Exploring Paris
over 5 years ago – Sat, Sep 29, 2018 at 01:44:08 AM

Mesdames et Messieurs,  

While our team tirelessly works on getting the beta ready for launch, we thought it'd be a good time to tell you a little bit about what you'll be doing in the game as part of your day-to-day, when you not attending galas, romancing the high society of Paris, and plotting the downfall of your most hated enemies.

On any particular day that the player isn't attending a party or going on a rendezvous with one of their romantic interests, they have the ability to explore Paris and visit a location in the city. 

While initially, you'll only be able to rest at home (which is important), you'll eventually discover interesting places all across the city. These will range from more functional locations like Fatima's dress shop 'La Petit Mogul' to interesting date spots like the exotic 'La Parc Monceau', where you can invite out your various paramours. 

We're really excited about this feature because we think it provides a few things that we feel are important to the game:

• A Sense of Place - One of the more alluring aspects of Ambition is the fantasy of living in 18th century Paris. While it's possible that we could have made the entire game as a series of daisy-chained parties and story encounters, it felt silly to do that and keep the player 'cooped up' in a few locations with no freedom to explore a fascinating city during a fascinating time period.
• Player Choice - By letting the player decide when and where they would spend their time in Paris, we're allowing for greater differentiation between each playthrough of Ambition. In a time before cars, cell phones, and internet shopping, planning how to spend your time was really important, as there was only so much you could accomplish in a single day. You only have one day before the next important party? Will you go out shopping, hoping to find the perfect ensemble, or will you rest up to make sure you're in tip-top form for a long night of drinks, discussion and dancing? 
• One Thing at A Time - Paradoxically, giving a player too many choices and things to keep track of can lead to a kind of mental paralysis. If you've ever looked at a menu with a million choices and found yourself unable to pick anything at all, then you already understand this phenomenon perfectly. By limiting the player to doing one thing each day, it makes all of the player's options feel much more manageable.

Thanks for reading our update and have a great day!

All the best,

- Luther
Game Designer
Joy Manufacturing Co.

Join the 'Ambition: A Minuet in Power' Backers Only Discord Channel!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 23, 2018 at 08:49:03 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

The March to Beta Continues...
almost 6 years ago – Thu, Jul 26, 2018 at 01:19:52 AM

Mesdames et Messieurs,

Welcome back to another update for Ambition: A Minuet in Power! During the campaign, beta access for the game was one of the most popular rewards, and we haven't forgotten that, at all. While the beta for the game isn't ready yet, we're still aiming for our first beta release to happen before the end of summer. However, game development is always full of rude surprises, and we shall keep you appraised of any changes that may develop.

 As some of you already know, the game is divided into four chapters.

• The Prologue
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3

While the finished game will contain all of these chapters at release, our first beta release for the game will only contain the prologue. Once we've analyzed your feedback and gotten the prologue to a state where we feel comfortable with it, we'll release a beta version of the game containing both the prologue and chapter 1. Putting out the story in multiple phases like this allows us to roll out content at a steady pace, while also taking your feedback into account and polishing the game as we go. 

Over the last few months, our art director Alexandria has been hard at work on the various characters you'll encounter in Paris. In our last update we met the incomparable Fatima Shenna. In this update, we can offer you a preview of some other individuals you'll meet. 

While I can't name or describe these colorful characters right now, rest assured that they'll play a major role in the prologue.

And what would our characters be, if they didn't have interesting locales to occupy? Dennis, our environment artist, has been working on different backgrounds for the story to take place in. Here are the streets of Paris, cast in the glow of hanging lanterns.

While we work on the art, programming and story, our composer John continues to lovingly craft the score for Ambition. While this particular piece isn't completed, as it lacks the final instrumentation, we wanted to give you a preview anyway. You might hear this piece as you get into conversations with the elite individuals one encounters at parties held by the crown. Enjoy!

Ambition: A Minuet in Power - The Crown - A Lively Conversation (In Progress)

Thanks for reading our update, and have a great day!

All the best,  

- Luther
Game Designer
Joy Manufacturing Co.

Meet Fatima Shenna!
almost 6 years ago – Tue, Jun 19, 2018 at 01:23:31 AM

Mesdames et Messieurs,

As you might have noticed in our various updates, clothing plays a serious role in Ambition. You've probably also wondered how you, as Yvette, will get your hands on such things. Well look no further than the deft and incomparable Fatima Shenna!

Her 'Why me?' face in the bottom right is my personal favorite.

The owner and operator of a lesser known dress shop on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 'La Petit Mogul', Fatima's family originally hails from Morocco. 

From the get-go with Fatima, we wanted her personal style to immediately indicate her trade, her Parisian upbringing, and her personal heritage. Personally, I think that Alexandria absolutely knocked this design out of the park.

General Progress Update: The Prologue

As for where we're at with Ambition as a whole, we're currently focused on finishing the game's prologue. This means we're focusing on everything it would need; from the writing, to the art, sound, and systems. To give you an idea of scale, Ambition itself is currently divided into the prologue, chapter 1, chapter 2 and chapter 3 (very imaginative names, I know...). This is all part of our strategy to provide a solid base of the game for our beta test, which is currently slated for the mid-to-late summer. 

Thanks for reading our update, and have a great day!     

Spring Play Game Expo - Recap!
almost 6 years ago – Mon, Apr 30, 2018 at 11:19:04 PM

Mesdames et Messieurs,

The Spring Play Game Expo has wrapped up, and we're still working on all the feedback we got at the show. It's impossible for a single person to sit down, lay out all of the systems of a game in a design doc, and just know that it's going to be fun, or play out a particular way.

No one is that good. That's why play testing, and listening to player feedback is so important.

Some of our earliest play testers of the evening.

Armed with feedback from various folks we met at the Game Developer Conference, we spent the last month refining our UI and working on our tutorial system. That effort appears to be paying off. While we're obviously far from done, the systems have a lot less friction to them. People have an easier time picking things up without moments of doubt or confusion. In an ideal world, someone can step into your game effortlessly. Even if the game itself is challenging, playing the game should be easy.

As you can see, the showroom floor was packed!

This season, the show was packed into a much smaller space than usual. There were also more teams showing off their games than ever, which meant that space was at a premium. Most teams ended up sharing tables with each other. On the plus side, this always makes meeting new people a lot easier.

That was good because these Game Expos always attract a great crowd of developers. You get everything from big indie titles getting ready for release, to student projects made by people working on their first game ever. It's always inspiring to see the hard work everyone is putting into their games.  

Getting some last plays through before everything closes up. 

Overall, it was a great experience, and we'll probably be back for the same show in the summer. In our next update, we'll start diving into more of Ambition's systems, and other exciting developments!

Thanks for reading our update, and have a great day!  

All the best,  

- Luther
Game Designer
Joy Manufacturing Co.