Dev Diary 1
It has now been 425 days since work started on Lab 77. It has also been 279 days since Distilled Productions Limited was founded. In that time work has been steadily progressing.
Lab 77 is the first game in development by Distilled Productions Limited. It is the puzzle platformer you'll love to watch your friends play. Inspiration for this game initially came from "Getting Over It With Bennet Foddy", which I got to know through watching several youtubers play though it back in the day, and from attending the Global Game Jam in Edinburgh in 2022. The first trailer for this game is available here: https://www.distilled-productions.com/lab-77-1
Currently, the standing of Lab 77 is this:
All original gameplay features have been implemented
17 out of 19 reported bugs have been resolved, the last two are currently being tested further to determine if the implemented fixes have resolved the issues.
Incoming artwork is being implemented
Music and sound design is work in progress
Currently, the target for the release of Lab 77 is sometime in 2024. Unfortunately a more precise date can not be given at this current time, as there is a lot of work remaining and I do not intend to release an unfinished or unpolished game.
Recently, the pace of progress has also been effected by industry events happening over the course of Autumn such as EGX and Scottish Games Week. Although Lab 77 was not exhibited at either both were extremely rewarding experiences at which I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to many industry professionals. Now that these events are passed however, focus will shift entirely back to the development of Lab 77. Albeit a minor disruption will occur on the 14th of November as I am attending Games Talks Live in Edinburgh. One thing which has been very encouraging with attending these events has been the positive feedback I have had from talking to various people about both Lab 77 and Distilled Productions Limited, and I do hope that I will be able to exhibit Lab 77 more in the coming year in addition to attending more industry events and conferences. As always I am very open to hearing about interesting conferences happening throughout the year, and I am already looking at attending WASD in London next Spring.
Lastly, I aim to share much more about Lab 77 in the future as artwork, sound and more comes in. Certainly, new trailers will be released once these elements are added to the game. Furthermore, I hope to be able to do these dev diaries at least monthly, if not bi-weekly. Though I will of course post more in between if substantial milestones have been reached or other things happen which would necessitate an update.
It is entirely possible that there are things I have forgotten to mention here, but I hope this all makes sense. Next update will likely be in two to four weeks.
Thanks for reading
- Olav