[p]Heya everyone and welcome to our very first Steam update! [/p][p][/p][p]We’ve been overhauling the game's UI, characters and environment design and are happy to show you the results![/p][p]Please remember that these are only concepts and nothing is set in stone yet. And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts! [/p][p][/p][h2]UI [/h2][p]Our old UI design was inspired by the Art Deco of the era - but that kind of glamour wouldn't have reached the remote villages like the one in Eldritch Empathy. We wanted the UI to better reflect the remote village environment, so it fits the setting. We took inspiration from Swiss country style; think hand-painted flower ornaments on wooden boards! The new UI design now feels consistent and coherent. And fits the world a lot better - take a look: [/p][p][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45156871/0463625694ea56ab742408f2cdfd7bd066278eff.png"][/img][/p][p][/p][h2]Environment [/h2][p]We are currently experimenting with some style directions for the village and forest locations. We’ve felt the rounded trees from our previous concept just didn’t feel spooky enough for the vibes of the outside. The newest concept features coniferous trees, which, as we all know, are creepy (for some reason). We are happy to hear your thoughts on this one because there’s a lot of different opinions floating around! Any favorites?[/p][p][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45156871/1ba42dee9f9a6a776438b957c3b0fada0f8b760c.png"][/img][/p][p][/p][h2]Eldritch Entity [/h2][p]When the protagonist inevitably succumbs to the eldritch influences outside, they’ll have a little heart-to-heart with the source of all the suffering: the big eldritch entity itself.[/p][p]We wanted the entity to feel alien whilst giving them some recognizable features so that it’s easier to emotionally connect with them. Since eyes are the window to the soul - and terrifying at the same time - it felt fitting to go with some semblance of an “eye” for the entity. [/p][p]You might even recognize the “eye” motif from the environment concepts above 👀[/p][p][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45156871/c1a3c4bcf7223b3be0b1d8917987b248060e0e5b.png"][/img][/p][p][/p][h2]Miscellaneous [/h2][p]We are also diving deeper into the story - we have some interesting ideas for the second act in which the village finds itself in the center of a smaller, much more intimate conspiracy 🐙[/p][p]On the design side, we are currently reworking core systems with combat being our focus for the moment. Right now it’s all just crazy ramblings but once we can share some more coherent ideas, we will do so in this space.[/p]