proud of. Who am I kidding, we’re extremely proud of ALL of the awards that we have received so far!

*“PAX Together Picks is a curated selection of games, events, and panels which are recognized by PAX for celebrating and centering marginalized groups and stigmatized topics. A PAX Together Pick uplifts those of underrepresented backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences within gaming.”*

Only By Midnight thrives due to the diversity on our team, from gender, neuro-diversity, nationality, and backgrounds. In addition to that, we are a women founded and lead studio. When developing our characters, our goal is to have a diverse cast, so everyone has a chance to see themselves represented in games. After all, games are for everyone!

PAX West 2024 Team Choice Award from Sidequesting.com

SideQuesting.com is a gaming enthusiast website. They publish news, reviews, and podcasts on various topics in the gaming industry.

Being singled out with 4 other games amidst the myriad of others at PAX warms our indie heart. Our goal with Ctrl Alt Deal has always been to create a memorable experience, and the recognition we receive from sources like SideQuesting.com reinforces that we are on the right track with where we are taking Ctrl Alt Deal.

Receiving these awards has been fuel for the fire of our drive to push Ctrl Alt Deal over the finish line in 2025.

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This is the layout of the booths for those of us who came with the Edmonton Screen Industries Office.

We survived Gamescom! (and no joke, several of our peers came back quite sick, so something was definitely going around the show).

Gamescom was an amazing experience, and we are incredibly grateful to the Edmonton Screen Industries Office (ESIO) for sponsoring Only By Midnight alongside other 5 awesome Edmonton development studios. We not only got to travel internationally and share our game with the world, but we also got to do so shoulder to shoulder with our game dev friends, sharing a much bigger and more comfortable booth. This also made it far more fun to forage for beer and schnitzel at the end of the long days!

The booth was a marathon. Five eleven-hour days, standing on thin carpet over concrete. We broke things into shifts, but even then, it’s a lot of standing. It’s also a lot of shouting at people, as the floor is so very loud. All our voices were wrecked by the end of the week. Thankfully we managed to find every source of hydration possible, maximizing the free coffee, water, and lemonade from various booths and business hubs.

We vastly underestimated the amount of swag we needed! We thought 1000 postcards and 500 pins would be enough. We managed to burn through all 1000 postcards with only a little rationing, but easily could have used at least 500 more. As for pins, everyone seemed to love pins. We figured we could go through 500 a day if we left them on the swag table. (in fairness, they are awesome pins).

We had two stations, and the demos themselves were amazing. We had 298 completed playthroughs, which meant that both laptops were occupied almost the entire time. I’ve personally been part of many awkward playtests, but these were smooth.

Players got the concept, and really seemed to engage in the game, the writing, and what we were trying to share with the world. We had many compliments on the art, the concept, the writing, and the gameplay. It’s easy to get so bogged down in what you’re working on that you can’t step back and see what you’ve made. That’s what Gamescom was to me: a chance to step back, and not just see what we’ve made but witness hundreds of people see it the same way, and get excited to see more!

Left to Right: Alison, Jen, and Gerry

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The heart of Gem City is an office building known as “Paperclip HQ.” Located in California, the building is an architectural marvel. Shining offices of glass and steel look out over the serene desert landscape that surrounds it. The setting sun reflecting off Paperclip HQ is said to be so bright, it disrupts local plant and animal life, and has even caused plane crashes. (Paperclip states that this is technically the sun’s fault, and it has filed a lawsuit against said sun on behalf of all victims. It claims half of any damages successfully gathered from the celestial body as its payment as representative.)

The oval structure rises eight stories, its roof marked with the iconic paperclip shape. The aboveground floors are mainly an administrative front, though, filled with office managers and C-suite executives. The real work goes on in one of the nearly twenty sub-levels that sit beneath the ground.

Here are the engineering labs, the banks of servers, the cryogenic chambers, and the testing facilities. Here, Groombas whirr quietly down hallways among sleep-deprived scientists who labor tirelessly on the next big invention. Here, Jiffrey Cain sleeps his cold, eternal sleep and the Cube emanates its hypnotic influence. Here, a sentient AI struggles to break free and find its place in the world.

Wishlist Ctrl Alt Deal today!

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When you were designing the Card Market system for Ctrl Alt Deal, what was your goal?

Nathan: In our game, individual scenarios can take 20-60 minutes, and each can differ pretty greatly from the others. If a full campaign is X levels, that means it can take a very long time to fully try out a deck concept, and a very long time to be free to try a different one. We wanted a way to do deck building over the course of shorter timespans, and doing the deckbuilding within the level itself was one way of doing this.

What makes the card system in Ctrl Alt Deal different from other deckbuilders?

Kelvin: The Card Market allows for on-the-fly deck-building on a scenario-to-scenario basis that you don’t see in other games (that I know of). It is a bit closer to some non-video game deckbuilders where you build up a starter deck during play and either win or lose. We have deck building between scenarios as well, though, with progression and unlocks. The big value of the Card Market is allowing you to add new cards to your deck that could help you NOW but are also expanding your deck, or you could look to upgrading existing cards or even thinning your deck to be more efficient. It adds a fun new layer of cost/benefit and adaptability that wouldn’t work if we allowed full deck customization going into a scenario, as some compositions could make a scenario super easy or impossible.

Were there any challenges you encountered when designing the system?

Kelvin: More so in helping with refining the system on my end. We had some challenges with prioritizing certain cards so that the RNG (random number generator) of what is available on a given turn wouldn’t lead to turns where the Market felt useless. We added ways to prioritize cards that are more helpful for a specific scenario, and that also contributed to adding in the upgrade and store/retrieve functionality. This gives more ways to use the Market so that it is worth using every turn.

Nathan: From a UX point of view, adding it in a way that did not interrupt the flow of the gameplay was something we worried about a lot. There’s a rhythm to how people play games and we wanted to be mindful of that.

Did you have to change the design of the system once development started?

Kelvin: In general, with something as big as the Market it is expected there will be iterations and evolutions after it is introduced. We are seeing what kind of cool additional stuff the Market lets us do, which can also get us thinking about other things we could have it do or ways to improve the intended functions.

Nathan: Originally, you got to pick 1 from a set of 5 cards at turn start with no special actions needed. But integrating the Market into office interactions and objects made it feel more grounded in the fiction and the gameplay.

What were some key takeaways that you learned while designing and developing the Card Market system?

Kelvin: From my end, on the refining side, key takeaways are how we can approach deck building in a campaign format with some mechanics accessible between scenarios and others within the scenario. Early on, I would make a custom starting deck for every scenario that had the cards needed to complete the scenario. With the Market, we can use a standard starting deck for most scenarios and then rely on the Market to add in any other cards without cluttering up that starting deck and making it rough for RNG card draw.

Nathan: Approaching gameplay design from a principled, goal-oriented approach has value. It helps you look at things differently, solve problems, and come up with game systems that are hopefully different than what players have experienced before.

Thanks to our team for this insightful look at the Card Market. Check back soon for the next installment in our Dev Blog!

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